We're diving full on into the arts today, and bringing them from afar.

On Thursday, Oct. 9, the Fine Arts Center at UMass Amherst will be launching its 50th anniversary season with an intrepid look at the very nature of our disposable inclinations. "Poems of Consumption" explores consumer culture post-COVID through electronic music with lyrics rooted in Amazon product reviews. The performance is the beginning of a project by Lebanese-American musician Hamed Sinno, newly on a solo creation journey after the demise of their band Mahour Leila, and we talk with them about their brush with credit cards and capitalism and how they portray it on stage.

We also meet two Berkshire-based artists celebrating brand new graphic novels. Melissa Mendes and Chuck Forsman may have different focuses when it comes to stories, but "The Weight" and "Ex Utero" share very intimate themes of family, loss, and repercussions in ways that are both heartbreaking and humane, and we speak with each author before you can catch them at Comics 'N More in Easthampton on Saturday.

And our neighborhood orchestra is embarking on its 82nd season, as the Springfield Symphony Orchestra opens their program year with an evening that will include the score to "The Godfather." We speak with newly appointed president of the SSO Heather Caisse-Roberts about the direction the organization is headed towards, and what interesting sounds we have on the way for the 2025-2026 year or concerts.