Mark Hummel and his band will play blues at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton on November 22 at 7 p.m. Jerry Portnoy was a member of blues legend Muddy Waters' band for eight years. Portnoy said of Hummel, “Mark's terrific.” The San Francisco Chronicle daily newspaper praised Hummel's singing and harmonica playing.

Hummel and his band played last month in Seattle, Washington and San Jose, California. The Iron Horse is the Valley's best live music venue. Tickets for the Northampton concert are about $20, depending on how you get them. Details are at www.iheg.com.

Activists who, in April, stopped a fracked gas pipeline that would have crossed the Valley, held a solidarity rally August 21 in Plainfield, Massachusetts. Plainfield is near Greenfield and Northampton. The rally was in solidarity with Native Americans in North Dakota who are trying to stop a proposed oil pipeline. In recent weeks, 24 people were arrested for non-violent civil disobedience along the route of the North Dakota pipeline.

Valley Post Radio is airing on two local radio stations. Brattleboro Community Radio WVEW 107.7 FM, and Valley Free Radio WXOJ 103.3 FM in Northampton are airing the show. Both stations can be heard world-wide via their web sites.

Two weeks ago, Valley Post Radio began airing on "Cam's Carousel" at 12:30 p.m. every Wednesday. There may be a hiatus on August 24. On August 21 at 8:45 a.m., Valley Post Radio will be on WXOJ on "Kickin' It For Peace, Culture & Education."

You can hear Valley Post Radio anytime at:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2wnv1cYmyXHEz_yvtYqLzw

Habib Koite and Vusi Mahlasela and their band performed an excellent concert at the Academy of Music in Northampton April 10. Koite lives in the west African nation of Mali, where he is from. Mahlasela lives in South Africa, where he is from. The venue appeared to be almost sold out. The applause was loud and long after every song. Many people danced in the aisles.

Habib Koite and Vusi Mahlasela will perform a concert in Northampton on April 10 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be at the Academy of Music. Koite (pronounced KWA-tee) lives in the west African nation of Mali. Mahlasela lives in South Africa. They will perform at prestigious concert halls in New York City and Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

Thanks to thousands of people who marched and went to rallies, the minimum wage for all workers in California and the vast majority of workers in New York state will be $15 an hour. A march and rally in Boston on April 14 has the same goal for Massachusetts.

The Boston event starts at 3:30 p.m. at the statehouse, which is at 24 Beacon Street. Details are at www.WageAction.org. Free bus or carpool rides from the Valley are available. Contact WageAction@wmjwj.org or call Jon Weissman at the Jobs With Justice office at (413) 314-3095 or on his cell phone: (413) 250-5267.

A four day march to stop a proposed fracked gas pipeline starts March 17. The march will start about 30 miles west of Northampton, in Windsor, Massachusetts. It ends near Greenfield in Northfield, Massachusetts. The public is invited to attend part or all of the 53 mile march. Organizers are offering free food and places to sleep for the marchers. They are also seeking donations.

The march has been endorsed by www.350.org. More information about the pipeline is at www.NoFrackedGasInMass.org.

As of February 23, the march Facebook page said 37 people were planning to attend:

To fight climate change, activists are organizing a march and rally in Northampton and a march in Amherst. Both are on November 29. The march starts at 5:30 p.m. at Northampton high school and goes to city hall, where a rally starts at 6 p.m. The Amherst rally will be at 6 p.m. at the town common.

More information is available at www.350.org. Phone and e-mail contact info is at:

http://350mass.betterfutureproject.org/contact_us

Rallies for the environment and equality are planned. On October 15 in Springfield, there will be a 4 p.m. rally outside a Price Rite store that is paying its workers low wages while the chain's owner gets rich. On October 18 in Plainfield, Massachusetts, near Northampton, there will be a noon rally against a proposed fracked gas pipeline. Fracked gas causes climate change.

There is a Facebook event page for the Springfield event, which will be at 633 Boston Road:

www.facebook.com/events/1623745281223305

Luther Johnson and the Magic Rockers performed an excellent, public concert in Northampton on July 25. The Iron Horse Music Hall appeared to be almost sold out. The audience applauded enthusiastically after all the songs. Johnson sang, "She said, 'Luther, you don't have to be a superstar, I love you just the way you are.'"

A highlight was Johnson's version of the Jeannie Cheatham song "Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On."