GET DOWN WITH YOUR HOMETOWN! January 8-9, 2021

Happy 2021! Sometimes we get lucky! Sometimes we make our own luck!

North Star is teaming up with The Institute for the Musical Arts and the Shea Theater to bring the world Get Down With Your Hometown, a two-day online musical extravaganza on January 8-9, 2021 featuring young people and adult artists from western Massachusetts. Just look at the performers list below! Even more, this event is free for you to attend. We have significant local sponsors, and the funds you and others donate will be shared by our three non-profit organizations.

If you are reading this blog, you know about North Star. In case you don’t know about our partners, The Institute for the Musical Arts is a rock and roll camp for girls located in Goshen, MA. Founded by former rock star June Millington and friends, IMA has hosted and nutured many aspiring young women into professional musicians. Over the years, North Star alumna such as Naia Kete, Rebecca Lasapanaro and Hannah Mohan of And the Kids, Kim Chin- Gibbons, Mia Huggins, Aviva Strong, and many others have grown at IMA. North Star and IMA overlap in community, donors, and mission, and we are thrilled to partner with them for a much-needed winter music festival. Other IMA and North Star alumni (Miro Sprague, Eli Catlin (Catsy), staff member John Sprague) will be performing, and dozens of adult local musicians are lending their support to this vision of empowering young people to pursue their dreams. We are delighted to combine support with the Shea Theater of Turners Falls, which holds a commitment to hosting and producing concerts for all members of our community. Collectively, this trio of North Star, IMA, and The Shea is a real gathering. (Cue the superhero theme.)

Emcees will include local celebrities Monte Belmonte, Kelsey Flynn, and Pam Victor. (Monte and Pam are both parents of North Star teen members or alumni!)

Many thanks to the major local sponsors who have jumped right on board to make this festival a reality: Signature Sounds, The Daily Hampshire Gazette, WRSI, Bueno y Sano, and several other individuals and companies joining them.

You can reserve a ticket, and purchase access to our V.I.P. rooms through the event Facebook page here. You can join us from anywhere. With any luck, Get Down With Your Hometown will become an annual event, and next year we will see you at The Shea Theater!