Queer/Trans Valley Emergence Series in collaboration with DSP Shows Presents:

Stefan Alexander w/ special guests Zoe Lemos and Lou Marie

Weds, June 21st, 2023 at 8pm (7pm doors)

Transhealth and Bloom Local are proud to announce the next installment of the Queer/Trans Valley Emergence Spring Meet-Up Series, a partnership created by and for the local Queer and Trans community, bringing you cultural events throughout the region this Spring!

STEFAN ALEXANDER

Stefan Alexander is an NYC-based queer singer-songwriter. He made a splash in the pop world in 2016 with his debut single “Skeleton,” which garnered over 1M plays on Spotify. In the following years, Stefan released two EPs, Thunderclap and Cry Again, both to great critical acclaim from publications like Forbes, The Advocate, American Songwriter, among many others. Through his music, Stefan hopes to create space for people to access a deeper vulnerability. After years making pop music, Stefan made the transition back to indie folk, where he got his start. Stefan is releasing his first folk EP in 10 years, My Birthday Again, in July.

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ZOE LEMOS

Zoe Rinchen Lemos (hi that's me...what's good? lol) is an alternative musician based in nyc, she has played in bands since she was ten years old is now branching out as a solo artist. Her music is an original blend of Americana and indie pop. Her lyrics tell stories of political oppression and hope, the love and struggles through the eyes of a young queer Tibetan Greek woman. 

Her musical career began accidentally when at the age of nine when she attended pre-teen girls rock camp at The Institute for Musical Arts in Goshen Massachusetts found her tribe and future bandmates. In her spare time, she busks on the streets of Northampton MA raising money for LGBTQ+ Asylum Taskforce which helps people who are LGBT seek asylum from countries where being LGBT is illegal or is very dangerous. 

Her band ZoKi Band (@ZoKiband) has opened for Antigone Rising, June Millington, NRBQ and more.  

Website

LOU MARIE

Lou Marie is a librarian, musician, and printmaker who currently works at the West Springfield Public Library. Her music is intimate and sensory-informed. Many of her songs are contemporary folk ballads and her newest work is currently being recorded and set to be released this summer. 

Bandcamp

More About the Partnership & Series

Queer Trans Valley Emergence is a new partnership of Transhealth and Bloom Local formed to support local Queer and Trans community-building and well-being through resource-sharing and inclusive cultural events throughout the Pioneer Valley region and beyond.

Transhealth and Bloom Local partnered to produce this series inspired by our shared belief that gathering together in song, creative expression, and joy is vital to the present and future of our resilient community.

Each event in the QTVE Spring Meet-Up Series is unique with some repeated elements such as event check-in (with name and pronoun tag supplies), community-building conversation-starters, and featured live speaker(s) or performance artist(s). View additional dates and available details below. Check back regularly and sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date.

The QTVE Spring Meet-Up Series is sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and these local cultural councils: Amherst Cultural Council, Northampton Arts Council, Holyoke Cultural Council, Hadley Cultural Council, Greenfield Cultural Council, Montague Cultural Council, and the Springfield Cultural Council.

Accessibility: To foster safer spaces for community connection, we are strongly encouraging folx to wear masks at these events, and will have some available at the door. More access information specific to each venue is provided at www.bloomlocal.live/transhealth.

This event is made possible in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Amherst Cultural Council. If you are interested in sponsoring this event, or providing media support or coverage, please contact info@bloomlocal.live.

On Thursday, June 1, 2023 (rescheduled from 4/27/23), Transhealth and Bloom Local invite you to a Mxed Media Night at the Wild Chestnut Cafe in Florence, MA featuring a special author presentation with Emet Aron, local illustrator and author of Bug Theory, a “debut graphic memoir-in-progress” followed by a zine-making workshop with Lachlan Thompson of Astral Cherry Art.

This event is sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Northampton Arts Council.

Doors open at 6pm; Emet Speaks at 6:30pm; Zine-Making to follow.

About The Artists

Bug Theory is Emet's debut graphic memoir-in-progress, relaying what bugs taught them about becoming themself. Part love letter to insects and arachnids, part transition story, this comic takes an empathetic view of Emet's struggle to metamorphose in their early 30's, and looks back into Emet's childhood as an “Amateur Bug-ologist” for clues about who they are to become.

Astral Cherry Art (ACA) seeks to cultivate spaces of radical authenticity, disability justice, and trauma-aware care through the transformative power of art and facilitation. ACA provides personalized artwork, trainings & workshops; peer support groups & one-on-one support sessions. They also host community-led art exhibitions, facilitate ritual & storytelling spaces, and are striving to be a hub to uplift the work of multiple marginalized creatives through collaborations.

Event Details

• $5-$20 suggested donation at the door/in advance (button below). Proceeds benefit the QTVE Partnership between Transhealth and Bloom Local.

• The Wild Chestnut Cafe will have delicious baked goods and beverages available for purchase.

• Masks are strongly suggested. More access information specific to each venue in this series is provided here.

Transhealth and Bloom Local invite you to a Local Music Showcase at The Divine Theater featuring musical performances by Doctora Xingona Diana Alvarez and Olivia Nied on Thursday, May 25th. The music begins at 6:30pm; doors open at 6pm.

Come enjoy music and connect in community at this beautiful venue in Holyoke. A suggested donation of $5-$20 benefits the partnership of Transhealth and Bloom Local, and helps to sustain this programming.

This event is made possible through the support of our sponsors:

Holyoke Cultural Council

Mass Cultural Council

Gateway City Arts

The Divine Theater

About the Artists

Doctora Xingona Diana Alvarez

Doctora Xingona's ancestors bloom in her/their voice. Her/their songs roar an otherworldly fire against oppression, exalt queer love and liberation, and create a gripping atmosphere for healing. Doctora Xingona’s poetic songs live in-between, where borders are a myth. An expansive multimedia artist and educator, Doctora Xingona's music, poetry, performances, films, and gatherings center transcendence, kinship, and the co-liberation and nourishment of queer and trans artists of color.

Doctora Xingona is the composer and filmmaker behind the award-winning Quiero Volver: A Xicanx Ritual Opera, a multimedia performance altar for queer and trans BIPOC artists to convene and manifest futures. This performance, awarded by the New England Foundation for the Arts and multiple Massachusetts Cultural Councils, has been described by the press as an "acoustically stunning performance meant to honor women, nonbinary, and genderqueer artists of color." Quiero Volver has raised over $10,000 to support immigrant justice initiatives, and currently benefits the BridgeSong Fund: Emergency Relief for Western MA Women, Nonbinary, Trans, and Genderqueer Artists of Color, co-founded by Doctora Xingona at the Institute for the Musical Arts in Goshen, MA.

Alvarez's journey as a songwriter and opera composer began with her award-winning poetry, which centers genderqueer muse, Bruja Juana. In 2008, Alvarez completed her MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College, where her poetry collection, Consultations with Bruja Juana, was conceived. Consultations was published by Toadlily Press in 2009, and two of Alvarez’s poems also appear in The Best of Toadlily Press (2011). Poet Sean Nevin said of Consultations, "Diana Alvarez writes the truth through a tincture of magic and prayer, and both the spirits and the living are cupping their ears to listen."

Dr. Alvarez earned her PhD in Electronic Arts Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she was mentored by groundbreaking composer Pauline Oliveros. Alvarez's dissertation research is titled Bridge Artistx: Gatherings of Women, Non-Binary, and Genderqueer Artists of Color. At Rensselaer, Alvarez composed her opera, and blended testimonio methods and video portraiture to document the lives and work of women, nonbinary, and genderqueer artists of color. Alvarez's video art continues to expand. In 2018, Alvarez was commissioned to create a documentary for the world premiere of Sharon Bridgforth’s performance installation, dat Black Mermaid Man Lady at allgo, a statewide queer people of color organization in Austin, Texas. In addition to her documentary commissions for Bridgforth, Alvarez has directed her own music videos, as well as a music video for internationally recognized singer-songwriter and jazz musician, Pamela Means.

Doctora Xingona Diana Alvarez has been awarded grants from New England Foundation for the Arts, Iguana Music Fund/Club Passim, Easthampton City Arts, Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and Mass MoCA, Massachusetts Assembly/ArtPlace America. Alvarez is the recipient of the Agha Shahid Ali Poetry Prize from the Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown, MA) and the Malcolm S. Morse Graduate Research Enhancement Award in Honor of Pauline Oliveros from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Alvarez has also been an artist-in-residence at Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada.

Doctora Xingona is an invited performer, guest lecturer, workshop facilitator, and keynote speaker at venues and schools across the US and worldwide, including Festival Internaciónal Cervantino, MX, Philadelphia Folk Festival, PA, Banff Centre for the Arts, Folk Alliance International, and many more.

Doctora Xingona's debut album, Ser Artista--a roaring, genderqueer, extraterrestrial, Xicanx collection of songs produced by Seth Glier--was released in December 2021. 

Olivia Nied

Olivia’s poignant songs reflect her unique life experience shared with audiences through moving vocals and unique instrumentation on guitar, piano, bass, ukulele, melodica, violin and percussion.

Trained at Hampshire College, Goldsmiths - University of London, Berklee College of Music, and the Vermont Jazz Center, Olivia is an innovative composer, arranger, and producer who creates original music for live performance, modern dance, theater and independent film. She has performed across the US and Europe as a solo artist and session player as well as with various groups and ensembles exploring rock, indie-pop, new-grass and jazz. 

Event Details

• $5-$20 suggested donation at the door/in advance. Proceeds benefit the QTVE Partnership between Transhealth and Bloom Local.

• Masks are suggested at this event. More access information specific to each venue in this series is provided here.