02-08-2025
These WMass performers are honing their skills at CitySpace Easthampton
EASTHAMPTON — For Amherst native Hazel Kleinman-Eddy — known to most as 'Hazel Basil' — music is more than just sound; it's a form of expression and self-reflection.
'Music allows me to explore myself and understand myself in the world around me better,' Kleinman-Eddy said in a recent interview with The Republican.
Kleinman-Eddy is a member of the 2025 Pay it Forward residency at CitySpace Easthampton, a program that provides Western Massachusetts performance artists with venue access for shows and events, rehearsal space, financial support and one-on-one coaching.
She also will be the first from her cohort to perform for an audience at CitySpace, when she takes the stage on Aug. 24.
Kleinman-Eddy said she's been making music for as long as she can remember. As soon as she was old enough, she joined her school orchestra. A few years later, she picked up the violin, which she played for eight years — after that, she picked up the bass, and finally, she settled on the guitar. The guitar, Kleinman-Eddy said, 'stuck with her.'
A turning point in Kleinman-Eddy's music and life journey was coming out as transgender in 2022.
'Music has felt feminine to me in my life, and embracing my femininity and realizing that I was transgender allowed me to really just blossom into the music,' Kleinman-Eddy said.
That moment of self-discovery prefaced Kleinman-Eddy's debut album, 'Herbs and Grains,' a five-song project released in 2023. She is now working on two albums — one of which will be entirely instrumental.
She's also preparing for her upcoming show at CitySpace, 'Breathe,' which also will be a heavily instrumental show.
'The idea behind 'Breathe' is that I think we don't do enough of it,' she said. 'Music, for me, is a breath. It is a moment outside of time, outside of all the pressures that keep me moving, in which I can rest and recharge and find a little bit of ground to stand on. And I want to share that with people.'
The evening is being described as a meditative one — in-between songs, there will be the opportunity for audience members to write, journal and create art.
Kleinman-Eddy's concert, 'Breathe,' will be held in the CitySpace Blue Room at Old Town Hall in Easthampton. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, which start at $10 for general admission, can be purchased online at All proceeds will benefit the artist.
Jazz roots
Following 'Breathe,' another Pay it Forward artist — Chestina Thrower — will take the CitySpace stage on Aug. 30 for a night of soul and jazz. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Thrower will be joined by their quartet: Kai Caban on bass, Jahian Cooper Monzie on drums and Matthew Mueller on piano.
'I feel like jazz has been the only space for African Americans to truly express themselves,' Thrower said. 'At least in the earlier times, that's how they got together, through improv and scatting.'
Thrower was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but moved to Springfield as a child, where they grew up. Thrower credits their father with nurturing a love of old-school music.
'We listened to a lot of doo-wop together,' Thrower said. 'And as I got older, I was exposed to Sarah Vaughan and a little bit of Miles Davis, and I think that just started me off, just having that in my ear.'
Now singing jazz, Thrower said it's strengthened family ties, as well. 'Later, I was like, 'Oh yeah, I grew up on this. Let me try it.' So, I feel like ultimately, I have a stronger connection with my father, because it's the music of his time.'
They've performed alongside a number of greats, including Western Massachusetts' own Charles Neville. Thrower performed onstage with Neville at the Springfield Jazz and Roots festival a year before Neville's passing. Thrower was 15 at the time.
'It was inspiring, just getting to work with this huge legend,' Thrower said. 'I remember when I told my mom, she was like, 'Oh, my gosh, you're playing with The Neville Brothers.''
Thrower also has performed at the Jazz in July All-Stars Concert at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and at Holyoke Community College. The show at CitySpace will be their first true headlining performance.
'I'm hoping to break a barrier with more alternative-looking people. You know, with all my tattoos and my piercings, I feel like a lot of people assume, 'Oh, you don't sing jazz,'' Thrower said. 'But I'm hoping to show people that, that has absolutely nothing to do with anyone's taste or their abilities.'
Bringing CitySpace to those who need it most
Zoe Fieldman, program director at CitySpace Easthampton, has overseen the Pay it Forward program for two years out of its four-year lifespan. The program was first launched by Burns Maxey, president of CitySpace.
'In our current culture, we view things like art and creativity as a luxury instead of a necessity, and a lot of people can't afford that luxury,' Fieldman said. 'So, what can we do to help bring this space to people who might otherwise need to forgo that part of their life because they can't afford to prioritize it?'
It doesn't matter whether someone is just starting out in their journey, or if they've been creating music for years, or whether someone is 18 or 60, they are invited to apply to the Pay it Forward program.
'I like to say that for every connection that you make as an artist, you grow your network exponentially, because you might meet one person, but that person knows two people, and now you know three people,' Fieldman said.
The complete 2025 Pay it Forward cohort includes: Muriel 'Monik' Johnson, of Springfield; Patric Madden, of Northampton; Chestina Thrower, of Springfield; Ricky Nixon, AKA The Heatmizer of LS Camp, a hip-hop trio based out of East Longmeadow; Mo Schweiger, of Greenfield; and Ailey Verdelle, of Holyoke.
New this year is a 'punch card,' which Fieldman said is an initiative to encourage people to see as many Pay it Forward shows as possible. The punch card allows people to buy four or eight tickets at a time to Pay it Forward shows.
'We want audience members to see this more as a series and a collection of works instead of standalone projects, to encourage repeat audience participation,' Fieldman said.
What does Fieldman love most about overseeing the program? 'Watching people grow,' the program director said.
'One example I like to give is, last year, the Grotesque Burlesque were a Pay It Forward participant headed by Lex Grotesque. After they sold out their show, they were literally crying, telling me about how they were so happy to not only be able to have paid all of their performers, but also to pay themselves for the work they did,' Fieldman said.
'They would love if they could do this for money, but that's just not the reality of being a performer, especially in this area these days.'
Read the original article on MassLive.
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