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Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Arts

Blood On The Silver Screen cover art.

SASAMI comes back swinging with “Blood On The Silver Screen”

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / June 27, 2025

SASAMI’s identity is anything but subtle. Whether it's her lavish outfits or eye-catching all-caps moniker, the Bronxville-born artist has made a point...

Big Body Kweeng performs at Outloud Boston 2025.

Queer voices share the stage at Boston’s inaugural Outloud Music Festival.

By Sam Lawrence, Video Editor / June 27, 2025

Muscular go-go dancers lined the stage as drag queen Trixie Mattel performed a DJ set well-suited towards her LA barbie doll persona. This performance...

Frank Grande in the "Boys" music video.

Frankie Grande’s new album is a bold reclamation of his identity, on his terms.

By Sam Lawrence, Video Editor / June 27, 2025

Frankie Grande is no stranger to performing. Spending his early days in the theater, the 42-year-old singer, actor, and dancer has played roles in Broadway...

Peach Pit

Peach Pit’s “microculture” of fans appears around the world

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / June 24, 2025

Peach Pit is what every indie pop band dreams of being: a success story. Their humble beginnings in 2016, based in Vancouver, were met with a burst of...

Illustration by Danielle Bartholet

The Beacon Bucket List: 2025 Summer Reads

By Danielle Bartholet, Asst. Magazine Editor / June 18, 2025

When summer rolls around and the days seem to stretch on forever under bright sunny skies, the good weather demands to be savored with an ice-cold lemonade...

Thee Sacred Souls leader singer Josh Lane performing in the crowd at Boston Calling 2025. (Nick Peace / Beacon Staff)

Rain doesn’t dampen spirits or stars at Boston Calling 2025

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / June 12, 2025

Boston Calling 2025 had plenty of holes in its biggest crowds. The empty spaces weren’t from the days that didn’t sell out, or the start of a mosh–it...

Illustration by Rachel Choi

Emerson alumni talk visual effects on Spike Lee’s ‘Highest 2 Lowest’

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / June 5, 2025

Emerson alumni can be found working throughout the film industry in a variety of roles. This year, their work will appear in one of the summer’s most...

Djo performing at Roadrunner on May 2nd, 2025. (Sam Shipman/ Beacon Staff)

Photos: Mass local “Djo” and Post Animal rock a sold-out show at Roadrunner.

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / June 3, 2025

Stranger Things superstar Joe Keery has placed acting on the back burner, returning to the limelight under his Musical alias “Djo.” Djo is celebrating...

Church Street during the People's Party on May 17, 2025 (Nick Peace/ Beacon Staff).

The People’s Party packs Church Street in Cambridge with Fashion, Music, and colossal clothing piles

By Nick Peace, Dept. Photo Editor & Video Editor / May 31, 2025

Crowded around a multi-colored mountain of shirts and pants, thrifters of all ages, each with their own unique style, sifted through piles of clothes at...

From left: (foreground) Crystin Gilmore, Dru Sky Berrian, and Catia. (Background) MarHadoo Effeh, Hampton Richards and Kwezi Shongwe. Courtesy of Nile Scott Studios.

‘JaJa’s African Hair Braiding’ exemplifies why immigrant stories matter

By Rosa Morales-Simmons, Beacon Correspondent / May 30, 2025

A hair salon can be a place of hot topics, personal drama, and a clamor of opinions. However, for West African immigrant women in Harlem, an African...

John Filo on Blanket Hill, by Beacon photographer Fiona McMahon

The Emerson connection to the 1970 Kent State shootings

By Meg Richards, Editor-in-Chief / May 17, 2025

At the height of the Vietnam War in 1970, America was divided into political camps that went beyond party lines. Students made up the bulk of anti-war...

Courtesy of Alexys Morera

Alexys Morera talks self-care, social media, and playing Janis in ‘Mean Girls’

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / April 28, 2025

Be prepared to put on your pink and meet the plastics, because “Mean Girls” is coming to The Colonial for a week, starting April 29. Adapted from...

Mamalarky (Courtesy Vlonery)

Mamalarky is mobile—musically and literally on ‘Hex Key’

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / April 23, 2025

Most bands are inspired by where they first came together. Whether it be a college dorm, a flashy record studio, or a local venue, all of these locations...

Illustration by Rachel Choi

An all-trans and nonbinary ‘Peanuts’ musical teaches us to be ‘good men’

By Ryan Yau, Editor-at-Large / April 23, 2025

Though many know “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” as a 1985 animated film based on Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” characters, the film was adapted...

A still from Mayeni Kpenge's thesis film "Babyface." (Courtesy of Mayeni Kpenge)

Kasteel Well lends its medieval backdrop to ‘Babyface’ BFA

By Annie Sarlin, Dept. Living Arts Editor / April 23, 2025

Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault. After spending this summer as a student at Kasteel Well, Mayeni Kpenge, a senior...

(Bryce Heilmann / Beacon Correspondent)

Half Alive reinvigorates Roadrunner on ‘Persona World Tour’

By Bryce Heilmann, Senior Living Arts Reporter / April 23, 2025

With a stage full of billowing smoke, two blue and green personas—Sonny and Cher—greeted the audience. It was easy to forget about the wind chills...

Four Cat Stew play with musical guest, Caroline Ranucci. (Max Ardrey / Beacon Staff)

Emerson and Berklee band brings Tiny Desk from NPR to PR (Piano Row)

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / April 16, 2025

If you live on the lower floors of Piano Row, you might have heard a mellow beat and groove seeping out of a fourth-floor suite last Sunday. These sounds...

A visitor views a self-portrait by Amy Giess, from her project "My Head is Too Heavy." (Isabella Gemma / Beacon Correspondent)

How many Emerson students does it take to curate an exhibition?

By Ryan Yau, Editor-at-Large / April 16, 2025

Movement/s, a student-curated exhibition, will be displayed at the Media Arts Gallery until May 3. The exhibition features photographs and visual art by...

Illustration Ben Putney

Review: ‘A Minecraft Movie’ is not just for miners

By Meg Richards, Editor-in-Chief / April 16, 2025

I got a ticket to see "A Minecraft Movie” last Thursday at the AMC. Despite making me one of millions to have achieved this feat, it is in and of itself...

(Courtesy of Marc J. Franklin)

Review: Dynamic, raw, and real—‘Don’t Eat The Mangos’ tells a flawed story of sisterhood

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / April 13, 2025

Despite the large fruit tree standing tall over their home for nearly all their lives, sisters Ismelda, Yinolle, and Wicha grew up with a longstanding...