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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

Courtesy Atlantic Records

Coldplay’s ‘Moon Music’ demonstrates disconnection and chaos in the pop music sphere

By Kaitlyn Smitten, Beacon Correspondent / October 16, 2024
Coldplay's new album “Moon Music,” released on Oct. 4, marked the band's 10th album since their debut in 1998.
Oh He Dead guitarist Alex Salser, and lead singer CJ Johnson performing live.

Oh He Dead’s new project explores a range of ‘Ugly’ moments

By Sam Shipman, Assistant News Editor / October 16, 2024
Today’s indie music scene follows a lot of the same patterns: a hot new artist discovered on social media throws out a couple of singles followed by an album and struggles to break out of the sound that threw them in the spotlight.
MacKenzie Galloway. (Courtesy)

MacKenzie Galloway, MFA ‘23, spotlights Afrofuturism in Washington, D.C.

By Meg Richards, Beacon Staff / October 16, 2024
MacKenzie Galloway ‘23 has many titles—filmmaker, writer, fashion designer, Howard University doctorate student, and congressional staffer for Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
Gracie Abrams. (Danielle Bartholet / Assistant Living Arts Editor)

Gracie Abrams knows our secret

By Danielle Bartholet, Assistant Living Arts Editor / October 16, 2024
White and purple lights blasted from the top of the stage at MGM Music Hall on Oct. 9 as rising pop star, Gracie Abrams, took the stage.
Gavin Creel. (Creative Commons)

‘He was a legend, a bright light in a tough business’: musical theater icon Gavin Creel dies at 48

By Jesse Lipschutz, Beacon Correspondent / October 14, 2024
On Sept. 30, the world lost beloved musical theater legend Gavin Creel.
Becky Moon, who converted her house into a spontaneous studio on Tuesday afternoon, showcased her artistic journey via philosophy-related paintings and sculptures—guests were encouraged to compose poems and draw sounds. (Bryan Liu / Living Arts Editor)

Becky Moon’s open house: a local artist’s philosophy

By Bryan Liu, Living Arts Editor / October 10, 2024
Becky Moon told me to imagine a tomato—and in my mind, one appeared: minimal gloss, blush red, fresh and bulbous with a fuzzy green toupee and barcode sticker.
"Iris" by WNDR Studios

The WNDR Museum makes art tangible

By Allison Po, Beacon Correspondent / October 8, 2024
Just a short walk from Emerson College’s Boylston Street campus in Downtown Crossing lies the WNDR museum, an engaging public art experience that explores sight, touch, and sound via 21 different installations for everyone of all ages to enjoy.
Michael Kiwanuka. (Bryan Liu/ Living Arts Editor)

Michael Kiwanuka sings: a month before “Small Changes”

By Bryan Liu, Living Arts Editor / October 6, 2024
There was no disco, yet the ball kept spinning above us, and as much as I wanted this moment to freeze forever it would not—still, I could not help but overflow; because music this beautiful could not be clung to like water, only felt—and if not for my eyelid’s border or the skin of my eardrums, I would have melted all together. 
(Daniel Vinicio Abreu/ Beacon Correspondent)

Dorm room dreams: local art at the Carcass flea market

By Elisa Ligero, Beacon Correspondent / October 6, 2024
It began when MASSART students started vending their projects on Evans Way park—but last Saturday, the first Carcass of the semester, a local DIY open-air art exchange by students for students, kicked off. 
Chanel, Tagwalk

Threads of Time: 50 Years of Paris Fashion Week

By Elisa Ligero, Beacon Correspondent / October 6, 2024
As Fashion Week turns 50 in Paris, creative directors continue to push boundaries with new collections while paying homage to their iconic legacies.
‘Mamma Mia!’ takes the stage at Citizens Bank Opera House

‘Mamma Mia!’ takes the stage at Citizens Bank Opera House

By Tess Gleason, Beacon Correspondent / October 2, 2024
The national tour of “Mamma Mia!” made its return to Boston at the Citizens Bank Opera House on Tuesday after a seven-year absence.
Amor Towles: a glimpse into the life of an author

Amor Towles: a glimpse into the life of an author

By Danielle Bartholet, Assistant Living Arts Editor / October 2, 2024
Author Amor Towles regaled the crowd at the Emerson Colonial Theatre on Sept. 24 with comedic, lively tales of his childhood, family, and life as a writer living in New York. The event is the first stop on Towles’ tour for his latest work, “Table for Two.”
Shoppers peruse the stalls on Sidney Street at Central Square by Night on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (Laith Hintzman/Beacon Correspondent)

Ghibli, Games, and Grub Galore at Boston Night Market

By Laith Hintzman, Beacon Correspondent / October 1, 2024
With food, drink, and live music, Central Square by Night roused the City That Sleeps.
‘Megalopolis’: Coppola’s ‘Roman Empire’ crumbles and falls in glorious green technicolor

‘Megalopolis’: Coppola’s ‘Roman Empire’ crumbles and falls in glorious green technicolor

By Bryan Hecht, News Co-Editor / October 1, 2024
When it was first announced that legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola had sold his $650 million wine empire to self-fund his passion project of over 40 years because no studio wanted to, it read as another sad signifier of Hollywood’s hesitancy to invest in original concepts. 
Courtesy CineFest Latino

‘The programming reflects the complexity and diversity of who we are’: An in-depth look at the diverse programming of the 2024 Cinefest Latino line-up

By Casey Miller, Beacon Correspondent / September 29, 2024
Cinefest Latino is one of Boston’s cinematic celebrations of the Latin arts in contemporary filmmaking.
The exterior of Paramount Theater on Washington Street.

Warner Bros. brings ‘Sex’ to Emerson

By Ryan Yau / September 27, 2024
Boston Film Festival collaborated with Warner Bros. in anticipation of the upcoming third season of “The Sex Lives of College Girls.”
Tim Riley, advisor of The Independent (Merritt Hughes / Beacon Staff)

The Independent: the magazine for filmgoers, by filmgoers

By Andriani Maria Lamprinou, Beacon Correspondent / September 26, 2024
Since the ‘70s, Emerson’s magazine, the Independent, has strived to surface underground autonomous filmmakers who were overshadowed by big-budget productions.
‘Raw, scrappy, hopeful, and vulnerable’: Odie Leigh talks debut album ‘Carrier Pigeon’

‘Raw, scrappy, hopeful, and vulnerable’: Odie Leigh talks debut album ‘Carrier Pigeon’

By Sam Shipman, Assistant News Editor / September 25, 2024
Between your Adrianne Lenkers and Sufjan Stevenses, the world of modern folk music is a vast spectrum.
Freedom and ‘The Fraud': Zadie Smith talks her newest novel

Freedom and ‘The Fraud’: Zadie Smith talks her newest novel

By Danielle Bartholet, Assistant Living Arts Editor / September 25, 2024
Award-winning British writer Zadie Smith’s latest novel, “The Fraud,” is about many people trying to get free.
There is a Bright Light that never goes out

There is a Bright Light that never goes out

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / September 18, 2024
Near its 10th anniversary, the Bright Lights Cinema Series has introduced three generations of Emerson students to hundreds of independent films, highlighting social issues and marginalized perspectives.