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The music scene of western Massachusetts has long been shaped by five area colleges: University of Massachusetts Amherst, Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, Smith College and Hampshire College. The musical tastes of the area get a facelift every year as 5,000 fresh minds arrive.

The heavy rotation of local college bands, singer/songwriters and emcees all bring something unique to the area. As with any college town, small bars like The Harp or McMurphy’s make it easy to find a popular act on any night of the week and the sheer number of students – around 33,000 total -- makes finding an audience easy. The population is not only a draw for local acts, though. Whether it’s the series of venues in Northampton that are part of the Iron Horse Entertainment Group or the spring concerts at any of the Five Colleges, stars like Carrie Underwood, Evanescence and Lou Reed often play in the area. -Ryan McAskill



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This section's contents are produced entirely by student journalists, brought to Billboard.com by UWIRE, the leading provider of student-generated content. UWIRE aims to identify and promote the brightest young content creators and deliver their work to a larger audience via professional media partners such as Billboard.com. Visit UWIRE.com to learn more.
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University of Massachusetts, Amherst

This town profile was produced entirely by student journalists from The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, the leading news source for the University of Massachusetts community. You can learn more about the individual student contributors by visiting their profiles on UWIRE.com:

Text: Barbara Booras, Ryan McAskill, Skye McIntyre, Stephanie McPherson, Andrea Murray, Ian Nelson, Derrick Perkins, Peter Rizzo, Allie Roth, Heather Waxman, Brian Wood

Photos: Brandon Clinton, Caitlin Coughlan, Stephanie McPherson, Andrea Murray, Michael Phillis, Keith Toffling, Toan Trihn, Michael Weintraub

Video: Directed by Stephanie McPherson; Produced by Rob Fournier; Filmographer, Amanda Lund
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