“Bravo Nights,” — presented by the Opera Guild of Rochester — combines your favorite, memorable opera arias and musical theater songs with the intimacy of a café setting. This Thursday at The Little Café, soprano Kerri Lynn Slominski and tenor Daniel Kamali will sing classics from the repertoire like Mozart’s “Queen of the Night Aria” […]
Daniel J. Kushner
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Interview: Mroztronium’s Martin Freeman
Electronic musician
Martin Freeman is a mad scientist of sound. A longtime fixture in Rochester’s
experimental music scene, Freeman also sells original, made-from-scratch instruments through his company Mroztronium.
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Daniel reviews Gold Koa and The Velvet Noose
Gold Koa performed its first-ever concert on the Gibbs Street Stage on Friday, and the band’s existence seemed especially natural, logical — even inevitable. Frontwoman Cammy Enaharo — best known to Rochester audiences as a solo, indie folk artist — sounded as if she were born to front an R&B-pop outfit. Her voice was brimming […]
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Daniel reviews Garth Fagan Dance
In case anyone had forgotten, Thursday’s performance by Garth Fagan Dance at the company’s downtown studio was a poignant reminder of Fagan’s brilliance as a choreographer. The program began with “Prelude: ‘Discipline is Freedom.’ ” A leisurely piano riff initiated a subtle jazz groove, and the moderate tempo made plenty of room for the dancers’ […]
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Daniel reviews ‘A Jazz Musician Walks Into a Comics Shop’
On Wednesday, musician and graphic novelist Dave Chisholm presented the most fully realized version of his highly ambitious multimedia project, “Instrumental.” The work has always existed as both a graphic novel and its jazz soundtrack simultaneously. But the Fringe Festival audience at the Lyric Theatre was the first to hear the soundtrack performed live in […]
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EMO | Romancer
I have a soft spot in my heart for rock bands with emo tendencies. Enter Romancer, a Canadian quartet with plenty of raw energy and swooning vocals for days. Ultimately though, it’s the tight strong structures and nuanced guitar textures that give the songs their substance. This Sunday, the energetic outfit will bring its winning […]
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Album review: ‘The Great Mundane’
Alex Northrup “The Great Mundane” Proof That the Seacow Exists! Records alexnorthrup.bandcamp.com Though songwriter Alex Northrup released “The Great Mundane” back in 2017, it hasn’t seen much light-of-day until now, with the emergence of the Jon Lewis Band keyboardist as frontman of the newly formed band Alex Northrup and The Backup. There is an earnest […]
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CLASSICAL | “Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY”
Few video game franchises are as enduring or iconic as Final Fantasy. The same can be said for the series’ musical scores—the first nine of which were solely composed by Nobuo Uematsu (he also contributed to the music in subsequent games from the series). The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra last performed music from the series in […]
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Daniel reviews ‘This Year’s Models’
Rochester Fringe Festival is to be applauded for booking Woody Battaglia’s “This Year’s Models,” a mini-festival featuring local comedians. On the third night of the series, what was a strong showing of comedy became an unmitigated success with headliner Malcolm Whitfield’s set.
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REGGAE | Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
This Sunday’s show at Lincoln Hill Farms in Canandaigua will be your last chance to hear hometown heroes Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad this fall. The reggae quintet always brings the smooth grooves to its live performances. With seven full-length albums to their credit and undeniable, widespread appeal, Giant Panda brings the party wherever it […]
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BLUEGRASS | Dirty Blanket
Dirty Blanket has been a full band only since 2016, but the group already feels like an indelible part of Upstate New York’s Americana scene. With an up-tempo feel that borders on punk rock energy, the Canandaigua quintet plays music that’s steeped in bluegrass — but frequently ventures into country, and folk, with jam band […]
