TYLER PEARCE

Duke Robillard has a blues resume that this brief write-up won’t do much justice for. So, if you like blues, you should probably just go hear him. Regarded as keeping the blues style of T-Bone Walker alive, Robillard’s history has included playing with The Fabulous Thunderbirds (replacing Jimmie Vaughan) and blues guitarist stints for Tom […]

Brothers Mark, Todd, and Scott have been knockin’ songs around together since they were kids back in the 1960’s. They’ve played a motley of different styles in a bunch of different bands since (The Bill Tiberio Group, The Hi-Risers, The Salamanders, and so on). Mix jazz and samba music together and you get this project: […]

Lush, distorted guitars flood to the fore while vocals seem content to fall back, for the four-piece Dikembe, from Gainesville, Florida. The band has a few albums and singles out since its first release, “Broad Shoulders,” debuted in 2012. Last month Dikembe put out its most recent rock effort, “Ledge,” which the band is now […]

Oliver Oak, a 5-piece folk pop group from Columbus, Ohio, is a little bit curious, a little bit experimental, but there’s also something captivating about it. The way the band’s vocal harmonies wind and float with one another while a violin cascades thoughtfully, with a few alternative tempos and rhythms, Oliver Oak’s sound is sweetly […]

This singer-songwriter based in Nashville has a grit and maturity that feels beyond his years. Jefferson Grizzard has got the storytelling of Dylan and that throaty growl of a voice like Waits, and he wears it well. Grizzard drives a hard rock sound whether solo on his acoustic guitar or with a full band behind […]

Simply, Hey Mavis is fun folk with poppin’ banjo and beautiful vocals. The band has been a Jazz Festival regular here in Rochester, finding a strong folk following since its inception in 2010. The band’s most recent release, “What I Did,” adds a taste of rock to the frolicking folk, thanks in part to collaborations […]

These guys are hard to pin down and pleasantly so. And with little bio info out there and minimal self-description of their music they seem to like it that way. It’s a bit garage, a bit surf, a bit of jazz with some rich rock riffs. The lyrics, like the music, seem more interested to […]

It’s cars, cash, gold, and girls; and in three short years, Future seems to have quickly raced to the front of the rap scene. In a handful of music videos, he’s already collaborated with Kanye West (“I Won”), Miley Cyrus (“Real and True”), and Pharrell (“Move That Dope”). Born Navyvadius Wilburn, this 25-year-old from Atlanta […]

Five-piece, all-female rock band The Furies self-describe as “defiance, catharsis, quirk” — and this seems perfectly put. Rock guitars give weighted body, while snare and hi-hat give texture and groove to a beautiful vocal-forward sound with lush harmonies. Lead singer, Lee Moretti, best known for her time as Third Eye Blind’s multi-instrumentalist, carries notes both […]

Gurf Morlix has a long storied road in music. Though born just outside Buffalo, Morlix spent most of his life between Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, California, wearing a few different music hats. For 10 years he was Lucinda Williams’ guitarist and producer, and headed out touring with Warren Zevon.  He’s also produced dozens of […]

Girls Rock! Rochester, the rad local non-profit organization that empowers young girls through music, is having its annual cover show benefit. Think Halloween meets karaoke night, except it’s actually rehearsed and there are some pretty decent local musicians playing it. About 15 bands, covering the likes of Rilo Kiley, Neil Young, and the Rolling Stones […]