A Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has chosen Rochester’s Strasenburgh Planetarium to help promote her latest album. New music from Phoebe Bridgers can soon be heard as part of a laser show and with special projections in the venue’s dome. The “Lost Weekend Planetarium Experience” kicks off Monday, August 10 and runs through the album’s release on Friday, August 14. The listening parties give fans […]
Music
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REVIEW | ‘Blue Soul’ and ‘Viñao’ by Eastman Percussion Ensemble
With contributions by Carver Snyder Blue makes Michael Burritt think “of hope and good things.” He has assigned that color to a few of his pieces, including one just recorded by the Eastman Percussion Ensemble: “Blue Soul.” Burritt takes on a journey through overlapping musical worlds, over about nine minutes of music. There’s lots going […]
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REVIEW | ‘The Commons’ by Thornéd Crown
Thornéd Crown may describe themselves as a “dungeon folk outfit,” but the Rochester band’s debut cassette release “The Commons” is a stylistically diverse collection of (mostly) instrumental songs, ranging from the modal psych raga of “Swamprun,” reminiscent of Kikagaku Moyo or Goat, to the ‘70s folk horror movie soundtrack territory of “Torchlight.” Expanse by Thorned […]
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REVIEW | ‘Are We Damned?’ by Goat Farm
If you’re looking for music that doesn’t just sound good, but also takes hold of you and reaches all the way down to your soul, Goat Farm’s new album, “Are We Damned?” (released June 20) is an excellent place to start. The stoner metal group based in Rochester has outdone itself with a collection that […]
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REVIEW | ‘Tales of the Finger Lakes, Western New York & Beyond’ by Growl Bear
With local Americana band Growl Bear’s new offering, the 20-track concept album “Tales of the Finger Lakes, Western New York & Beyond,” its frontman, singer-songwriter Jeremy Button, has produced a group of story-songs that stand on their own while also making a collective statement about upstate New York culture. He has also secured an impressive […]
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REVIEW | ‘Hard Candy for Hard Times’ by Handsy Grandma
Listeners who gravitate toward punk rock, fast-paced music that makes them jump as well as engaging messaging will feel a sense of belonging with Handsy Grandma. The band’s “Hard Candy for Hard Times,” available July 24, brings all the energy with 16 dynamic tracks ready to pump up listeners for the heat of summer. The […]
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REVIEW | ‘Brutalist’ by Andrew Cloninger
There is a lot to process on Andrew Cloninger’s new album, “Brutalist.” Processing, in fact, could serve as the guiding concept behind the album. Song titles like “Archive” and “Field Notes” suggest raw sonic material of various sorts underwent a careful process of refinement, sifting or even distilling. Instead of clean, repeatable melodies and chord […]
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How a struggling Lima pub became a blues haven
On a quiet stretch where Routes 5 & 20 cut through Lima, there’s a low-slung building that doesn’t call much attention to itself. You could pass it without realizing that, on certain nights, it becomes one of the most intimate blues rooms in the Northeast. Inside Fanatics Pub, something unlikely has been unfolding — steady, […]
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REVIEW | ‘Rosa do Inverno’ by Rosa Boemia
For the uninitiated, Rosa Boêmia is sultry summer samba, sans singing. The Rochester three-piece’s name translates from Portuguese to English as “bohemian pink,” and they play choro, an upbeat, classical style of Brazilian music with roots in 19th-century Rio de Janeiro. If you’re unfamiliar with choro (as I was), “Rosa do Inverno” is a great […]
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REVIEW | ‘Ultra Instinct’ by Hirko
Ego is a sticky thing. Brian Wilson famously took acid and wrote a song about letting go of his own, only to be persuaded by Mike Love to tone down the psychedelia. (“I Know There’s an Answer” still goes.) The Rochester rapper Robert Hirko, who uses his last name to release music, has now made […]
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Eastman School’s 2026-27 concerts include Timothy Long’s Indigenous songbook, Chris Thile, Aoife O’Donovan and more
The Eastman School of Music has announced its concerts for the next school year. The new season includes student performances and a few guest stars. The celebration of America at 250 will be woven throughout the next year of concerts at Eastman in performances by students, faculty and visiting artists. Those concerts include “The North […]
