Writing about music is like dancing about architecture, as the saying occasionally attributed to visionary artist Brian Eno goes. But what about a performance that centers the venue itself almost as much as the sounds? Thatโs half the fun of the concert series called Ambient Church. The shows blend live audio with highly ornate lighting […]
Music Features
The inaugural Soundtrax Film Music Festival unites two of Rochesterโs artistic pillars
When Mark Watters arrived in Rochester in 2017, he clocked the festivals right away. Heโd relocated after a decades-long career in Los Angeles scoring films, television programs and video games for Disney and MGM. A new job called to him: leading the Eastman School of Musicโs Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media. To […]
A 7-concert sampler to enjoy in the coming months
If summer is jazz season, what does that make fall? The multicolored trees suggest a musical spell as diverse as a leaf pile โ and the concert listings for the rest of 2025 bear this out. From West African blues and Americana to indie rock and hot-rod surf, thereโs something for everyone. CITY picked seven […]
Dean Wareham brings his solo band to Radio Social on September 19
The Galaxie 500 and Luna frontman brings his solo band to Radio Social on September 19.
Hitting rewind
X Ambassadors bring 10-year โVHSโ tour home to Ithaca in September.
Renowned musician Chuck Mangione dies at 84
The performer and composerโs career garnered international acclaim and spanned six decades.
Sounds of summer
Finger Lakes Opera welcomes an elevated creative team and the return of a hometown soprano for its July and August shows.
Musical portals
Mount Hope World Singers present the highly ambitious “The Hundred Windows” on June 5 and 7.
Practice in the attic, party in the backyard
The Submarine School of Music throws a music-festival fundraiser on May 31 at Bookeater, led by 10 student bands.
He shall be released
CITY sits down with Stephen T. Lewis, whose biography of The Bandโs Richard Manuel is out in June.
The great Canadian songbook
Upcoming local concerts from Steven Page and the Lightfoot Band center the True Northโs songwriting prowess.






