Bat McGrath died Tuesday night, in much the same way as he wrote and sang. With no drama, no fuss, quietly, at his mountainside home in Tennessee with his wife Tricia Cast, all on his terms. A member of the Rochester Music Hall of Fame, the 73-year-old McGrath was diagnosed with cancer on Dec. 12. […]
Music
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ALTERNATIVE ROCK | Big Wreck
Coming off like the gentler side of Soundgarden, Big Wreck punches out its unrelenting, big rock sound with an amazing sense of melody. It’s a multi-layered attack that grabs ahold of you and doesn’t let go until you get it. It’s as if two songs are going on at once. Based in Boston, Big Wreck […]
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HIP-HOP AND JAZZ | Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs
Known for the viral dance hit, “Hit the Sean Payton,” songwriter-trumpeter Shamarr Allen is a musical prodigy with down-to-earth charisma and unabashed love for his hometown of New Orleans. Backed by his band, The Underdawgs, Allen stays true to his roots by blending Cajun rhythms with hip-hop beats and jazz-tinged trumpet flourishes. Featuring a catchy […]
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CLASSICAL | RPO plays ‘Dvorák 8’
After a galvanic opening concert devoted to contemporary American music, this week’s Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra program — with works by Haydn, Mozart, and Dvoák— may seem staid and conventional. But there’s some welcome novelty here: the orchestra will be performing Haydn’s beautiful Symphony No. 34 for the first time, and Dvoák’s very tuneful, very popular […]
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BLUES ROCK | The Dirty Pennies
The only thing that threatens to distract you from enjoying The Dirty Pennies’ musicianship is their extremely strong songwriting. The band started out in 2012 as a duo full of rough-and-ragged, next-generation blues. Despite its nascent qualities, The Dirty Pennies managed to dig deep into the big, bad blues and its low-down, traditional bloodletting. Far […]
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INSTRUMENTAL FOLK | William Tyler
William Tyler is known as a former member of Lambchop and Silver Jews, but he also performs solo instrumental music that evokes inward and outward reflection. Released in January, Tyler’s latest album “Goes West” demonstrates a cerebral shift in his playing, from electric to acoustic guitar — though electric instrumentation still enriches the music. Tyler […]
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Interview: Lucian Ban & Alex Harding
Pianist Lucian Ban is from the Transylvania region of Romania; baritone saxophonist Alex Harding grew up in Detroit. Their diverse influences converge beautifully on their new album, “Dark Blue,” and they’ll be bringing some of that music and more to Bop Shop Records on October 8.
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Album review: ‘One//Four’
Jackson Cavalier ‘One//Four’ Self-released jacksoncavalier.bandcamp.com It’s not that Jackson Cavalier has signed over to more countrified constraints. But I gotta say: Just dig the tonk and twang of Cavalier’s reedy voice as he puts it through the paces on his new, three-song EP “One//Four.” The first of an eventual quartet of EP’s, “One//Four” is a […]
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Classical review: SCMR with Michael Wayne
For its opening concert of the season on September 29, the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester turned a snafu into a rousing success.
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Album review: ‘The Cool Club and The Lipker Sisters’
The Cool Club & The Lipker Sisters ‘The Cool Club & The Lipker Sisters’ Self-released coolclubandlipkersisters.com Deep into the new, self-titled album by The Cool Club & The Lipker Sisters, listeners may feel like they’ve time-traveled to the 1940’s. While the three sisters, Marilla, Grace, and Elizabeth, are wailing away on “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” […]
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EXPERIMENTAL ROCK | Yamantaka//Sonic Titan
Sometimes disturbing and at other times astonishing, Yamantaka//Sonic Titan is a wildly experimental theatre company/psych-rock cult based in Toronto. Complete with anime-infused black, white, and red costumes and face paint, the collective pushes genre boundaries. The music ranges from progressive metal to psychedelic pop, with thunderous drum crashes, lightning-fast guitar lines, and a wash of […]
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ROCK ‘N’ ROLL | The False Positives
You can’t put your arms around a memory, but you’ll come awfully damn close when you spin The False Positives’ new single ” Eyes Wide Open.” With its fat slash-and-twang guitar and healthy, stealthy backbeat, the song is utterly righteous. It’ll remind you of The Heartbreakers – Johnny Thunder’s, not Tom Petty’s – especially when […]
