Playing in a band, it’s tough work, as Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters made clear in their performance at Geva Theatre Center’s Fielding Stage. Between songs, Platt chatted about how The Honeycutters had once played a department store — if you remember those — and introduced their song, “The Low Road,” with the sarcastic […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 6: Jeff reviews Vilray, Tamar Korn & A Kornucopia, and Thomas Backman
Old-school cynicism What do you make of a romantic ballad that declares, “There’s no true love, there’s only routine?” Yeah, nailed it. Wednesday at the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Tin Pan Alley was just one block from Jazz, with Vilray as your shuttle-bus driver. Just Vilray alone onstage at Geva Theatre Center’s Fielding Stage with […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 6: Frank reviews Funknut, Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, and Kandace Springs
Some ups, some downs, some smiles, some frowns, some heart palpitations. So here goes: Funk-tastic Rochester’s Funknut is funky beyond belief, and at its early set at the Fusion Stage, the band wielded its instruments in a brazen display of a groovy threat. These cats were funkier than a porta-potty at a chili cook-off as […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 6: Ron reviews Harold Danko, Ian Shaw, Lionel Loueke & Raul Midón
A rich jazz legacy On Wednesday night at Hatch Recital Hall, Harold Danko played one of the finest concerts I’ve heard at the festival this year. It feels funny to call his opening tune, “To Start Again,” a “tune.” It was so packed with musical ideas, it was more like a jazz sonata. He played […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 5: Frank reviews ‘Nat King Cole at 100’ with Paul Marinaro and Marc Cohn & the Blind Boys of Alabama
Songs fit for a King Everything on Day 5 of the jazz festival was wonderfully copacetic, but I got to wondering: Do these tribute shows or centennial shows like SNJO’s salute to Art Blakey or “Nat King Cole at 100,” performed by Paul Marinaro, go out on tour already put together or…? Wouldn’t it be […]
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WORLD FOLK | O’s Pipa and Friends
Rochester has a veritable treasure in the music of Leah Ou, who performs under the moniker O’s Pipa. As the name suggests, Ou plays the pipa, a Chinese folk instrument with similarities to the lute. Ou is a truly dynamic player, delivering beautiful tremolo melodies with classical precision. She also pulls off the daunting task […]
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PSYCHEDELIC FUNK-FOLK | Swamp Kids
Swamp Kids features a complex kaleidoscope of jazz-rock, psychedelic funk, and folk. Consisting of Big Mean Sound Machine’s Emmett Scott on keys and Angelo Peters on bass, as well as The English Project’s Chris English on drums and singer-songwriter Tenzin Chopak on guitar, Swamp Kids released its debut EP “Skeletons” shortly after its formation in […]
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SINGER-SONGWRITER | Ryan Sutherland
Rochester musician Ryan Sutherland’s gentleness should not be confused for weakness. His loping guitar style — an acoustic approach with an eclectic electric jolt — fits neatly beneath his beautiful, somewhat melancholic emoting. All by himself, the man digs deep into all manner of subterranean joy, influenced by artists from Tom Waits to Richie Blackmore, […]
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ROCK ‘N’ ROLL | Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones
It’s all guts, all glory when it comes to 21-year-old frontwoman Hannah Wicklund and her power trio The Steppin Stones. Formed in 2006 when the talented singer-songwriter was just eight years old, Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones have played thousands of shows across the United States and Europe, and are now celebrating the 2018 […]
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AMERICANA| A Girl Named Genny
Delivering a raw mixture of country, folk, rock, and Americana, local sextet A Girl Named Genny recently released its debut full-length studio album, “Coming Home,” in 2018. You can join your partner in a step-dance, or shout and stumble along to A Girl Named Genny’s anthemic choruses, steadfast rock beats, and jovial string arrangements. Shifting […]
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NERDCORE | MC Chris
Known for his animation and voiceover work with Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, MC Chris also has a knack for hip-hop, electrifying fans across the country with his explicit geek-meets-gangster rap. His latest album is 2018’s “MC Chris Is Good Music.” Observing grown-up topics through a youthful lens, MC Chris uses a child-like shtick in […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 5: Jeff reviews VickiKristinaBarcelona and Ozmosys
Interpreting the music of a beautiful beast The music-noir trio VickiKristinaBarcelona tames the beast with beauty. The beast in question is the gruff, hardscrabble world of Tom Waits. The trio charmed the Rochester International Jazz Festival last year, returned to Rochester for a show in January at The Little Theatre, and was back at it […]
