Cover Story
Bail trap: Poverty keeps thousands behind bars
Activists have been pushing for bail reform, and Governor Andrew Cuomo supports it. But so far, the state legislature hasn’t acted.
Call for artists: racist carousel panel to be replaced with a black panther
A call for artwork has been issued to replace the offensive caricature panel taken down from the Dentzel Carousel
The F Word: One Step Beyond
The F Word. An online column for Frank De Blase to pontificate, ruminate, placate, and salivate. We’ll have reviews and previews, we’ll discuss trends in local and national music scenes, and we’ll try to do it as reverently as possible. Yup. Let’s get started. This F word is gonna deal with lyrics, real and non-existent.…
Homeless encampment gets a reprieve
At least for now, Rochester police will not be removing people from a homeless encampment along South Avenue, according to advocates for the homeless. The encampment is at the edge of property owned by Spectrum, and police officials have informed Spectrum that it needs to seek a court order to essentially evict the residents, says…
Candidates file for Congressional races
Four Democrats could square off in a primary over the late Louise Slaughter’s House of Representatives seat. Yesterday was the deadline for House and Senate candidates to submit petitions to get on the ballot. Dr. Jim Maxwell, a neurosurgeon who lives in East Rochester, was the only Republican to file for the 25th Congressional District…
Day of Science set for Saturday
The original March for Science and its companion marches, including one in Rochester, rallied more than one million people to show their support for science and its role in government decision-making. The national march, now in its second year, is set for April 14, and Rochester will again hold parallel events. Rochester March for Science…
Album review: ‘Steve Gadd Band’
Steve Gadd Band “Steve Gadd Band” BFM Jazz drstevegadd.com Listening to the new, self-titled album by the Steve Gadd Band, one thought comes immediately to mind: back-up bands are far more than back-up bands. Gadd himself is exhibit A. Perhaps the best drummer working today in pop music, his main gigs are in the bands…
Album review: ‘Transition’
Kairos Sextet “Transition” Dafnison Music kairossextet.com Toward the end of the fifth cut on the Kairos Sextet’s “Transition” album, a horn phrase so infectious and so tightly executed lets you know: this group is the real thing. I discovered later how appropriate that musical peak moment was. The track, “Triangle and Circles,” was written by…
Geva stages world premiere of ‘One House Over’
Catherine Trieschmann’s new play explores themes of family, culture, and roots — it’s a sweet, hilarious story about immigration, love, and trusting strangers.
RIT hosting major photography event
Rochester didn’t invent photography, but it’s one of the key places that popularized it. “And I think it remains true today that we’re among the places on the planet that are leading the way to the future as well,” says Bruce Austin, director of Rochester Institute of Technology’s RIT Press. Later this month, RIT Press…
ART | ‘Mass MisEducation’
The newest installment in 21st Century Arts’ intersectionality-focused “At the Crossroads” series is “Mass MisEducation: A Long Table Conversation.” This weekend’s event will feature screenings — first a segment of Susan Gray and Bestor Cram’s “Birth of a Movement,” as well as various TED talks that caution against single-view narratives about race and intend to…
FILM | Fast Forward Film Festival
The annual Fast Forward Film Festival is dedicated specifically to celebrating local filmmakers making short films about a range of environmental concerns. This year’s screening program takes place on Friday, April 13, and the festival’s gala and awards ceremony will happen on Saturday, April 14. Nineteen films, including three made by youth and 16 films…
THEATER | ‘Family Affairs’
Black Sheep Theatre this weekend and next will take on two, unique one-act plays, each with interesting takes on what it means to be family and confronting the past together. In Downstate New York playwright Albi Gorn’s “Othertown,” two siblings — and former child TV stars — reunite to settle their mother’s estate after her…
JAZZ | Eastern Boundary Quartet
What happens when two of the greatest musicians in Hungary — saxophonist Mihaly Borbely and drummer Balazs Bagyi — get together with two of New York City’s finest — pianist Michael Jefry Stevens and bassist Joe Fonda? You can find out when the Eastern Boundary Quartet takes the stage at the Bop Shop where you’re…
DANCE | ‘Awaken and Arise’
More than six months after Hurricane Maria thrashed through Puerto Rico, more than 50,000 people — US citizens — are still without power. And help from the federal government has been slow to come. Borinquen Dance Theatre, in its 37th anniversary performance, “Awaken and Arise,” will pay tribute to those families preserving in Puerto Rico.…
FOLK | Charming Disaster
The murder ballad duo Charming Disaster tells stories of the macabre, exploring grim themes of gruesome mythology, occult folktales, and strange love stories. The Brooklyn-based band’s latest album, “Cautionary Tales,” is like a musical effigy to Edgar Allan Poe with a spooky cabaret feel. The mischievous, haunting sounds of the ukulele and guitar emphasize the…
FOLK | Martin Sexton
Martin Sexton is for real. Born in Syracuse, the soulful singer-songwriter got his start underground playing in the Subway and on the streets of Boston. Sexton is known for his sturdy songs, but it is his voice that rivets and touches the soul. Joan Osborne will make the night with selections from her new Bob Dylan…
HIP-HOP | Let’s Be Friends of Teen Empowerment
The monthly Let’s Be Friends parties have become somewhat of a legend in our city. The events, hosted by emcee MdotCoop with music by DJ Tim Tones and Fresh, showcase and promote young hip-hop artists. Next up, the series will host a fundraiser by teaming up with Teen Empowerment, a community-driven center focusing on difficult…
SPECIAL EVENT | Che Malambo
The all-male Argentinian dance company Che Malambo adapts a traditional South American dance for big stages, mixing with it tight choreography, rhythmic stomping, and powerful drumming. The Malambo began in the 17th century as a competitive dance between Argentinian gaucho, and it quickly evolved to include fast-paced footwork that resembled a horse’s gallop. Organized by…
GROOVE | Aqueous
I listen to Aqueous and it feels like I’m floating in the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese’s with a tank of nitrous oxide. Born in Buffalo in 2006, this quartet jams somewhere between jazz jump and hip-hop and have consequently landed upon their own candy mountain. There’s power in those escalating swirls and tempo…
PSYCH ROCK | Acid Mothers Temple
Acid Mothers Temple will take you to another dimension when you hear it. Led by guitarist, Kawabata Makoto, the Japanese psychedelic rock band has ecstacized audiences around the world — and through dozens of albums — since 1995. Its music is like (true to its name) taking a heavy acid trip, filled with experimental textures…
CLASSICAL | Anderson and Roe
What’s more electrifying than the sound of a virtuosic pianist setting the keys ablaze? Two virtuosic pianists. Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe will bring their dazzling approach to chamber music to Hochstein Performance Hall when they join conductor Michael Butterman and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Complete with intricate rhythmic interplay, innovative textures, and clever…
CLASSICAL | fivebyfive
The chamber ensemble fivebyfive has quickly become a go-to source for contemporary classical concert music in Rochester. Clarinetist Marcy D. Bacon, flutist Laura Lentz, pianist Haeyeun Jeun, bassist Eric J. Polenik, and guitarist Sungmin Shin do not shy away from the unfamiliar. This program will feature several compositions likely to have gone previously unheard by…
VIDEO: Borinquen Dance Theatre celebrates 37th anniversary
Borinquen Dance Theatre is celebrating its 37th anniversary with a community performance this Saturday, April 14. Get a behind the scenes look of its founder Nydia Padilla-Rodriguez, and how she uses Borinquen Dance Theatre as a platform to motivate a community of young people in this episode of “art/WORK.” The event will take place at…
Feedback 4/11
Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. We edit selections for publication in print. King and racism On Urban Journal’s “Martin Luther King Jr. and Our History of Racism”: There is no denying the persistence of racism, but I can’t agree with Ms.…
Urban Action 4/11
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Protesting against war Peace Action and Education, Workers World, and the House of Mercy will hold a protest and march on Friday, April 13, on the theme “End US Wars at Home and…
Family Court race spotlights diversity
If you talk to judges who have worked at the local level, many will tell you that Family Court can be the most challenging court to serve on because the cases often involve complex, emotional issues like divorce, child custody, child support, and domestic violence. And, some of them say, there are few courtrooms where…
Donald Trump and other threats to our democracy
“Democracy’s assassins,” says a troubling new book “use the very institutions of democracy – gradually, subtly, and even legally – to kill it.”
Film preview: ‘Isle of Dogs’
Wes Anderson returns to the world of stop-motion animation for the first time since 2009’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” with the imaginative dystopian fantasy “Isle of Dogs.” But while his follow-up demonstrates the same technical skill and storytelling inventiveness that made his first foray such a success, some of its aesthetic decisions end up undermining the…
Bonus features: Italian Film Series presents ‘In War With Love’
This month the Italian Film Series will complete its first full year of monthly screenings, bringing contemporary movies from Italy to eager audiences at the Little Theatre. The series will celebrate this major milestone on Wednesday, April 25, with the Rochester premiere screening of the wartime romantic-comedy “In War With Love,” from director Pierfrancesco Diliberto.…
Jake La Botz writes a living obituary
There is a pervading darkness to Jake La Botz’s music, a noirish narrative, haunting and hungry like a hellhound on his trail. His music is captivating; his words, prose. It’s the blues on a cloudy night. On his latest Hi-Style Records album, “Sunnyside,” there is romance that leads to murder, inflatable ducks, and a positively…
Homeless camp could be shut down
The remaining residents of a homeless encampment face an April 16 deadline, set by property owners, to move out.
Swan Dive brings kitschy-chic blend to East End
It’s eclectic in theme, a cross between a dive bar, a Mid-Century Modern living room, an old-school American diner, an Italian restaurant, and a circa-1950 postcard from Miami Beach
RPO and PUSH collab on innovative new program
“Breaking Boundaries with PUSH Physical Theatre” is all about subtle innovations that find both the musicians and stage performers presenting their craft in new contexts
