Cover Story
On the road with tour manager Ron Mesh
The circus-on-wheels that is a rock show is coming to Anytown, USA, in all its reckless calamity. So get down. Look out. But before the first salacious slash across the guitar strings delights shrieking fans, there is a mile-high pile of logistics to contend with in order for this circus to function. It’s the job…
Can City Hall help fix the school district?
What is City Hall’s role in the education of Rochester’s students? That was the question Warren put to community leaders who packed the City Hall atrium yesterday. Warren has held three forums in response to Distinguished Educator Jaime Aquino’s report on the district’s long-standing problems. Warren said she’s been approached by numerous businesses and community…
UR names Sarah Mangelsdorf as president
The University of Rochester announced this morning that it has chosen Sarah Mangelsdorf, currently the provost at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as its new president. She’ll take office in the summer of 2019, becoming the UR’s first woman president. Mangelsdorf will succeed interim President Richard Feldman, who took over earlier this year after a major…
Frederick Douglass statue damaged; police arrest two
Rochester police have charged two men with criminal mischief for allegedly damaging a statue of Frederick Douglass early Sunday morning. The 6-foot, 7-inch statue, which was at the corner of Alexander and Tracy Streets, is one of 13 statues of Douglass that have been placed around the city during the celebration of the 200th anniversary…
Rochester civil rights leader Connie Mitchell dies
An iconic figure in Rochester’s political and civil rights movement has died. Constance Mitchell was 90 years old. “Connie” as she was best known, was the first woman and the first African-American woman elected in Monroe County.
Rochester parents: we’d be more engaged, if we could
At a forum on the problems of the Rochester school district last night, parents discussed a wide range of issues, from the need to understand parents’ own challenges to the importance of the city-operated recreation centers. The event was the first of three forums that Mayor Lovely Warren is holding in the wake of Distinguished…
The F Word: Censor-esque
There are phrases that embody racism, sexism, abuse, and hate. And there’s no getting around it. We consider some words so insidious that we only refer to them with the letter they begin with.
The city school district must change, state commissioner says
About 200 educators, parents, community leaders, and Rochester school district administrators turned out this morning for a public forum held by State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, Regent Wade Norwood, and Distinguished Educator Jaime Aquino to discuss Aquino’s report about the district’s problems. The report, which was released last month, gives a frank and disturbing description…
A letter to our readers
Today CITY and WXXI Public Broadcasting are announcing a major development in local journalism: WXXI’s board of directors has signed a letter of intent to acquire CITY Newspaper and its digital platforms. After the acquisition, WXXI will remain a not-for-profit public media organization while CITY will continue to be a newspaper and digital publication owned…
ROOTS ROCK |The Tragedy Brothers
You’ll dig the way The Tragedy Brothers loom large and tango ’til they’re sore. Celebrating the release of its new CD “City Limits,” the quintessential Rochester roots quintet takes the melody, removes the percussive strike, and lets the sustain be your guide. You won’t know where it’s coming from. It’s like dancing blindfolded; you can’t…
JAZZ | Pete McCann Quartet
When you reach the intersection of jazz and rock, look for Pete McCann standing there, expertly shredding away on his guitar. You might say he’s the heir apparent to guitarists like John McLaughlin, who has endorsed McCann’s membership in the Mahavishnu Project. In his two-and-a-half decades on the New York scene, McCann has played with…
Rochester aid groups deal with Nicaragua unrest
[UPDATED 12/19/2018] Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in the West, a status due to factors that include natural disasters and decades of political strife, at times fueled by US intervention. Several organizations based in or deeply connected to the Rochester region help the people of Nicaragua by providing funding, services, and volunteers for…
WORKSHOP | Intro to Collaboration with Ray Ray Mitrano
Learning to collaborate means learning to integrate the decisions of others, embrace interruptions, and react while staying on topic. You can learn these crucial skills using games and drawing this weekend at Intro to Collaboration with Ray Ray Mitrano. Whether you collaborate in art, business, or socially, this workshop is designed to help you expand…
THEATER | ‘A Christmas Carol’
‘Tis the season for a redemptive tale about an unfettered capitalist who, scared witless by ghosts, becomes a kind-hearted benefactor (though not frightened enough to become a socialist). Charles Dickens’s classic, moralizing novella, “A Christmas Carol” has given us unforgettable characters in Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, and The Ghosts of Christmas (Past, Present, and Future),…
ART | Annual Members Exhibition
The Mill Art Center & Gallery’s Annual Members Exhibition is currently on view at the historic 1827 Lower Mill space, featuring paintings, photographs, and drawings of a variety of subjects, including landscapes, florals, and wildlife. Get inspired by artists’ renditions of nature, then stretch your legs while you explore the waterfalls and parks along Honeoye…
SPECIAL EVENT | Girls Rock! Rochester Cookbook Launch
Local nonprofit Girls Rock! Rochester uses the creation and performance of music to give girls, queer youth, and trans youth confidence, leadership skills, and creativity. GR!R is launching their first ever cookbook, “The Rock Camp Kitchen: Vegan Recipes from Girls Rock! Rochester and Friends.” Each cookbook is available for a suggested donation of $25, and…
SPECIAL EVENT | ‘Happiest Hour’
Don your ugliest sweater and release your inner “kidult” at The Strong Museum’s holiday “Happiest Hour” this week. The adults-only event turns the museum’s interactive exhibits and classic video games over to grown-ups, and includes winter-themed crafts and activities including a penguin relay race, a supermarket sweep competition, and dancing. A cash bar features local…
Feedback 12/12
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. Comments of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. Blacks, whites,…
Fresh Cut: ‘Safe in the Shade’ by Dallas Greene
Dallas Greene continues expanding her musical boundaries with the release of her latest single “Safe in the Shade,” a dark alternative pop song that grapples with loving someone from a shadowed distance.
Douglass descendants moving legacy project to Rochester
The Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, a nonprofit committed to carrying out the legacy of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, will leave its base in Atlanta and move to Rochester.
CLASSICAL | RPO’s ‘Carmina Burana’
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rochester Oratorio Society, rather daringly, are going secular this holiday season with Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” No stars or mangers here: this “scenic cantata” is based on medieval poetry celebrating the joys of drinking ale, eating roasted swans, and generally carrying on, under the watchful eye of the goddess…
PUNK | ‘Kaiser’s Murray Christmas’
Kaiser Solzie is a local punk musician who’s journeyed from homelessness to helping other punk musicians behind the scenes on various Warped Tours. Solzie now works directly with Person Centered Housing Options to help people in the Rochester community find suitable housing, and he’s hosting a punk rock benefit show to raise funds for the…
FOLK | Zack Rabbet Futt
Zack Rabbet Futt has been playing high-energy Americana since 2013 and continues to draw audiences around the region with his upbeat, backwoods foot-stompers. Rabbet Futt has a scratchy, somewhat yodeling voice, with a carefree charm that reflects loving sentiments outward to listeners. Picking along on his acoustic banjo with a pulsing rhythm, Rabbet Futt plays…
COUNTRY | Ashley McBryde
If you’re looking for hearty, country rock music, look no further than Ashley McBryde. Based out of Nashville, McBryde wears her heart on her sleeve with raw and honest songs about love and being human. She can transition from an innocent southern belle to a growly bad girl in the blink of an eye, playing…
Album review: ‘Soul Passenger’
Soul Passenger ‘Soul Passenger’ Self-released soulpassenger.com Soul Passenger’s eponymous debut disc is so clean it squeaks. It’s a really straight-forward groove, with augmented jazz in spots to keep the listener guessing. Regardless, it’s a solid sender. More surprises come further down the track listing with the band’s stab at reggae on “Are You Satisfied.” And…
What is the mayor’s role in Rochester’s public schools?
The school district is in deep trouble. Is there a better way to operate the school system in this high-poverty city?
Chortke brings Persian flavors to Village Gate
Come for the shish kabobs, stay for the saffron pistachio ice cream.
Film preview: ‘The Favourite’
As an examination of the corruptive nature of power (or simply one’s close proximity to it), the film doesn’t exactly say anything new. But it’s fascinating and massively entertaining to watch these fiercely intelligent women, embodied by three wonderful actresses, play off one another.
RIT’s new City Art Space opens downtown
We’re digging this great use of a former retail spot, and the trend of more art spaces in center city. The inaugural show features work by Willie Osterman and Leonard Urso.
Album review: ‘Oblivious’
Pawner ‘Oblivious’ Self-released pawnerband.bandcamp.com Singer-songwriter Aidan Snyder’s band Pawner has been making its way through the local pop-punk scene since 2014. After surviving a number of lineup changes, Pawner is celebrating the release of its full-length debut album, "Oblivious." Many of the songs on "Oblivious" have poetic lyrics about love, but songs such as "Perfectly…
Interview: Alex Northrup and the Backup
In advance of Alex Northrup and the Backup’s two upcoming concerts at The Spirit Room and Small World Books, Alex Northrup recently spoke about Jon Lewis Band’s impact on The Backup and the surprising source of Northrup’s songwriting inspiration.
Film preview: ‘Maria by Callas’
Shining a spotlight on the late Maria Callas, the new documentary “Maria by Callas” tells the renowned opera star’s story almost entirely through her own words, curating archival newsreel footage, interviews, unpublished personal letters to friends, diaries, and memoirs into an intimate account of the diva’s life and career.
