Cover Story
U of R becomes battleground in China, Hong Kong conflict
Student unrest over China policies simmers on campus
Rochester teachers rally against ‘Christmas massacre’ layoff plan
Teacher’s union leaders called for the board to delay its vote and to try to get extra funding from the state.
Soros-funded PAC spent nearly $1 million trying to defeat Monroe County DA Doorley
The spending dwarfs anything before it in the DA’s race.
Monroe County’s top cops shun ‘annoyance law’
Other Monroe County police chiefs share their colleague’s concerns.
218 RCSD teachers, administrators, and paras to get pink slips soon
The district overspent last year’s budget and is now trying to address the deficit.
RIJF names three headliners for 2020
Spyro Gira, Nile Rodgers & Chic, plus Garth Fagan Dance with the Monty Alexander Sextet will headline the 2020 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Puss N Boots, Wynonna & The Big Noise
Urban Action 12/4
This week’s call to action includes the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.) Climate disaster focus of talk Extinction Rebellion Rochester will present “Heading for Extinction (and what to do about it),” a public talk on the global climate crisis, at 5 p.m. on Sunday, December…
ACOUSTIC-ROOTS | Brooks Williams
If you’re a fan of engaging songwriting played through an acoustic-American roots lens, you don’t want to sleep on Golden Link Folk Singing Society’s concert series. This Friday’s concert, featuring veteran singer-guitarist Brooks Williams, is a case-in-point. Touring on the strength of his most recent album “Lucky Star” and the 27 other solo records he’s…
JAZZ | Paradigm Shift
If you are an aficionado of octave-spanning guitar solos reminiscent of the great Wes Montgomery, you won’t find a better practitioner than Rochester’s own Melvin Henderson. When Henderson gets together with Hammond B-3 organ wizard Gerry Youngman and precise drummer Sean Jefferson, the Grammy-nominated trio is known as Paradigm Shift. Collectively, the band’s three members…
Of film and honey
One might be tempted to dismiss “Honey Boy” as navel-gazing, but there’s a vulnerability to what LaBeouf is doing.
Album review: ‘Ram-A Lam-A’
Televisionaries ‘Ram-A Lam-A’ Hi-Tide Records televisionaries.bandcamp.com Don’t call it a throwback. Televisionaries’ new seven-inch record, featuring the three Lake brothers, is a flat-out gas and is as much ado about now as it is about then. It’s a future classic. It’s four rockin’ ditties from yestermorrow. It’s splendiferous. “Ram-A Lam-A” takes a page from the…
THEATER | ‘Rouslana & Jelena’
The press release had me at “The tale of tsar-crossed lovers.” This week local theater collective DVC (Dream/Visualize/Create) will present “Rouslana & Jelena: A Modern-Day Russian Revolution,” which uproots William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” from 14th century Verona and plants the story in contemporary Moscow. And the title characters are women, so their love isn’t…
Album review: ‘Lugaroo’
Yarms ‘Lugaroo’ Self-released yarms.bandcamp.com Good lyrics seem to work best in clusters of cohesive thoughts or themes. They add up to create impact. Rarely does it come down to just a line or two, until now. Ryan Yarmel — or Yarms as the kids call him — has released a new EP of self-aware acoustic…
THEATER | ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Radio Play
For some reason, holiday stories have this tendency to be simultaneously bleak and sentimental, entertaining dark themes before the central character conquers cynicism and turns it all around — usually with the help of some supernatural element. The ones that immediately come to mind are “A Christmas Carol” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The latter…
SPECIAL EVENT | Metro Justice Alternative Fair
In recent years the designated days of holiday shopping commercial madness have expanded from Black Friday to include Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday (which is more of an adjacent fundraising push that got grouped into the cluster because many businesses and organizations incentivize donors with perks). It can be overwhelming to say…
LITERARY | Sulfur Books Grand Opening
A lot has changed in my blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hometown of Clifton Springs since I moved to Rochester. In 2013, the tiny Victorian village gained Main Street Arts, an art gallery that would have thrilled adolescent me. Aside from presenting fantastic exhibits of work by regional and national artists, the spot hosts film screenings and other cultural…
FAMILY | Star Wars Episode IX Celebration
The deeply anticipated Episode IX of the Star Wars franchise, “The Rise of Skywalker,” comes out later this month, but many fans have been tiding themselves over with “The Mandalorian” on Disney+ (which has since spawned a zillion “Baby Yoda” memes). This weekend Rochester Museum & Science Center is getting in on the excitement with…
ART | David Cowles Exhibition
Rochester-native and artist David Cowles is known for his distinctive style of creating caricatures by breaking down countless famous faces into meticulously arranged, colorful shapes. His work looks simple but is so well done that his subjects are unmistakable. Cowles began working at the Democrat and Chronicle in the early ’80s before becoming a full-time…
SPECIAL EVENT | Roc Holiday Village
The weekend the second annual Roc Holiday Village kicks off, and continues each weekend through the new year. A City of Rochester initiative, the winter celebration converts Martin Luther King Jr. Park into a festive outdoor shopping village with appearances from Santa, free ice skating and other activities, live music, crafts, pop-up restaurants, a petting…
Rage humor
I’ve learned from past experience that, if you want to talk to comedian Lewis Black when he is calm, and displaying socially acceptable behavior, it must be in the morning.
JAZZ | Christoph Irniger’s Pilgrim
Over the years Rochester International Jazz Festival attendees have had the opportunity to hear numerous musicians from Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. When the Bop Shop presents Christoph Irniger’s Pilgrim, local jazz fans can add the best of Swiss jazz to the list. A Zurich-based tenor saxophonist, Irniger studied with Dave Liebman and Mark Turner,…
A cozy Kodak spot
Black Bear Pub is a “bro bar.” But in this case, that’s a good thing!
BRASS BAND | White Hot Brass Band
The White Hot Brass Band is New Orleans-style jazz, done funky. Now it isn’t that this Western New York band is big (there are only six pieces), but The Spirit Room’s stage fills up fast. It’s gonna feel like that famous “crowded cabin” scene from The Marx Brothers’ “A Night at the Opera.” There’ll be…
ROCK | Tom Waits Tribute Shows
Tom Waits is a man who has penetrated every rag-tag genre of music, even going so far as to create a few new genres along the way. He’s turning 70 on December 7, and a lineup of Rochester musicians has assembled to play the Waits songs that are influential to them. Presented to you by…
HOLIDAY-BLUEGRASS | Ross Holmes and Carl Miner
This special holiday-themed show next Wednesday at Three Heads Brewing features two of the best behind-the-scenes musicians in the business. Fiddle player Ross Holmes is a member of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and has performed with such notables as Bruce Hornsby, Warren Haynes, and Mumford & Sons. Guitarist Carl Miner is a two-time nominee for…
Tommy Stinson is irreplaceable
Tommy Stinson has fronted the frenetic, pop-tweaked alternative rock bands Bash & Pop and Perfect, he’s played in Soul Asylum, and he’s been on Axl Rose’s speed dial as bass player for Guns N’ Roses. Most importantly, Stinson’s a founding member of The Replacements.
Organizations join together in pursuit of a multimodal community
Reconnect Rochester and the Rochester Cycling Alliance plan to merge.
Wegnesia. Wegmentia. Whatever it’s called, it’s a Rochester thing.
With so many Wegmans stores around, it’s easy to forget which one you’re at.
Dozens of speakers blast harassment law
County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo still plans to sign a law making it illegal to intentionally annoy police officers.
The F Word: Must be nice
Frank catches shows by The Majestics, Alex Patrick & His Noise Boys, and Joe Beard – and is met with angry but inaudible criticism at the Bug Jar.
28 percent of millennials avoid hugging people with HIV
HIV stigma, misinformation prevalent among young Americans
Students plan climate strike
Rochester-area students intend to join their peers across the world by demonstrating on December 6.
