Cover Story
Part Three: Culture necessary for thriving downtown
Downtown has the ability to become a vibrant cultural district for Rochester, but it hasn’t yet hit its stride.
Week ahead: Events for the week of Monday, February 29
Peace Islands Institute, Nazareth College, and SUNY Geneseo will present two events examining Islamic extremism on Wednesday, March 2. The first, “Combatting Extremism Cancer,” is a talk given by Hakan Yesilova, chief editor of Fountain Magazine. Yesilova speak at SUNY Geneseo’s MacVittie College Union at 12:30 p.m. Later that day, Nazareth College’s Hickey Center for…
I Scene It: The Cactus Blossoms, Kaki King, Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People
It was high time to visit that saloon outpost in the heart of Rochester, Wednesday night, for Minneapolis-based gunslingers The Cactus Blossoms. The Bossa Nova Bradley Brothers were in stride when I got to Abilene Bar and Lounge, and I arrived to hear the closer, a nifty rendition of the Sergio Mendes classic “Mas, Que…
The 3rd Annual “Lubies”
Forget the Oscars; City Film Critic Adam Lubitow weighs in on the films and performances of 2015 that deserve recognition.
Council creates group to study subway
Rochester City Council announced Wednesday night during its meeting that it would create a working group to study the proposed Erie Harbor Promenade and surrounding public property. The promenade, along with plans for an apartment complex at Court Street and South Avenue, have caused public concern because it would seal off the east entrance to…
Community input wanted on military academy
An advisory committee to the Rochester school board is seeking input on a potential military academy in the district. Parents, residents, and community leaders interested in sharing their opinions and recommendations can go the Rochester City School District’s website to take a survey. Deadline to fill out the survey is Monday, March 7. The independent…
‘The Impostor’ finds a place
Béla Fleck is having an incredible start to 2016. The banjoist and composer, along with his wife and fellow banjoist, Abigail Washburn, is fresh from a Grammy win for “Best Folk Album,” and his second banjo concerto, subtitled “Juno,” is slated for its premiere on March 19 with the Canton Symphony Orchestra. It would be…
Rochester Music Hall of Fame announces 2016 inductees
The Rochester Music Hall of Fame Wednesday morning announced its inductees for 2016, and it seems to have got it right. The induction ceremony, scheduled for Sunday, April 24, is Rochester, baby! No six degrees of separation or artists that have nothing to do with the city. This year’s lineup is wonderfully diverse and the…
BOA Editions celebrates 40 years
BOA Editions’ story began much like that of other creative endeavors: When an intrepid individual identified a lack of opportunity, he went out and created it himself. One of the longest running independent presses in the nation, BOA was founded on July 4, 1976 by Al Poulin Jr., who was a Brockport professor at the…
JAZZ | Harold Danko with Rich Perry
Way back in 1980, pianist Harold Danko started a tradition: an annual (well, every four years) concert celebrating Leap Day. Beginning at the Jazz Gallery in New York, the concert moved to Birdland and the Five Spot in Manhattan before traveling to various venues in Rochester. For this year’s show, Danko will be joined by…
ART | Jason Yungbluth: The Art of Weapon Brown
Among cartoonist Jason Yungbluth’s various comic series is “Weapon Brown,” which is set in a post-apocalyptic world that follows the Last War. The story follows a set of survivors and their hardscrabble life, and centers around Chuck, who has been transformed from a refugee into a cold-hearted, murderous cyborg-for-hire by the Syndicate. But when Chuck…
CLASSICAL | In the Cherry Orchard: An Evening of Russian Music
For casual listeners, the works of Tchaikovsky are well known. Include Sergei Rachmaninoff, Mikhail Glinka, and Nikolai Medtner and you have a wider representation of Russian classical music. In the Cherry Orchard features selections from all four composers performed by pianist Ksenia Leletkina and cellist Svetlana Garitselov (pictured). Both are alumni of the Eastman…
ART | Carl Chiarenza Photography Show
Through March 18, the work of renowned photographer Carl Chiarenza will be highlighted in an exhibition at Rush Rhees Library (University of Rochester). “Carl Chiarenza: Photographs” features a sampling of his large-scale, abstract images, in singles and multiples. Chiarenza’s meditative, emotionally evocative dreamscapes are enlarged prints of tiny collages he sets up in his home…
Nils Lofgren isn’t just a sideman
If ever there was a constant figure in rock ‘n’ roll — sideman, bandleader, or otherwise — it’s Nils Lofgren. From time fronting his own band, Grin (which lasted 1971 to 1974), to his tenure in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, it’s as if Lofgren and his guitar have always been there. And for close…
SPECIAL EVENT | The Happiest Hour
The Strong National Museum of Play will kick out the kids and open its doors to the 21-and-over crowd on Wednesday evening. The museum will host its second “Happiest Hour” on February 24, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with a cash bar featuring beers from Roc Brewing, snacks catered by Marshall Street Bar and Grill,…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Northeastsouthwest”
Mike Jacoby “Northeastsouthwest” Self-released mikejacobymusic.com Ex-local boy Mike Jacoby does good with his second album, an 11-song extravaganza, “Northeastsouthwest.” As he explains it, Jacoby grew up in the Northeast and now resides in the Southwest. And as the metaphorical title alludes, the album comes at the listener from all sides and doesn’t let up. More…
THEATER | “Vanities”
Vanities, vanities, all is vanities … even in the lives of three women during their friendship as 1960’s high school cheerleaders and over the ensuing decade as participants in and protesters of the Vietnam War and the feminist movement. Jack Heifner’s “Vanities” was a staple of community theaters for many years after its long Off-Broadway…
RECREATION | Native American Winter Games
Ganondagan’s annual Native American Winter Games and Sports will take place on Saturday, February 27. The event features traditional winter activities such as snow snake, snowshoeing, dog-sled demos, storytelling, winter artisan demonstrations, and children’s activities. This year, organizers debut a new feature, snow boats, which entails racing wooden boats downhill through channels in the snow.…
Feedback 2/24
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. For our print edition, we select comments from all three sources; those of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in…
Urban Action 2/24
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Passing on cars ReconnectRochester.org will present a lecture by author Sam Schwartz on Wednesday, February 24. Schwartz’s “Street Smart: the Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars” gives the history of transportation…
Communities face drone questions
The Honeoye Falls Fire Department’s annual Christmas parade was in full swing when a camera-wielding drone descended on it. The parade is a popular community event, and in this past year’s, more than 15 area fire departments queued up in the village; that’s a whole lot of trucks covered in wreaths, lights, and holiday lawn…
Challenges continue for the RPO
Leaders of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra had both good financial news and bad when they unveiled their annual report last week. The good: The RPO’s young new music director, Ward Stare, seems to be generating enthusiasm among RPO patrons. Single-ticket sales were up 19 percent last year – to a record level. Total attendance for…
Shh … Scofflaw speakeasy opens on Monroe Avenue
In the 1920’s and 1930’s, the historic building at 3001 Monroe Avenue was rumored to have been a brothel and speakeasy, long before the days of People’s Pottery and Pittsford Wegmans. The building was built in 1820 and later served as the location for the Spring House restaurant for many years. When Katherine Mott and…
INSTRUMENTAL | Kaki King
Rolling Stone has dubbed Kaki King a “genre unto herself”; the Brooklyn-based composer and guitarist definitely feels like an iconoclast in her avant-garde approach. While performing her most recent album, “The Neck Is a Bridge to the Body,” King shows her affinity for the visual experience by conjuring a Bjork-esque creative force. Picture her guitar…
FOLK | David Ramirez
He once traveled 260,000 miles on tour, lost himself, then “found a little bit of grace,” says David Ramirez. His words wax with melancholy and bitter honesty, laced with a little bit of hope. You get the feeling that Ramirez is whiskey-browed and has been through enough. There’s a Jason Isbell quality to his vocals,…
WORLD | Creole Carnival
Sprung from the multi-cultural idea behind globalFEST, Creole Carnival sports a wide cross section of world talent. The tour will feature the queen of Haitian song, Emeline Michel, samba musicians Casuarina, and the man who grabbed my attention right away, Jamaican guitar hero, Brushy One-String. This cat is amazing as he evokes a sweet groove…
JAZZ | Ethnic Heritage Ensemble
When percussionist Kahil El’Zabar returned home to Chicago from a stint the University of Ghana in 1972 he had a new goal: fusing aspects of traditional African music with the music of Black America. The result was the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. El’Zabar has recorded and toured with Stevie Wonder and worked on the Broadway show,…
Trump, Cruz, and Rubio and the angry Americans
Here we are, with people who want to be president acting in ways none of us would permit in our children.
Theater review: “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Geva has created an honest, compelling tribute to Harper Lee’s classic story.
The City Seen: February 21
City last weekend got to experience award season as Roc Awards 2016 recognized some of Rochester’s talent. Starting with the red carpet entrance, event goers arrived in style, with custom made gowns by designers Nathaniel Johnson, Arlene Sutherland, and Tonya Casino. Photographers, like Jay Ceaz and Chris Johnson, were able to capture the action and…
