Cover Story
Whirling hurling
When Jessica Frey stumbled upon this game four years ago, she was captivated. Yes, its name sounded like slang for “vomiting,” but it seemed so all-encompassing, so many athletic elements thrown into one rich sports stew.
Yonder Mountain String Band, Maceo Parker among Lilac Festival headliners
The 2019 Rochester Lilac Festival’s lineup, announced today, is a familiar mix of jam-friendly artists, legendary names, and popular tribute bands. There aren’t very many surprises, but there are plenty of acts that’ll satisfy the Lilac Festival faithful.
Message to Commissioner Elia about RCSD’s future: “Engage us in your decision.”
ROC the Future, an organization representing numerous city leaders, institutions, and non-profit agencies, held a press conference this morning to say they agree with State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia : the Rochester City School District is in a state of crisis and the status quo isn’t acceptable. And they want Elia and the board of…
The F Word: Rochester Music Hall of Fame
Every year, with the announcement of the latest inductees into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame comes a groan of disappointment from some local musicians and their fans. We’re not simply talking sour grapes or envy here.
Classical review: RPO performs ‘Mahler 7’
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra last performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 in 1982. RPO Music Director Ward Stare is bringing Mahler’s Seventh Symphony back this week and Stare and the orchestra are doing a bang-up job with this huge, difficult work.
Dem leaders designate Harris for Council seat
Monroe Democrats’ executive committee has picked County Legislator LaShay Harris as its new designated candidate for the City Council South District seat. Current South District Council member Adam McFadden had received the party’s designation, but ended his campaign on Monday.
The F Word: Rockin’ with the remnants
Classic bands like Journey, Cheap Trick, The Stones, and The Who are missing original members due to death, retirement or irreconcilable differences, but I can still rock with the remnants.
ROCK | Ocular Panther
With the sinister, all-knowing stealth the name alludes to, Rochester rockers Ocular Panther summon the ghost of Jeff Beck, and he ain’t even dead yet. On the scene for a few years now, Ocular Panther mixes up psychedelic-leaning rock with a hint at heavy stuff from the early 70’s. But it doesn’t hit you over…
ROCK | Flogging Molly
You can’t shut Flogging Molly down. The Celtic punk act has been a touring mainstay since emerging from Molly Malone’s Pub in Los Angeles more than 20 years ago. Now selling out arenas instead of bars, Flogging Molly consistently pours its heart out onstage. The septet includes the authentic voice of Dublin-born frontman Dave King,…
MODERN CLASSICAL | Musica Nova with George Lewis
On Monday, Musica Nova welcomes George Lewis as guest composer for a program centered on his eclectic and cathartic works. The Eastman School of Music’s contemporary classical chamber ensemble, conducted in this program by Edo Frenkel, is well-suited to Lewis’s ecstatically noisy aesthetic. Don’t be fooled, though: There’s plenty of control to the chaos, with…
FOLK ROCK | Big Blue House
Big Blue House paints countrified Americana with a smooth jazzy brush. But the trio’s hard to pin down when looking to what drives them. Is it Brian Burley’s no-nonsense voice and strident guitar? Is it Bob DeRosa’s thump-and-swing on the bass? Or is it Harvey Possemato’ beautiful electric guitar as it fills in the cracks…
ACOUSTIC POP | Matt Nathanson
Known for soft-pop radio hits such as “Faster” and “Come on Get Higher,” singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson has been charming audiences around the country for more than two decades. He normally tours with a backup vocalist and rhythm section, but is instead currently on a solo acoustic tour behind the release of his latest studio album,…
Urban Action 2/27
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Rwandan hero coming to MCC Paul Rusesabagina, who is credited with saving hundreds of people during the Rwandan genocide, will be the keynote speaker at the Voices of Vigilance program at Monroe Community…
Businesses tap into Fairport’s food heritage
The Village of Fairport has a history of food manufacturing, and the brewery is one of several small businesses that are re-envisioning and rekindling that past.
INDIE POP | The Accidentals
The Accidentals is a female fronted trio, formed in 2011 after bassist Savannah Buist befriended guitarist Katie Larson at their Michigan high school. With backing by drummer Michael Dause, the band mixes pop with folk, blues, rock, and country. The Accidentals have songs ranging from languid ballads to more buoyant sway-a-longs. The band uses traditional…
Feedback 2/27
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. Police union’s…
THEATER | ‘Festival of Ten XI’
Micro-fiction is a niche form of literature that packs a punch with its brevity, and presents a unique challenge to writers. Perhaps even more challenging is presenting a complete play in 10 minutes. This week The College at Brockport presents its 11th biennial “Festival of Ten,” a popular event it first produced 22 years ago.…
ART | ‘Lessons of the Hour’
Capping a year of Rochester’s Frederick Douglass biennial celebrations, the Memorial Art Gallery continues its Media Arts Watch series with a new exhibit, “Lessons of the Hour—Frederick Douglass.” The work is a 10-screen film installation by media artist Isaac Julien that was commissioned by the gallery. MAG director Jonathan Binstock says the media artwork is…
ART | ‘Just Folks’
Over the course of his 10 years curating shows at 1975 Gallery and through his work as lead curator for WALL\THERAPY, Erich Lehman has worked with scores of artists on the local, national, and international levels. This week a special group exhibition opens featuring a selection of those artists: BONES (RIP), Sarah Blood, Carter Burwell,…
ART | ‘Twenty Years Later’
“Nancy Valle & Peter Veitch, Twenty Years Later,” features work by two Rochester artists whose first collaborative exhibit took place in 1999. That’s right: 1999 was 20 years ago. This week you can view their recent work at Valle’s studio in the Anderson Alley building, and reflect with the two artists about the changes and…
Rochester Music Hall of Fame announces 2019 inductees
The Rochester Music Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2019 inductees.
Blackface, photographs, and America’s racism
Calling for people to resign lets us treat racism as an individual problem, not a systemic one. And racism’s a systemic problem.
Album review: ‘Enamiĝo Reciprokataj’
Brittany Anjou ‘Enamiĝo Reciprokataj’ Origin Records brittanyanjou.com If the title of pianist Brittany Anjou’s excellent new CD seems unfamiliar, it’s because “Enamiĝo Reciprokataj” means "Reciprocal Love" in Esperanto – the would-be international language invented in 1887. That didn’t quite work out, but Anjou, who views Esperanto as a “psychic dream,” learned the language anyway, finding…
Unique Indian cuisine at Park Point
Yes, there are many Indian restaurants in Henrietta. But Royal of India stands out with unique fare such as chicken or vegetable momo, Nepali-spiced chicken, vegetable chow mein, and thukpa.
Theater review: ‘The Humans’
The issues raised in “The Humans” are reminiscent of conversations every family has at some point — financial, age, health, careers — and director Mark Cuddy guides the ensemble’s chemistry in such an authentic way that it’s easy to forget there isn’t a real family onstage.
Film preview: ‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’
A genuinely inspiring story of a young boy’s ingenuity and how putting knowledge in the hands of those who need it the most can make all the difference in the world.
Album review: ‘Fuzzrod’
Fuzzrod ‘Fuzzrod’ Records Of Choice and Dadstache Records fuzzrod.bandcamp.com Rochester’s noisiest garage rock quartet Fuzzrod is causing a ruckus with its self-titled, full-length debut, released on February 22. Coming just shy of two years after the band’s EP "Fake News," “Fuzzrod” dishes out high-powered party music rampant with anti-authoritarian anthems. Songs like “Baby” and Fuck…
Ward Stare leads RPO in Mahler, Shostakovich symphonies
Ward Stare returns to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra next week with two ambitious programs: On February 28 and March 2, he’ll essay Mahler’s enormous Symphony No. 7, and on March 7 and 9, he’ll highlight another 20th-century masterpiece, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10.
Film review: ‘Isn’t It Romantic?’
This charming comedy pokes a bit of gentle fun at rom-coms while also functioning as an entirely earnest example of the genre it’s sending up. Which makes it perfect for viewers who have a love-hate relationship with those type of movies.
Review: ‘Landscapes and the Unbuilt’
Drawing on a long tradition of artists taking inspiration from the natural world, Rochester Contemporary’s new exhibit “Landscapes and the Unbuilt” presents meditations by several local artists on various properties conserved by the Genesee Land Trust.
