Cover Story
Our anti-inaugural
It is an urgent time to work for progressive goals
Reshaping Rochester starts lecture series with arts focus
The kick-off lecture to the 12th annual Reshaping Rochester series will introduce Rochester audiences to impactful arts programs that are transforming the city of Philadelphia. Gina Renzi, executive director of The Rotunda and the 40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program in Philadelphia, will give a talk on Wednesday, January 25, titled “Embedding the Arts: Bringing the Arts…
![[UPDATED] Photo gallery: Solidarity Rally draws 2,000 downtown](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/kmf_8874-4-e1755025679517.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Photo gallery: Solidarity Rally draws 2,000 downtown
Around 2,000 people gathered in downtown Rochester’s Washington Square Park on Saturday for the People’s Solidarity Rally. Locals rallied against President Donald Trump, who was sworn into office on Friday, and called for peace and inclusion. A string of speakers — including Mayor Lovely Warren, Assembly Member Harry Bronson, Rochester NOW President Jaclyn Richard, and…
![[UPDATED] LGBTQ rights, climate change? Gone from White House website](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fotolia_124957885_subscription_monthly_m-e1755025674923.webp?resize=613%2C411&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] LGBTQ rights, climate change? Gone from White House website
[UPDATED]The Trump administration has immediately begun omitting discussion of work that’s been done on the pressing fronts of LGBTQ rights, climate change, health care, and other matters that were heavily contested during the election. Just hours after the inauguration, news sources began reporting that there is no mention of these issues at the new whitehouse.gov…
A ton of other things you can be doing during Trump’s inauguration
Yes, Donald Trump will be our president. And after 11:30 a.m. Friday, we’ll have to come to terms with that. But now you’re pressed with two choices: stay informed and endure whatever tantrum-slur of words he’ll be giving, or ignore it all together and just go out and enjoy life. Don’t worry; either way, we’re…
Cuomo keeps tight grip on his budget proposal
Governor Andrew Cuomo released his $152.3 million budget proposal for 2017-18 last night, but not with any sort of public presentation. He briefed legislators on the budget during the day and reporters later that night. The way that Cuomo’s handling this budget breaks hard from tradition. Usually, he explains the budget to legislators and the…
An open letter to President Obama
First, a confession. You weren’t my first choice in 2007. I was for Hillary Clinton and I was annoyed with Senator Ted Kennedy when he threw his support and the Kennedy brand behind you.
Bike shop peddles opportunity
Bicycles are a socially conscious form of transportation. They aren’t as personally isolating as cars, they’re better for the environment, and they’re accessible to a broader range of people. Bicycles can also improve lives. That’s the idea behind Dream Bikes, a nonprofit shop that opened this month at 1060 University Avenue. The shop’s inventory of…
AMERICANA | The Devil Makes Three
For 15 years now this enigmatic band from Santa Cruz shows up to show out but doesn’t take the prestidigitation to the point of blurred fingers and hands. The Devil Makes Three comes close, though, as it serves its ample songs with ample treatment and ample harmony — ample, ample, ample. Rooted somewhat in tradition,…
Rally against Team Trump
Can’t get to Washington to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration? Do it here. Many local groups have joined together to organize the People’s Solidarity Rally on Saturday, January 21. (Trump’s inauguration is Friday, January 20.) The rally is from 11 a.m. to noon in Washington Square Park, 181 South Clinton Avenue, and it will be followed…
JAZZ | Fred Sturm Tribute
Composer, arranger and teacher Fred Sturm, was a force at the Eastman School of Music when he chaired the jazz department and directed several ensembles from 1991 to 2002. Sturm died of cancer in 2014 but his impact on the local music scene endures. Bill Tiberio and Mark Borden, band directors at Fairport High School…
CLASSICAL | “O Anima Mea”
The latest in Rochester’s recent rediscoveries of uncommonly interesting female composers of the past — following Pegasus’s salute to Barbara Strozzi and the Rochester Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Louise Farrenc’s First Symphony last fall — is the 17th-century Italian nun Isabella Leonarda, whose prolific output of sacred vocal and instrumental music will be explored during…
SCREAMO | City of Caterpillar
In the vast, confusing world of screamo music — essentially hardcore’s even more hyperactive and emotional little brother — the list of “legendary” bands is a fairly small one. Bands like Pg.99, Orchid, and Jerome’s Dream all occupy the best of the genre’s hallowed halls, but only City of Caterpillar can retire as legends after…
UR event to discuss careers in education
The University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education will present “Why Teach?” on Saturday, January 28 — a discussion with faculty, alumni, and students about public education and its future needs. The event will be held from noon to 2 p.m. in LeChase Hall. Registration: 275-3950.
CLASSICAL | Boston Brass
The quintet known as Boston Brass has been a musical institution for 30 years. On Tuesday, French horn player Chris Castellanos, trumpeters Jeff Conner and Jose Sibaja, trombonist Domingo Pagliuca, and tuba player Sam Pilafian will display their precision and panache at Kilbourn Hall. Boston Brass is known for its stylistic versatility, and is equally…
Feedback 1/18
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. The truth…
INDIE FOLK | Ben Morey
Like any good singer-songwriter, Ben Morey is deeper than he seems at first glance. At 29 years old, Morey has released more than a dozen albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians on tunes that utilize pipe organs, Theremins, and cellos. And while other performers are content with cranking out MP3 files, Morey crafts…
Urban Action 1/18
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Expert shares insights on intelligence gathering Finger Lakes Community College will present “Cybersecurity and Privacy in the Age of Terrorism,” a talk by Stewart Baker, former assistant secretary for policy at the Department…
POP | Marissa Mulder
You don’t often see the names of Marilyn Monroe and Tom Waits yoked together, but cabaret performer Marissa Mulder takes both of them in stride in two fascinating-sounding shows, presented by The Bop Shop this weekend on Geva Theatre Center’s Fielding Stage. “Marilyn in Fragments” is a portrait of the great movie star through “letters,…
Black Wall Street comes alive in new play
Following the Civil War, African-Americans began to establish all-black townships in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories. One of those townships was Greenwood — located north of the tracks in Tulsa. Created in 1906 by O.W. Gurley, one of Tulsa’s earliest pioneers, and other black entrepreneurs who invested in property, Greenwood over time became a self-sufficient…
THEATER | “Carrie: The Musical”
“Carrie,” Stephen King’s bestselling novel about a lonely, bullied teenage girl with telekinetic abilities, who gets pushed to her breaking point by her classmates, got the Broadway musical treatment in 1988. The run lasted only five showings — what the New York Times called “the most expensive quick flop in Broadway history” — although it…
Wisewater finds charm in the harmonies
Some voices are just made for one another. That’s not to say they can’t beautifully intone alone, but there’s just something about when voices fit together. The Everly Brothers come to mind. And so does Wisewater, the string-centric duo of mandolin player Forrest O’Connor and fiddler Kate Lee, a Webster native. The two musicians are…
THEATER | “The Taming”
Need help coping with the impending inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump? Me too. Fortunately, Aspie Works has us covered with a one-night-only reading on Thursday of “The Taming” by Lauren Gunderson. Billed as a political satire, the all-female play tells the story of a Miss America pageant contestant eyeing political office with the help of…
Album review: ‘Stay At Home Bad’
The Macedonian “Stay At Home Bad” Self-released 1809studios.com The opening of this disc will take your breath away. Dave Drago (The Macedonian) plugs in his studio savvy to create a sort of Gregorian chant round robin as if it were conceived by Mott The Hoople. It’s heavily atmospheric, accessible, and with a tangibility you can…
ART | Printmaking exhibits at Nazareth
On Friday, January 20, Nazareth College’s art department celebrates the art of printmaking with the opening of two new exhibits: “Woodcuts: Against the Grain” by Phillia C. Yi and “That Said: Recent Prints” by Nicholas H. Ruth. Yi’s show will be held in the Arts Center Gallery, and Ruth’s will be held in the Colacino…
Album review: ‘Joy’
Bill Tiberio Band “Joy” Self-released billtiberioband.com Like a Weather Report that predicts smooth sailing ahead, the Bill Tiberio Band opens its newest CD, “Joy,” with a trot. Covering several progressive paths, the band builds and builds to a happy crescendo with Tiberio shifting from sweet and smooth to exuberant hirsute wail. And that’s all in…
FILM | “2001: A Space Odyssey”
With its enigmatic portrayal of artificial intelligence and space exploration, Stanley Kubrick’s visionary science fiction masterwork “2001: A Space Odyssey” has been enthralling and confounding audiences since its premiere in 1968. This Sunday, the Dryden Theatre will screen a recently acquired 35mm print of the film’s roadshow version as part of its “First Contact” series…
Portraits of American heroes on display at Makers
Artist and educator Todd Stahl’s recent body of biographical work, “American Voices,” makes a compelling argument for supporting activists. The 15 assemblages, which are currently exhibited at Makers Gallery and Studio, each portray an American icon who Stahl admires, and he feels that now is a great time to reflect upon their work. The project,…
Honeoye Falls Distillery finds art in its spirits
Teal Schlegel, head distiller at Honeoye Falls Distillery, is a bit of a chemistry nerd. But despite all my questions about the distilling process, it’s clear that Schlegel wants to focus on the craft rather than fixating solely on the science. “It’s funny that you latch onto my obsession with the technicals of it,” Schlegel…
Film review: “20th Century Women”
Writer-director Mike Mills, in 2010’s “Beginners,” reflected on the life and death of his father (wonderfully portrayed by Christopher Plummer in an Oscar-winning performance), who came out as gay at the age of 75. With the affectionate comedy “20th Century Women,” the director now pays tribute to the life of his mother. Although Mills’ mother…
