Cover Story
Float on
Summer starts June 21, so with beautiful weather inevitable during the next few months, there’s no reason to stay home. We say it every year, but it’s always true: Western New York comes alive during the summer months.
RCSD eyes a neighborhood school
The Rochester school district is considering converting School 17 into a strictly neighborhood school. If that happens, this would be the first time in about 15 years that a city school would draw students solely from its immediate neighborhood. (The boundaries haven’t been determined yet.) The school board will discuss the possibility at its June…
Mural series ‘Her Voice Carries’ lifts local women
Rochester-based artist Sarah Rutherford is in the midst of a new series of murals that spotlight local women who work to lift up the voices of others.
Vacuum Oil clean-up plan released
The DEC is also holding a public information meeting on the plan at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13, at Carlson Commons, 70 Coretta Scott Crossing, near Ford Street.
Corn Hill Arts Festival releases 2017 poster
The Corn Hill Neighbors Association and ESL Federal Credit Union on Friday unveiled the 2017 Corn Hill Arts Festival poster created by artist Ryan Martin. For the 49th annual event’s poster design, Martin explained that he used a “broad color scheme” to reflect Rochester’s unique “energy and history.” The poster itself has an Impressionistic style,…
Film review: ‘My Cousin Rachel’
The writings of Daphne Du Maurier were often moody tales of deception, betrayal, paranoia, and occasionally romance; qualities that made them favorites of Alfred Hitchcock and inspired his films “Rebecca,” “Jamaica Inn,” and “The Birds.” Du Maurier’s gothic-tinged “My Cousin Rachel” is perhaps slightly lesser known among her works, though it was previously adapted into…
A guide to the rides
We spent a day at Darien Lake to find out which rollercoasters, loops, and Thin Lizzy’s are worth the time
Ghosts in the machine
Born partly out of necessity and a willingness to embrace the unconventional, Matt O’Brian and the Great Blue Herons is rapidly turning into an actual band. I know, I know; it happens all the time: musicians get together, have a concept, figure out who will play what, and get a gig to ride the lightning…
Eastman Museum hosts Eugene Richards retrospective
Photographer Eugene Richards has been creating powerful, challenging images of some of the most overlooked people in America and beyond since 1968. His approach to storytelling also involves getting to know his subjects deeply. While his striking images provide a poignant look at racism, poverty, addiction, violence, cancer, family, aging, and wounded veterans, incorporating their…
Album review: ‘Big Eyed Rabbit’
The Brothers Blue “Big Eyed Rabbit” Self-released thebrothersblue.com The Brothers Blue come bounding out of the gate on the band’s new album, “Big Eyed Rabbit,” and the careening swirl of old-time joy doesn’t let up for the entirety of its 13 cool, cool cuts. It is all kept fresh and smooth with a constant pop…
ART | “Tiger Show”
Rochester-based artist Rina Miriam Drescher’s drawings, paintings, and prints embody a harmonious combination of sweetness and ferocity. She doesn’t limit herself to one genre, shifting with ease from abstracts to portraiture and animal or still life studies, laying down bright and unexpected hues in skillfully sketchy brushstrokes or dusky flicks of the charcoal stick. Drescher’s…
Album review: ‘Lonely Hearts Club’
Annie Wells “Lonely Hearts Club” Self-released anniewells.com You’re only as good as the company you keep. Annie Wells has always been a good ‘un in any capacity I’ve seen her perform, and for her latest record, “Lonely Hearts Club,” she’s in excellent company. For this outing she has plugged in studio cats like the incomparable…
COMEDY | “Villain’s Vacation”
If the existence of the club at Mar-a-Lago is any indication, even figureheads of evil feel the need to get away from it all — “it all” being the world they’re actively destroying. Comedy sketch and improv group Polite Ink. offers a more lighthearted take on this concept in its new show, “Villain’s Vacation,” which…
The UR’s bold commitment to a city high school
So much depressing news is coming out of Washington that it was a relief to attend an event last week and leave with a bit of optimism about a local problem. The source of the optimism was a talk by UCLA Professor Pedro Noguera at East High School. Noguera’s topic – America’s failure to invest…
FILM | Prince Double Feature Birthday Bash
Don your raspberry beret, hop into your little red corvette, and party like it’s 1999. The Little Theatre will celebrate Prince’s birthday with a special double feature honoring the late, great music icon on Saturday, June 10. The evening begins with a pre-show tribute to Prince’s career, then a screening of the classic, Oscar-winning rock…
Urban Action 6/7
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Mayoral hopefuls will debate AFSCME Council 66, which includes BENTE/AFSCME Local 2419 and AFSCME 1635, will host a mayoral candidates forum on Thursday, June 8, featuring the three Democratic candidates: former TV reporter…
THEATER | “Million Dollar Quartet”
For anyone who loves classic rock ‘n’ roll, December 4, 1956, is a sacred date. Early in the day, Carl Perkins went into Sun Records (the hallowed Memphis studio) to work on new material. There, the owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, lined up a then-relatively unknown piano man, Jerry Lee Lewis, to sit in…
LITERATURE | “Spit & Share”
On Monday, June 12, at 6 p.m., the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence (929 South Plymouth Avenue) will host its monthly “Spit & Share: Not Your Everyday Cypher Series” event, during which community members share writing, art, and music centered around contemporary issues. Snacks and a group discussion will follow, allowing attendees to reflect…
The ABC’s of summer movies
From new wide releases to local screenings of classics, there’s something for everyone
Next stop…
Where and what to eat on your next summer road trip
Summer concerts for nostalgia junkies
Drift off to some place different at these upcoming Rochester area shows
JAZZ | Diana Krall
Maybe it’s that breathy voice rising over those tastefully sparse arrangements that makes Diana Krall the current queen of jazz. But it could also be the fact that she never stands still. Over the last two and a half decades, Krall has released albums of jazz standards, songs from early 78 RPM records, contemporary classics,…
A new generation
Rochester kids get moving at the PUSH Pins Performing Arts Camp
ROCK | Maybird
Rochester by-way-of Brooklyn’s Maybird writes music that feels perfect for this time of year. Summer’s creeping up, you finally feel safe to roll your car windows down, and the days are starting to feel a good deal lazier. Maybird’s largely mellow, synth-driven pop is a more than fitting soundtrack for those sun-kissed drives and late…
Feedback 6/7
Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. Those of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published. We edit submissions, and we don’t publish comments sent to other media. Trump’s conduct imperils America Ms. Towler is spot on in “The…
JAZZ | Michael Bates Trio
For jazz fans, the trio of bassist Michael Bates may bring to mind the Sonny Rollins trio of several decades ago. While Bates leads, he’s got an excellent tenor saxophonist, Michael Blake, and a superb drummer, Jeremy Clemons. Bates is a prolific composer who leans decidedly to the adventurous side, and Blake and Clemons are…
Fighting Trump’s Paris pullout
President Donald Trump’s declaration that he’s pulling the United States out of the Paris climate agreement shouldn’t surprise anyone, given his open hostility toward the pact and the scientific facts of climate change. But that hasn’t made his posturing any less aggravating, especially since he just crushed America’s chance to lead the rest of the…
BLUES/AMERICANA | Jake La Botz
Jake La Botz mixes Piedmont blues with doses of Chicago shuffle-and-shake. With his classic Hollywood profile and gritty voice, La Botz is both heartbreaking and ominous. Lonesome never sounded so satisfying. And it’s all been brought into keen focus by the magic studio fingertips of producer Jimmy Sutton (bassist for JD McPherson) with the release…
A green vision for the High Falls district
The area on the west side of Rochester’s High Falls got its start as a cluster of mills, running off the power provided by the Genesee River, but over the years it’s assumed other identities. In the 1990’s, for example, city leaders tried to repurpose it as an entertainment district. High Falls has since transitioned…
BRASS/JAZZ | Rebirth Brass Band
The Rebirth Brass Band originates from New Orleans’ Tremé neighborhood, founded in 1983 by Kermit Ruffins alongside brothers Keith and Phil Frazier. The modern second line brass ensemble has been dubbed “a New Orleans institution,” and for good reason: the band combines traditional a New Orleans jazz sound with hip-hop, funk and soul. The band’s…
The non-retiring Carlos Carballada
Carlos Carballada is kind of an enigma. Many people have never heard of him and couldn’t pick him out in a lineup. But in the worlds of commercial banking, city government, and education, he’s much more than well known: the 82-year old Carballada is a deeply admired elder statesman. Carballada’s success is a bit challenging…
ROCKABILLY | Reverend Horton Heat
While some purists may balk at The Reverend Horton Heat’s sacri-licious blend of honky-tonk, rockabilly, and punk speed, this type of hybrid vigor is precisely what propelled the styles to what we know today. It’s one-part right, two-parts wrong. And regardless of genre, the Reverend is one of the baddest of the bad guitar players…
Bringing the funk, bringing the waffles
When waffle kingpin Adam Gold heard that the former Water Street Music Hall was available, he got on the blower with a quickness. Roughly seven months later and Funk ‘N Waffles — Gold’s eclectic venue featuring live music and a kitchen serving up a large selection of sweet and savory waffles — was here. But…
VARIOUS | Hochstein at High Falls
Hochstein School of Music and Dance’s annual summer program, Hochstein at High Falls, starts back up this Thursday, June 8, with Americana trio The Brothers Blue. Each Thursday through August 17 (except for July 6), Hochstein and WXXI will present a free noontime concert in Granite Mills Park — each show is about 50 minutes…
Lazy days
A guide to the best non-traditional swimming destinations in Western New York and beyond
ROCK | Born Without Bones
For all the grandiose posturing and life-or-death theatrics that indie rock offers, it’s becoming exceedingly rare to find a band with genuine soul. Heartfelt lyrics can only offer so much if the voice delivering them doesn’t sound convinced of the truth behind the words. Thankfully this is a quality that Born Without Bones provides in…
Film review: ‘It Comes at Night’
In his debut film, “Krisha,” writer-director Trey Edward Shults took a drama about a fraught Thanksgiving family reunion and ratcheted up the intensity until it entered the realm of psychological horror. Now in his sophomore outing, the young filmmaker goes for full-on terror with the nightmarish, post-apocalyptic thriller “It Comes at Night.” As you might…
Film review: ‘Megan Leavey’
“Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite shifts capably from documentary to narrative filmmaking with a different (and decidedly more uplifting) tale of human and animal relations in “Megan Leavey.” The film focuses on the real-life story of Leavey (a wonderful Kate Mara), a wayward 20-something who finds redemption through the bond she forms with a bomb-sniffing military…
