Cover Story
Writers & Books starts a new chapter
Founder and director Joe Flaherty retires as the literary organization celebrates 35
Submissions to 2016 Fringe open Wednesday
The process to submit a show to the 2016 Rochester Fringe Festival will open Wednesday, March 16, beginning 9 a.m., online only at rochesterfringe.com. The submission window will close at midnight on Saturday, April 30. Producers, artists, and arts organizations can submit a show of any genre for consideration at any of the Fringe’s venues.…
Lilac Fest announces first half of music lineup
Breathe deep. Do you smell that? It’s the smell of fear. The fear of a Trump planet. But soon it’ll be the 118th edition of the Lilac Festival (Friday, May 6, through Sunday, May 15) time again for the smell of lilacs to assuage the panic we are all currently experiencing. And that means plenty…
Anthony Costello dies
His firm, Anthony J. Costello & Son Development, most recently advanced a pair of projects along the Erie Canal.
Rochester school district to present draft budget tonight
There will be a special meeting of the Rochester school board at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 14. Interim superintendent Linda Cimusz will present the draft budget for the 2016-2017 school year. Board members will have to approve the budget at a later meeting before it goes to City Council for its approval. Last year’s…
County wants $814,790.17 from former Medley owner
Monroe County officials are seeking a court judgement of more than $814,000 against Medley Centre’s former owner, Bersin Properties. The request stems from a tax incentive agreement between the dead mall’s owner and the Monroe County Industrial Development Agency, Monroe County, the Town of Irondequoit, and the East Irondequoit school district. Bersin failed to make…
Horror writer-director talks gore, slapstick
City talked with David Bruckner, one of the writer-directors of “Southbound,” a new indie horror anthology.
School board seeks community input on superintendent search
The Rochester school board wants community input on the search for a new schools superintendent. Community members can fill out a survey that is “designed to help identify the particular qualities and experience desired in the next leader of the district,” a press release says. You can complete the survey on the district’s website, or e-mail…
Legislators approve county ethics office
Monroe County government will soon have a public integrity office. The County Legislature passed a measure to create the office by a vote of 28 to 1 last night. Democratic Legislator James Sheppard cast the only “no” vote. County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo introduced the integrity office proposal, and Republican Majority Leader Brian Marianetti later added…
Theater Review: RBTL presents “Beautiful”
The jukebox musical is a wild card in the world of theater. Some jukebox musicals — in which the musical selections are hits culled from a particular legacy — suffer from contrivance and superficiality steeped in a desire to cash in on the popularity of the songs. In these instances, like in the movie “Across…
FILM | “Makers: Women in Hollywood”
In honor of Women’s History Month, the Rochester Media Association will sponsor a screening of “Makers: Women in Hollywood” and a talkback event on Thursday, March 10, at 6 p.m., at The Little Theatre (240 East Avenue). Linda Goldstein Knowlton’s documentary shines a much-needed spotlight on the contributions of women in show business, from the…
SPECIAL EVENT | The Lanthan Mire Radio Theatre Show
The Lanthan Mire Radio Theatre Show is a live performance that blends film, narration, and music in a multi-media experience based on the mystical, sci-fi “Lanthan Mire” novella series by Lucian Harke. The “Lanthan Mire” books tell the story of a lost extra-dimensional being sent to planets in turmoil. Recently arrived on a planet where…
POP | Madeleine McQueen
Okay … where did this chick come from? Where did that voice come from? Madeleine McQueen projects spiritually and soulfully with a beguiling innocence and resolve over a bed of pop-rock splendor and sparkle. But it’s far from fluffy; the songs are beautifully crafted and delivered. Proof: McQueen and her band, The Breeze, have recently…
CELTIC ROCK | Enter The Haggis
With its new single, “Mrs. Elliott,” the Celtic rock maniacs in Enter The Haggis have never sounded stronger. This Toronto-based hayride-to-hell takes a lot of the spin and accelerated jump of traditional Celtic fare and plays it like it was shot out of a cannon. The band has been doing it for eight studio albums…
CLASSICAL | Rochester Oratorio Society
Seventy active years of doing anything is impressive; 70 years as one of a community’s signature musical organizations is more impressive still. The Rochester Oratorio Society has been just that since December 1945 and its first performance of Handel’s “Messiah” under its founder Theodore Hollenbach, who led the group for 40 years. (You can hear…
WORLD | Riyaaz Qawwali
The eight members of Riyaaz Qawwali — a Texas-based ensemble — hail from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, but have found a common ground in qawwali. The musical genre, a tradition that stretches back more than 700 years, is a form of Sufi devotional music, and focuses on meditation and dedication through beautiful sound. The…
POP | Matt Griffo
Matt Griffo’s song “Basically” is basically everyone’s life. With lines like “I’m basically healthy because my pudding says ‘Fat Free,'” and “Sometimes I wish I could just get paid to sleep, that would be awesome,” the track is a witty take on what everyone is already thinking. That’s the kind of humor Griffo works well…
ROCK | Rochester Insomniac Presents
The Rochester Insomniac is throwing a 5-band, local show Friday night. The punk, rock, and hip-hop lineup includes pop-punk outfit Scholar (scholarny.bandcamp.com); psychedelic rock ‘n’ rollers The Capitals (thecapitalsound.bandcamp.com); underground hip-hop from Tugboat; thick sludge metal by The Highest Leviathan (thehighestleviathan.bandcamp.com); and garage rockers The True Believers. The show will take place Friday, March 11,…
Feedback 3/9
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. Arab nations…
Seeking Monte is more than just its parts
When guitarist Lee Heberger left the band Rainline back in 2013, he took a break — bought a house, built a studio — before diving back in. No pretense, no agenda; this time the mission was nothing other than to have fun. “I didn’t set up to do anything,” Heberger says. “I wanted to be…
Urban Action 3/9
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Can Iran reduce antisemitism? Monroe Community College will present “Global Antisemitism Rising: What About Iran?” The talk by Iran-born writer Roya Hakakian is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9, and is part…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Stowaways”
Paul Mark and the Van Dorens “Stowaways” Radiation Records paulmark.com In the pantheon that is the 12 or so albums Paul Mark has produced over the years, the man has never strayed to far from the blue notes. He’s ventured out on acoustic and assorted sonic forays, but he always comes back. Mark’s new album,…
Getting the bang out of 500 million bucks
University of Rochester President Joel Seligman spends much of the present thinking about the future. He’s working on a speech titled “The Future of Rochester,” which he’ll give to the Chatterbox Club later this month. As he’s prepared the speech, he says that he’s asked himself how the community envisions itself in 10 years, how…
ALBUM REVIEW: “A New Dance”
Rotem Sivan Trio “A New Dance” Fresh Sound New Talent rotemsivan.com I don’t know if there are any jazz guitarists left in Israel, but there’s no shortage of them heating up the American scene. As if Gilad Hekselman, Roni Ben-Hur, and Yotam Silberstein aren’t enough, The Rotem Sivan Trio’s “A New Dance” showcases the work…
Renovated gastropub opens in North Winton Village
After three months of renovations, the Blossom Road Pub has opened at 198 North Winton Road at the location formerly occupied by Winton Bar & Grill. Co-owners Drew Nye, Marcus Lenear, Maurice Kusminsky, and Max Gordon took over the spot and did all of the renovations themselves. Nye and Kusminsky own Roam Café on Park…
ART | “Food: A Celebration of Diversity”
Through March 20, Gallery r (100 College Avenue) is hosting an exhibition of vibrant photographs that showcase the food, culture, and community in Rochester’s Marketview Heights neighborhood. Through RIT photojournalism student Audrey Horn’s photographs of residents, their kitchens, and community gardens, “FOOD: A Celebration of Diversity” showcases how one community has pulled together in the…
THEATER | “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”
An afternoon of entertaining theater is elementary, my dear Watson, as literature’s most famous detective makes the leap to the stage in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,” a new production from the national touring company of New York City’s Aquila Theatre. Mixing things up a bit, the play transforms the master…
ART | “Natura Naturans”
Beginning Saturday, March 12, Oxford Gallery (267 Oxford Street) will present a show is titled “Natura Naturans,” featuring the work of Rochester-based painter Richard Jenks and painter and sculptor Helen Santelli. Regarding the title’s meaning, director James Hall explains that the show’s title refers to a concept made famous in the work of 17th-century Dutch…
Film review: “Zootopia”
What can an animated movie about anthropomorphized animals teach us about modern racism? Really, quite a lot.
Is it possible to make America whole again?
“The bigotry and lust for violence and force that we’re seeing in the Republican presidential campaign aren’t new.”
Kholodenko and the RPO
During his first full season of programing Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra concerts, Ward Stare has included several examples of what used to be called “orchestral spectaculars.”
