Cover Story
Growing Pains
Physically, Rochester’s bike network is still developing and expanding. Mentally, public attitudes toward bikes on roads, and as a viable means of transportation, are still maturing.
RCSD Distinguished Educator Aquino leaving next week
State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia announced Friday that Jaime Aquino, the Rochester City School District’s distinguished educator, has resigned.Elia said his last day will be June 7.
Conference touts the benefits of charter schools
David Osborne, a charter school advocate who led the event organized by Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce conference, is among many educational advocates who argue that the typical public school systems were designed for another era.
Eastman’s 2019-20 World series highlights music from Asia
If there’s a word that encapsulates the Eastern-centric 2019-20 Barbara B. Smith World Music Series at the Eastman School of Music, it’s “variety.” The four-concert series features musical traditions from India, China, Taiwan, and Indonesia.
Low Tide Recordings offers UK sound stateside
Rochester musician Jeremy Bittle wants to help develop an organic environment for supporting independent artists. And his indie label Low Tide Recordings, with its focus on UK-based grime music, is part of that vision.
The F Word: An apology to Margaret Explosion
People who brandish cell phones at shows are distracting and disappointing. Put the phone down and dig the show, sluggo. Live in the now. But this isn’t a rant at millennial meatheads and their all-important tools of hipster oblivion. This is an apology to Margaret Explosion.
Jazz and pop merge in Eastman’s 2019-20 Kodak Hall Series
There’s plenty to like about the roster of headlining talent coming to Eastman Theatre in the 2019-20 season, as part of Eastman School of Music’s Kodak Hall Series. The lineup features iconic artists Wynton Marsalis and Bobby McFerrin, as well as TV-film composer Jeff Beal and jazz pianist Jon Batiste, who are poised to shape…
Warren continues to push for change in school governance
On Wednesday, Warren released a short video on Facebook that makes a direct appeal to the public to join her in support of changing the district’s governance.
Fresh Cut: ‘Your Silly Ways’ by Tart Vandelay
With a nod to classic soul and R&B, “Your Silly Ways” by Tart Vandelay is a heartfelt and unironic love song about the joys of finding a quirky significant other who “gets you.”
Dade says he’s not worried about his tenure with RCSD
Rochester city school district Superintendent Terry Dade says he’s aware that state education officials have floated plans to take control of the district and dissolve the school board, but he doesn’t want to speculate on what that would mean for him or the district.
Scott predicts progress, regardless of PAB vote
Rochester took its most dramatic step yet last week in a decades-long search for a better system of police oversight. In a unanimous vote, City Council passed legislation creating an independent Police Accountability Board. The legislation still faces a public referendum, and it will be on the ballot in the November election. But if it…
THEATER | ‘Man of La Mancha’
Is it naive to believe in the best of people? Dangerous Signs, an ASL performance group conceived at NTID, will attempt to answer this question with their performance of “Man of La Mancha.” The musical, inspired by Cervantes’ classic story “Don Quixote,” includes a rather unlikely character: The author. Cervantes opens the show in jail;…
ART | ‘6×6’
For the twelfth year, Rochester Contemporary Art Center asked artists and community members to reimagine what it means to be square. While the official “6×6” show opens June 1, you can preview the loads of artworks before the official event, so you can map out where your favorites are located on the walls. The exhibit…
KIDS | ‘Frozen Jr.’
Rochester’s Opportunities for Creativity (OFC) Creations has listened to the wishes of everyone’s favorite snowman and is finding out what exactly happens to solid water when it gets warm. This week, OFC concludes its 2018-19 season as 30 youth performers ranging in ages from 7 to 16 will perform “Frozen Jr.,” adapted from the 2013…
Urban Action 5/29
This week’s call to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.) Transit plan needs input from public Officials of the Genesee Transportation Council are seeking public feedback on their draft five-year transportation plan for the Genesee-Finger Lakes region. The plan outlines the recommended federal…
KIDS | ‘Grab Your Goggles!’
Sure, the Rochester Museum and Science Center’s “Almost Overnight” events allow children to test their natural hypotheses and all that great stuff, but the series also lets parents relax for an evening. This week’s iteration of the event features experiments with explosions and projectiles, and participants can just leave the mess when the event is…
DANCE | Garth Fagan Dance
It’s not every day you get the chance to experience the revolutionary work of a beloved and internationally-acclaimed choreographer, free of charge. This week, Garth Fagan Dance, the renowned contemporary dance company founded in our very city five decades ago, will perform two free shows that explore the intersection between history and innovation. Presented by…
Arts group plans event on revitalizing cities
For the past several months, a new arts-focused community coalition called Arts in the Loop has been studying ways to use the arts to help revitalize downtown. It’s been looking at what other US cities have been doing to create successful, vibrant arts programming. Now it’s planning a two-day symposium – June 5 and 6…
ART | ‘Metamorphosis’
A caterpillar becomes a butterfly, a tadpole becomes a frog, a child an adult. At some point, nearly all things experience a transition, an evolution. These matters are the focus of “Metamorphosis,” Oxford Gallery’s annual themed group exhibit. The show is now open and will close June 15. While there is no direct connection to…
REGGAE | Mosaic Foundation
Mosaic Foundation is a seven-piece jam band that’s been drawing loyal audiences around the Finger Lakes region by blending original roots reggae with soul, ska, and dub. Formed in 2008, the band released its fifth and latest album, “Unity Is Strength,” in 2018. Embodying the Rasta movement with an engaging spirit, Mosaic Foundation lifts you…
FUNK | The Comb Down
Like a fresh baked pie, The Comb Down draws you in from the first whiff. Based in Ithaca, The Comb Down is a seven-piece super group of musicians from renowned regional acts like John Brown’s Body, Big Mean Sound Machine, and more. Formed by seasoned vinyl spinner Brian “Gourd” Mlodzinski, The band puts together a…
EMO-POP | Losers Club
Losers Club will debut at The Montage Music Hall, but the band didn’t come out of nowhere. The Rochester emo rock quartet is fronted by Nate Blasdell, known for slingin’ lead guitar and singin’ BGV’s in the shapeshifting melodic hardcore band I Set My Friends on Fire. In Losers Club, Blasdell opts for a poppier,…
JAZZ-ORCHESTRAL POPS | Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik close the 2018-19 season and company with the jazz homage concert “Lush Life: The Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.” It doesn’t get much more iconic than Duke Ellington, whose suave and swingin’ approach to music produced such indelible hits as “It Don’t Mean…
ANTI-FOLK | Origami Ghosts
Seattle-based, lo-fi quartet Origami Ghosts presents an alternative perspective to traditional folk music by adding elements of pop rock, soft punk, psychedelia, and funk. Formed in 2002, the band will release the forthcoming album, “Healthy Travel Potions,” in July. Singer-guitarist JP Scesniak has a high-pitched, slightly squealing tenor voice, accompanied by washes of ghostly harmonies…
WORLD | The Afro-Semitic Experience
The Afro-Semitic Experience is a musical and spiritual collective formed in 1998 by African-American pianist-composer Warren Byrd and Jewish-American bassist David Chevan. With a universal message of “Unity in the Community,” the band also provides a holistic workshop program that guides students through a journey of musical self-discovery. The Afro-Semitic Experience provides an uplifting mix…
It’s time to let the state try to fix the RCSD
Rochester seems to have squashed a perfectly reasonable proposal: one that could short-circuit the district’s cycle of dysfunction, inject some stability, and give the community several years to talk about options.
Album review: ‘Cuerno Exotica’
Ken Wiley ‘Cuerno Exotica’ Krug Park Music kenwiley.com French horn may not be the first instrument that comes to mind when you think of jazz, but when played by Ken Wiley, it works beautifully. Wiley is a top Los Angeles studio musician who plays regularly on the soundtracks of TV shows like “Family Guy.” But…
Album review: ‘Connect the Dots’
The Verve Jazz Ensemble ‘Connect the Dots’ LightGroove Media verve-jazz.com When I first put on The Verve Jazz Ensemble’s “Connect the Dots,” I couldn’t help thinking it must be some generic group the famous label threw together. But during the opening tune, Lalo Shifrin’s “Bistro,” I found myself thinking, who is this great flute player?…
VSW celebrates 50th anniversary
If someone were to create a Venn diagram with circles labeled “respected academic institution” and “punk-DIY-ethos hub,” you’d find Visual Studies Workshop in the intersecting space. It’s marking its anniversary with an exhibition, film screening, panel discussion, and art auction.
Other Half Brewing opens ROC location
Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn had been hosting mobile can releases in Rochester for a couple years before recently putting down roots in upstate New York, opening their much-hyped new taproom and brewery in Bloomfield.
Jesse Sprinkle records new album with RACS students
It’s a fire drill of kids bouncing about as if they were made of rubber. It’s loud, full of shrieks and shouts and little ones running about. This lively bunch consists of boys and girls attending the Rochester Academy Charter School, or RACS, in Irondequoit, waiting for their weekly music class to start with Jesse…
Film preview: ‘Rocketman’
“Restrained” shouldn’t be the first word that comes to mind when describing larger-than-life singer Elton John. But that’s exactly the descriptor that came to mind while watching “Rocketman,” director Dexter Fletcher’s surprisingly timid and conventional rock-musical-biopic of the artist’s most unconventional life.
‘Verified’ curator Amanda Chestnut talks identity
“Culturally we tend to speak about race very much in dichotomy. It’s an ‘or’ situation. And for the most part, many people are ‘and,’ but linguistically and culturally we don’t give them space to be ‘and.'”
