Cover Story
Fringe Festival Guide 2019
The eighth annual Rochester Fringe Festival kicks off Tuesday, September 10, and continuing its trend of expanding by a full day each year, has reached a stretch of 12 days. This year’s theme is “Leap A Little,” with organizers encouraging audiences to get out of their comfort zones, whether that be the kinds of art…
Dem committee to vote on Lej vacancy
Democratic committee members in the 21st Legislative District appear poised to recommend Rachel Barnhart for a vacant seat in the County Legislature. Barnhart won a Democratic primary for the seat in June. Mark Muoio, who’s not seeking reelection, resigned the seat earlier this week after Republicans questioned his residency. He and his wife recently bought a house…
The F Word: Muscles and Mascara
CITY Music Writer Frank De Blase recounts his experiences at concerts by Anonymous Willpower and Tammi Savoy, and a Sole Rehab dance party.
City loses school referendum appeal
The City of Rochester has lost its appeal to keep a referendum regarding the Rochester City School Board on the November ballot. Earlier this year, City Council, acting at the request of Mayor Lovely Warren, passed a local law that would remove mention of the Rochester school board from the city charter and would put…
Critics’ Picks
Not sure which shows to see? Our writers have narrowed down the field of over 575 events to their favorites.
Feedback 9/4
We welcome your comments. Send them to feedback@rochester-citynews.com with your name, your daytime telephone number for verification, and your city, town or village. Comments of fewer than 500 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. Comp plan’s…
Judge declines to dismiss suit against the UR
A federal judge’s ruling will allow key parts of a high-profile lawsuit filed against the University of Rochester by a group of former students and faculty to move forward. The group, all of whom were from the UR’s Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, allege that university officials mishandled complaints about conduct by Florian Jaeger, a…
New job focuses on Jewish community safety
The US has seen a rise in anti-Semitic incidents over the past few years, as has New York State. Some of the incidents have had a high profile, such as the deadly terrorist shootings at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway, California, during the past year. But often, incidents involving vandalism, harassment, and assaults happen out…
INDIE ROCK| Stolen Jars
The Brooklyn indie rockers of Stolen Jars are as meditative as they are catchy. It’s no wonder their music has wandered its way into iPad ads and Disney movies. Beyond their commercial success, Stolen Jars — made up of guitars, bass, drums and keys, as well as two lead singers — is still working hard…
ROOTS | Ward Hayden and the Outliers
They call it a passion project. With the release of their latest album, “Can’t Judge a Book,” Ward Hayden and the Outliers give love and shine a light on the spiritual origins of this Beantown-based band. And it makes perfect sense. Chuck Berry, Nick Lowe, and Johnny Cash are all artists you can’t help but…
INDIE SINGER-SONGWRITER| Josh Netsky
Josh Netsky has been a staple of the Rochester music scene for the better part of a decade. With the widespread success of his band Maybird, Netsky has been industriously writing, recording and touring, splitting time between Upstate NY and Brooklyn. As well as being the lead singer and primary songwriter of Maybird, Netsky has…
JAZZ | Eastman Jazz and Contemporary Media Faculty
To call it an embarrassment of riches would be an understatement. Pianists Bill Dobbins and Gary Versace will share the stage with trumpeter Clay Jenkins, saxophonist Charles Pillow, guitarist Bob Sneider, trombonist Mark Kellogg, bassist Jeff Campbell and drummer Rich Thompson. Between them are dozens of albums, tours and recordings with giants like Buddy Rich,…
FOLK | The Cadleys
Mixing traditional roots instrumentation with contemporary folk songwriting, The Cadleys wrangle up audiences with invigorating string pulses and harmonies so in sync, it sounds like one voice. Consisting of the core duo — singer-guitarist John Cadley and his wife, singer-banjoist Cathy Cadley — as well as bassist John “JD” Dancks and renowned mandolin player Perry…
FILM | ‘Ratatouille’
George Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theatre is closed until early October to accommodate some renovations, but you can still catch a flick at the museum this week. Families can bring blankets, chairs, beverages, and a picnic to the north lawn behind the rock garden and watch a screening of the 2007 Pixar hit “Ratatouille,” presented by…
SURF | Surfer Joe
You’ve got your Spaghetti Westerns, now here’s some Spaghetti Surf for ya. Hanging ten from Italy, Lorenzo “Surfer Joe” Valdambrini adds a jazzy component to surf’s requisite splash-and-roar a-go-go. There’s very little wiggle room when playing surf guitar. A mere couple of clicks in either direction, and it ain’t surf any more. But Valdambrini twangs…
FESTIVAL | Clothesline Festival
One of the biggest and oldest arts festivals in Rochester returns this weekend, also functioning as an annual fundraiser for the Memorial Art Gallery. Visitors to the Clothesline Festival can stroll the MAG’s campus (rain or shine), browsing the showcase of more than 400 artists from the region and across the nation, enjoying food for…
Fringe Festival Info
Everything you need to know to make this year’s Fringe Festival a success
CULTURE | ‘Haudenosaunee Traditions’
Dance and sport are two enduring elements of traditional Haudenosaunee culture, both of which will be spotlighted at an event in neighboring Auburn this week. Co-presented by the Schweinfurth Art Center, folklorist Beth Bevars, and the Cayuga Museum of History and Art, “Haudenosaunee Traditions” will feature celebrated smoke dancer Chris Thomas as he leads others…
Food on the Fringe
Rochester Fringe 2019 is here, offering 12 days of spectacles — some of which you can participate in. Between scurrying from act to act and busting a move at the Silent Disco, you’re going to need to take in some calories between performances.
ART | ‘Scouting’
An art exhibition held in collaboration with ImageOut opens this week at Gallery Q, featuring mixed media work by Rochester-based artists Evan Bobrow and Kes Efstathiou. “Scouting” connects the two artists’ mutual interest in landscape through their diverse perspectives and approaches to the genre. Bobrow combines technical drawing, collage, and illustration to create works that…
Underwater City
Parcel 5 will again host performances by French street theater troupe Plasticiens Volants for the 2019 Keybank Rochester Fringe Festival. The group, based in Graulhet, France, drew large crowds and favorable reviews for their 2017 Fringe appearances. Plasticiens Volants has been honing an unusual public art spectacle for more than 40 years. Over the course…
Headliners
The Fringe-curated headlining shows for 2019 Rochester Fringe.
SPECIAL EVENT | ‘Two Scientists Walk into a Bar’
Switch up your “Thirsty Thursday” plans and haul your friends over to a happy hour that’ll feed your brain while you get your almost-the-weekend unwinding started. This week, the Rochester Museum and Science Center will present an informal, 21+ event with two local scientists who will welcome your questions, as the provided info puts it:…
SPECIAL EVENT | Charlotte Branch Library Centennial
The Charlotte Branch Library is celebrating its 100th anniversary this weekend with a family-friendly, kiddie carnival-esque event, plus books. The celebration includes a sidewalk book sale (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), petting zoo with Mini Ark Farms (11 a.m. to noon), face painting (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.), Abbot’s Ice Cream (11 a.m. to 12:30…
The more things change: 48 years with the RCSD
As we look for ways to give Rochester’s children a good education, what will we try that we haven’t tried before?
Album review: ‘Steal Your Heart’
Sugar Glider ‘Steal Your Heart’ Self-released sugargliderband.bandcamp.com Rochester folk quartet Sugar Glider’s debut full-length album, "Steal Your Heart," is like an intimate backwoods bonfire with close friends gathered round joined in song. Utilizing the reverberating acoustics of the South Wedge Mission, the album features the core group of vocalist-banjoist Alison Lindsey, singer-guitarist Roxy Elahi, guitarist…
Lincoln Hill Farms offers a bucolic concert experience
After having invested in residential properties for over a decade, local business owner Brian Mastrosimone longed to serve the community in a different fashion. In summer 2016, Mastrosimone broke ground on an entirely outdoor venture called Lincoln Hill Farms, which opened officially this summer.
Album review: ‘Behind Closed Doors’
Lauren and the Good Souls ‘Behind Closed Doors’ Self-released reverbnation.con/laurenandthegoodsouls Wow, that Lauren Faggiano can siii-ing. She doesn’t lock herself in a particular register, and wails salty to the cheap seats. And whether she’s singing piano or forte, the lady manages both intensities on Lauren and the Good Souls’ new album “Behind Closed Doors.” The…
Vaccine law change hits hurdles in rural Finger Lakes
“We’ve been inundated,” Kristen Wagner said as she unpacked vaccines inside the Yates County public health offices in Penn Yan. “We’re trying the best that we can,” she said, continuing to set cartons of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine on top of a tray that was already too full to hold any more. Wagner and…
Film review: ‘Blinded by the Light’
Coming at a particularly desperate moment, Springsteen’s songs about being stuck in a small town rut and yearning for more strike a chord with a Pakistani teen and his dreams of escape.
Theater review: ‘Guys and Dolls’
Overall, the show is an enjoyable, albeit predictable, night out at the theater. There’s always a place for classics in each theater season, and a hat tip to the past 70 years of Blackfriars Theatre with a musical from the era of its origin feels like a fitting choice.
SPIEDIElicious brings a Southern Tier tradition to Roc
Owners Chelsea and Paul Lee — high-school sweethearts who grew up eating spiedies, often at backyard barbecues — wanted to open a restaurant emphasizing the Italian roots of spiedies, while adding their own flair with fresh ideas, flavors, and combinations.
