Claudia Hoyser’s star is on the rise. The 24-year-old singer and actor has attracted millions of video views on the Internet with her renditions of classic country songs, and her originals are climbing country breakout charts
Rochester music
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Album review: ‘The Heart Mixtape’
Tahj Elliott “The Heart Mixtape” Self-Released soundcloud.com/tahjelliott Last month, Rochester musician Tahj Elliott threw all of his emotions, struggles, and pieces of his everyday life into 17 tracks. “The Heart Mixtape” is a piece that, all the way through, tackles a variety of contemporary rap and R&B styles. Elliott, who handled a bulk of the […]
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Album review: ‘Delivery’
Mikaela Davis “Delivery” Rounder Records mikaeladavis.com It’s all about delivery, according to harpist and singer-songwriter Mikaela Davis. Her band’s new album, aptly titled “Delivery,” out on Rounder Records, is filled with all things dark and venerated. You get the sense through Davis’s songwriting that whatever this record is, it’s as much a gift to herself […]
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After nine years, The Tombstone Hands finally releases its first album
Rochester instrumental power trio The Tombstone Hands is a full-throttle, in-your-face, guitar-driven frenzy. Guitarist Steve Litvak wields his guitar like a Viking while drummer Brian Peet and bassist Dennis Jones lay down a groove that peels asses off of barstools. The threesome has been at it since 2009, and they figured nine years of rockin’ […]
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Album review: ‘The Time: Night’
Sastrugi “The Time: Night” Self-released sastrugi.bandcamp.com This here’s a dip in odd waters with the Rochester band Sastrugi. This new, five-song EP, “The Time: Night,” has a sound reminiscent of the attack of pop guitar coming out of a transistor radio mounted on the handlebars of your banana-seat five-speed — a mood demonstrated on the […]
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Album review: ‘Big Wheel Turn’
Stone Soup “Big Wheel Turn” Unified Field Records stonesoupmusic.com Stone Soup’s “Big Wheel Turn” is derived from a whole lot of music in the folk tradition. It’s neo-traditionalist, to say the least. But the traditional comparisons end there. Stone Soup picks and sings big and pretty with its own contemporary flair. The band offers smooth […]
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Album review: ‘Don’t Like Most Things’
Soft Opening “Don’t Like Most Things” Self-released softopeningroc.bandcamp.com On June 22, Rochester musician Justin Pallini — under the moniker Soft Opening — quietly released an endearing summer record that provides a great balance between garage-rock party vibes and introspective singer-songwriter opining. The six-song set, “Don’t Like Most Things,” has 90’s nostalgia all over it, from […]
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Album review: ‘Between The Banners, Beneath the Floors’
Forevers “Between The Banners, Beneath the Floors” Dadstache Records dadstacherecords.com “Between the Banners, Beneath the Floors,” the debut full-length from Rochester band Forevers, opens in a fury of ponderous guitars before settling into a 90’s alt-rock groove that changes and contorts but nevertheless remains consistent through the album’s 11 songs. This album could be described […]
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Dadstache cares
JT Fitzgerald was tired of seeing bands come and go in Rochester. A band would make the scene, make a little noise, and then vanish, never to be heard from again. “There were a lot of bands we were seeing that would pop up for a few shows and then kinda disappear,” Fitzgerald says. “And […]
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Jazz Fest Feature: Brendan Lanighan
Frank’s biggest thrill is talking to artists on the ground floor as they wait for the elevator to ding its arrival. One such lad is Brendan Lanighan, a young Eastman grad and trombone player who has just started to make waves
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Queer Rock Camp amplifies voices of LGBTQ and gender expansive youth
Girls Rock! Rochester has been running music camps every summer since 2012, and in August, the group will start a new session: Queer Rock Camp.
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Album review: ‘High Hopes’
Lower Expectations “High Hopes” Self-released lowerexpectationsband.bandcamp.com I didn’t have any expectations — low or otherwise — when I gave Lower Expectations’ debut album, “High Hopes,” a couple of spins. Consequently I was surprised, pleasantly, in fact, when it came barreling out of my headphones. The twin guitar attack found here stops just short of being […]
