When Brian Hurlburt applied to host a radio show on low-power community broadcaster WAYO-FM, the station didn’t technically exist yet. This was 2015, and organizers were still laying cables and installing power racks before launching. Hurlburt wanted in. He’d worked in radio before, hosting a show in Batavia, and he dreamed of returning to the […]
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REVIEW | ‘Ultra Instinct’ by Hirko
Ego is a sticky thing. Brian Wilson famously took acid and wrote a song about letting go of his own, only to be persuaded by Mike Love to tone down the psychedelia. (“I Know There’s an Answer” still goes.) The Rochester rapper Robert Hirko, who uses his last name to release music, has now made […]
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Eastman School’s 2026-27 concerts include Timothy Long’s Indigenous songbook, Chris Thile, Aoife O’Donovan and more
The Eastman School of Music has announced its concerts for the next school year. The new season includes student performances and a few guest stars. The celebration of America at 250 will be woven throughout the next year of concerts at Eastman in performances by students, faculty and visiting artists. Those concerts include “The North […]
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REVIEW | ‘Como Me La Pida’ by Orquesta La Muralla
Rochester loves its hometown icons, and in that pantheon of lilacs and frozen custard there is a special place for the long-tenured local salsa band La Muralla. Founded on the city’s northside in 1973, this all-star mashup of musicians released a new album, “Como Me La Pida,” on June 28 that provides a delightful break […]
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REVIEW | ‘Spit Takes and Split Tapes, Vol. II’ by Various Artists
Lilypad Underground and Raincoated Records are at it again, showcasing four of Rochester’s most interesting indie bands recorded directly to a four-track cassette tape. The result is “Spit Takes and Split Tapes, Vol. II,” an endearing split EP offering two songs each from local bands Chores, Comfy, Bad Bloom and Big Nobody. The opening song, […]
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REVIEW | ‘When I Am a Fossil’ by Benny Bleu
New York singer, songwriter and clawhammer banjo player Benny Bleu has announced his debut collection of self-recorded songs, “When I Am a Fossil” due June 5, with a release show at Bop Shop Records on June 6. A decade in the making, Bleu, a geologist by trade, examines the roots of traditional song through his […]
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RPO names Tonya McBride Robles as new president and CEO
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra has tapped Tonya McBride Robles to lead the organization as its new president and CEO, beginning August 17. McBride Robles most recently served as vice president of expanded education at the New England Conservatory in Boston and before that, she had been chief operating officer at both the Baltimore and Nashville […]
Posted inCulture
As ‘Antiques Roadshow’ films in Mumford next week, these local shopkeepers are ready
Antiques are the name of the game this week in Mumford, when PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow” rolls into the Genesee Country Village & Museum to film on June 17. The production will host thousands of collectors looking to get their items appraised — and to explore what local spots have to offer. Rick McKay opened McKay’s […]
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REVIEW | ‘Graceland Way’ by Mikaela Davis
It’s morning. You’re sipping coffee, watching the sun crest over a California canyon. Or, it’s midnight. You’re crushing beers, closing down a bar somewhere on Monroe Avenue. Either way, “Graceland Way,” Rochester-born Mikaela Davis’s latest, would be an apt soundtrack. Davis and company strain melancholy and make-believe through frontier thinking. Orville Peck — your favorite […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Medina Triennial brings ambitious, accessible art to the Erie Canal
Last September, an old canal barge made its way from Rochester 45 miles west to the village of Medina. Community members lugged trees and soil to help the artist Mary Mattingly build a unique garden — a floating one. Mattingly’s project is one of the key pieces of the Medina Triennial, which brings international artists […]
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REVIEW | ‘New York Études, Volume 2’ by Jeff Beal
Practice. Study. Repetition. These are the familiar patterns of learning: for a musical instrument, a new language or most other skills. Dreaming. Resting. Feeling. Are these modes the break from that work, or can they also be a part of it? Those interlocking experiences were on my mind while listening to Jeff Beal’s new album, […]
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REVIEW | ‘Burn From Both Ends’ by Pluck
On “Burn From Both Ends,” the second full-length release from local favorite Pluck, the band’s indie-rock sound rings true. This vibrant collection explores a wide variety of topics and themes. From sickness to relationships to the political state of the world, Pluck’s sophomore album is ready to converse with the listener. “Sooner” opens the album […]
