CITY July 2023

ARTS. MUSIC. CULTURE.

JULY 2023

FREE | SINCE 1971

STRONG SHOWING Explore a 90,000-square foot expansion at Strong Museum of Play.

BY BRIAN SHARP

SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS Flying fitness with Roc City Circus. BY

REBECCA RAFFERTY

ALBUM REVIEWS

Our takes on new music from The Mighty High & Dry, Ben Miller, Midnight Sconce, and Danielle Ponder.

BY STAFF

TURNING TWO CORNERS

Finger Lakes Opera turns 10; commissions new operatic work.

BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER

SUMMER JAM TURNS 50

54 HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT

The EZ Rollers Arm Wrestling Club rides a wave of popularity.

BY DAVID ANDREATTA

62

HOUSE AND HOME Ballroom culture creates a chosen family.

BY RACQUEL STEPHEN

64

JULIA SMITH

It’s not exactly Woodstock, but it’s close.

BY JEFF SPEVAK

GAME TIME

The local ‘Wild West’ of video games and e-sports.

BY PATRICK HOSKEN

Jesse Luxon and his son Jakobe, of Brockport, enjoy Mario Kart at the Strong National Museum of Play.

PHOTO BY MAX SCHULTE

JULY 2023

Vol 51 No 11

On the cover: Photograph by Max Schulte

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Editor: Leah Stacy

Senior arts writer: Jeff Spevak

Arts writers: Daniel J. Kushner, Rebecca Rafferty

Contributors: David Andreatta, Jim Catalano, Quajay Donnell, Patrick Hosken, Mike Martinez, , Fred McCoy, Jeremy Moule, Ron Netsky, Jessica L. Pavia, Lauren Petracca, Max Schulte, Mona Seghatolaslami, Brian Sharp, Julia Smith, Jeff Spevak, Racquel Stephen, Narada Riley

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Let’s meet IRL

On Thursday, June 8 the smoky-orange skies cleared to glimmers of sunshine just in time for CITY’s very first launch party. It was a collab happy hour event with Rochester Cocktail Revival (which I’ve helped produce since 2017), and nearly 300 people came out to snack, sip and mingle along the Genesee Riverway Promenade – even Mayor Malik Evans and former publisher Bill Towler stopped by to say hello. (Mayor Evans said we should throw a party on the promenade every Thursday… who’s in?)

The launch events are part of our new initiative to get out of the office and into the community more. I firmly believe a good journalist or multimedia producer cannot do justice to their work by sitting in the same place all day. A good reporter is out listening and having conversations. Likewise, so is a good community member.

Also, we want to meet you! Many of our CITY Champions, who donate to support CITY’s ongoing work, were present at the June launch party and it was so nice to put names to faces and hear what they love about CITY.

We hope you’ll join us for the next launch – keep an eye on our social media and newsletters for the official announcement.

In the meantime, push PLAY on this issue! As we continue to build around a theme each month, I’m in awe of the creativity coming from the CITY team, both staff and freelance. We explored all things play, from soccer clubs and video gaming and candy making to arm wrestling.

Play is such a vital part of life, and there’s no better time than a Rochester July to think about it. We hope you enjoy these stories.

As always, your feedback is welcome and valued. L Editor, CITY magazine leah@rochester-citynews.com

Rochester Cocktail Revival Director Chuck Cerankosky, CITY Editor Leah Stacy, City of Rochester Mayor Malik Evans. Scenes from CITY's July launch party on the Genesee Riverway Promenade.

PHOTO BY MIKE MARTINEZ

PHOTO BY FRED MCCOY

PHOTO BY MIKE MARTINEZ

PHOTO BY MIKE MARTINEZ

PHOTO BY FRED MCCOY

PHOTO BY FRED MCCOY

PHOTO BY MIKE MARTINEZ

PHOTO BY MIKE MARTINEZ

PHOTO BY MIKE MARTINEZ

PHOTO BY FRED MCCOY

PHOTO BY FRED MCCOY

PHOTO BY MIKE MARTINEZ

5

must-see

exhibits in the Strong National Museum of Play's expansion

The new interactive experiences offer something for all ages.

BY BRIAN SHARP @SHARPROC BSHARP@WXXI.ORG

With the conclusion of a 90,000-square foot expansion to the Strong National Museum of Play, the focus is electronic games. Video games, specifically. Expect a trip down memory lane, but also lots of new things – some designed by museum staff – and a big dose of the wow factor. Set aside a good amount of time to explore. Expect sizable crowds. (Or, pick slower times like weekday mornings or Friday evenings.)

Here are our picks for five can’t-miss attractions in the expansion:

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

The Hasbro Game Park on the south side of The Strong National Museum of Play, where the Dungeons and Dragons fire breathing dragons and Monopoly dog can be found.

PHOTO BY MAX SCHULTE

1

Hasbro Game Park

Step inside all your favorite childhood games, outdoors. Here you’ll find an 18-foot-tall, five-headed dragon from Dungeons and Dragons. Roll a virtual 20-sided die to see it you can get it to breathe fire (yes, actual fire). Gaze at giant-sized candy canes from Candyland, or at a 14-foot-long Scottie dog from Monopoly (and duck inside the house and hotel game pieces). Scramble over giant Jenga pieces, test your memory on a larger-than-life Simon game, or take a whirl at the giant-sized spinner from The Game of Life.

Funded flight

Just inside the new entrance, the first thing you will see are butterflies — lots and lots of them. The museum has 140 OLED insects suspended in the atrium area; each one available for a $1,500 sponsor fee. Donors can “adopt” a butterfly to support the museum and dedicate it to a loved one or organization. The museum brought in local company OLEDWorks, the world leader in OLED lighting technology, to produce the exhibit.

Tall order

You can’t miss the 20-foot tall, playable Donkey Kong arcade game we’ve been hearing about: just look up, it hangs over the side of the walkway bridge spanning the atrium. The game plays like the original, using the same arcade board scaled up to a giant screen.

Other vintage games that have gotten the jumbo treatment: Tennis for Two is playable on a giant-sized console TV. Kids from the 70s will recognize the nearby classic football game where the “players” are little red bars. Instead of a handheld game, it’s a wall mount. And if you want super-sized, at the very back of the museum is a one-story-tall Chutes and Ladders board game.

Left, Martin Reinhardt, Arcade Game Conservation Technician at The Strong National Museum of Play, climbs out of the bottom of the 20 foot tall Donkey Kong game that was built as an exact replica of the original.

Above, Matt Drew, an exhibit fabricator at at the Strong National Museum of Play, works on creating the 20 foot tall playable Donkey Kong game.

PHOTOS BY MAX SCHULTE

PHOTOS BY MAX SCHULTE

High score

Learn about the history of video games, see a variety of artifacts, and play indie games on regular-sized video screens — or, step into the center rotunda and play games from the World Video Hall of Fame projected on massive screens above you.

5

Level -up

This massive exhibit encompassing a series of physically interactive games includes Beat the Boss, where players match the music beat to win against oversized characters; and Stealth Zone, which presents something of a “Mission Impossible” challenge wherein players must make it through, past, and over a series of obstacles undetected. And then there is an interactive playground, which – if you haven’t seen one – is awesome. Players toss balls at virtual targets on a giant screen, testing their accuracy while doing math, solving puzzles, and doing any number of activities.

For hours and ticket information, visit museumofplay.org.

Visitors to the World Video Hall of Fame wing at the Strong National Museum of Play will be able to play video games that have been inducted in the Hall of Fame and learn the history behind the gaming industry.

PHOTOS BY MAX SCHULTE

HIGH-FLYING FITNESS

SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS

Learning to fly with Roc City Circus.

BY REBECCA RAFFERTY @RSRAFFERTY BECCA@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

If pounding the pavement or powerlifting sounds like too dull a fitness routine, consider running away to the circus — at least for an hour a week.

Aerial arts gym Roc City Circus is located in an unassuming warehouse at 1344 University Ave. But inside, the atmosphere is effervescent as students hone their skills and instructors give patient, enthusiastic encouragement, like coaxing baby birds to trust their wings.

The yawning, 13,000-square foot interior contains several stations where anyone can learn to shirk gravity by snaking up billowing aerial silks — long columns of fabric students climb by twisting them just-so around their limbs — and twirling on suspended

hula hoops. Some may even take a leap of faith (in themselves) from the 22foot tall platform of the trapeze rig, as they learn to fly from swinging bars and backflip into the safety net, a nail-biting nine feet above the floor.

Mandy Raville, 49, founded Roc City Circus with her husband Kevin Raville, 53, in late 2019.

‘It was never my plan to open the circus, it just kind of happened,” she said.

Nearly a decade ago, Raville was a stay-at-home mom of two small kids, and she began taking aerial silks classes just to get out of the house.

“It was my outlet,” she said. “I always wanted to be a gymnast when I was little, but my family didn’t have the money. I’d seen Cirque du Soleil, and it seemed just endlessly fun. And so I started taking the classes and really loved it.”

WALSH

Recreational trapeze rigs are so rare that there are websites (like flying-trapeze.com) dedicated to finding one near you. Aside from Roc City Circus, the closest ones are in Toronto, New York City, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Today, the Ravilles’ circus arts school has a variety of classes in four-week sessions for $88, tailored for ages seven through adult–all bodies, regardless of experience or skill level. There’s a monthly membership for $55 that comes with a discount on classes. Roc City Circus also offers opportunities for kids as young as four through hosting birthday parties, and for professional offices and organizations through teambuilding courses.

For the commitment-phobic, there are drop-in bungee fitness classes on Mondays, and a full-body aerial-barrecore stretch class called ABC Fit.

Everyone starts on the ground, Raville said, while noting there are opportunities for interested people to begin by testing out the flying trapeze.

There’s a lounge area in the middle of the warehouse with a view of the trapeze rig. That’s where spectators can come in to watch, and hopefully, Raville says, get interested in doing it themselves.

“Our emphasis is on play and fun,” said Raville. “Play is important for your social health, your mental health, and I think as we get older, we forget how to do that. So I find that this is a great way to stay in shape without knowing that you’re actually exercising.”

Roc City Circus will perform at Corn Hill Arts Festival on July 8. It hosts quarterly student showcases, and monthly themed cabaret showcases — July’s is Pride-themed. Roc City Circus will also host a Rochester Fringe show this fall at its University Ave. space. roccitycircus.com

Nina Placious, left, twirls in silks. Right, Placious and Margo Tsallagova, practice side by side at Roc City Circus. PHOTOS BY JACOB

ECLIPSE POSTER ARTIST’S EXHIBIT ORBITS ROCHESTER

Nothing says ‘I was there’ like nabbing the commemorative poster–and we don’t mean bragging rights to a coveted concert seat or hip underground show. This is the commemorative poster for the April 2024 total solar eclipse, created by an astronomer in anticipation of the big event.

University of Redlands physics professor and California-based astronomer Tyler Nordgren teaches his students how to study the stars, but his audience extends beyond the classroom and into art galleries, National Parks, NASA, and even the Smithsonian, where visitors can view the poster he made to commemorate the 2017 total solar eclipse.

Rochester wasn’t in the zone of totality for that event, but it’s directly in the path of the much-hyped eclipse happening next April.

This month, patrons of Flight Wine Bar Downtown (262 Exchange St.) will have a chance to see Nordren’s 2017 eclipse poster and his new poster that he made in anticipation of the 2024 total solar eclipse, as well as dozens of other posters he designed in celebration of New York State parks.

A self-styled “Night Sky Ambassador,” Nordgren has worked for more than a decade with the National Parks Service to educate the public about science and astronomy. He offers “night sky training” to park rangers, as the remote locations of parks offer some of the darkest night skies in these modern times.

Many of his parks posters — which are designed in the romantic, epic style of vintage travel posters — reflect this interest, featuring a swirl of The Milky Way, the moon, and other heavenly bodies above the featured terrain. Other posters are even more out there, envisioning space bars on neighboring planets and other destinations on Jovian moons, for example.

Sponsored by the Rochester Eclipse Task Force, Nordgren’s poster exhibit has been traveling to different venues each month since April, and will continue to do so through April 2024. The work will be presented at Flight’s Corn Hill Landing location throughout the month of July, with a party from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 18. The artist will be present for a meet-and-greet at 6 p.m.

Nordgren’s work is also viewable during Flight’s open hours, 4 to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 4 to 10 p.m. FridaySaturday. 360-4180. flightrocdowntown@gmail.com.

Posters can also be ordered directly from Nordgren’s website, tylernordgren.com.

PLAY'S THE THING

Once they know it exists, children find it quickly. Hidden behind a walnut bookshelf on the second floor of the new Central Library building is the “Secret Room,” a haven of interactive play that reopened in April 2022.

Tonia Burton is the Children’s Services Consultant for the Monroe County Library System, and led the redesign efforts of the Secret Room.

“We look at what kids need so they’re ready to go to kindergarten, it’s our biggest focus,” she said. “Kids learn through play – learning can be fun, and it should be fun.”

Older library patrons will remember the former “Secret Room” as a stuffy space lined with chairs and glass-doored shelves filled with doll displays. Inside the new space, twinkling violet LEDs designed to match constellations (a collaboration with Dan Schneiderman of Rochester Museum & Science Center) dot the ceiling, and an interactive media game with a forest theme is projected onto a nearby wall by a round table and chairs. An l-shaped reading nook with bright cushions and built-in bookshelves fills one corner; while across the room is a grocery marketplace with curved couches for the guardians of little attendees. While the space is geared through third grade, it can be rearranged for everything from older student activities to professional development events for adults.

“We asked teachers, parents, grandparents, kids – what do you think this room should be?” said Burton. “I feel really great about what we were able to accomplish.”

At 10 a.m. every Friday during July, all ages are welcome to “Stories in the Secret Room” for stories, songs and secrets; and at 11 a.m. on Thursdays through August 10, the Secret Room hosts “Exploration Play,” which features a different theme weekly.

— BY LEAH STACY

CALL FOR CREATIVES

AUDITIONS “John & Jen”

Audition date: 1 to 4 p.m. July 15 and 3 to 6 p.m. July 16 | Blackfriars Theatre

Directed by Scott Scaffidi. By appointment only; email info@blackfriars.org to schedule a 15-minute slot. Callbacks will be scheduled as necessary. Initial auditions will consist of three songs and two scenes from the show. Bring a headshot, resume, and your calendar to complete the rehearsal conflicts. blackfriars.org/auditions-john-jen

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Visual arts submissions

Deadline: Ongoing | UUU Artist Collective

— BY REBECCA RAFFERTY

Acceptable media include but are not limited to: painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, digital art, video, mixed media, site-specific installation, performance art and others. Selected artists will be contacted directly by gallery staff via email or phone, and will be considered for inclusion in solo or group exhibitions, artist talks, special events, and curatorial projects.

uuuartcollective.com/for-artists

Open call for work

Deadline: December 31 |

Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs

Main Street Arts is looking for submissions from artists located in upstate New York working with all media. Submissions are reviewed twice annually. All artists who submit work will hear back within one month of the deadline date. mainstreetartscs.org/ artist-opportunities/open-call

Ongoing call for entries

Deadline: Ongoing | Flower City Arts Center

Throughout the year FCAC accepts exhibition proposals in all three of its program areas: printmaking and book arts, ceramics, and photography and digital arts. Send an email with a detailed show proposal, 15 to 20 images of current work, a list of materials, sizes, and prices for each, a CV or resume, and an artist statement via email to the head of the appropriate department. Due to the volume of submissions, you’ll only hear from the center if they’re interested in showing your work, but your proposal will stay on file for one year. Department contact information is available online. flowercityarts.org/opportunities.

— COMPILED BY REBECCA RAFFERTY

For more artist opportunities visit roccitymag.com

Tonia Burton opens the hidden bookshelf door to the Secret Room. PHOTOS BY LEAH STACY

PEACEFUL PLAY

Queer-owned arts and education hub

Luna Cooperative holds space, time and resources for those who need it.

BY REBECCA RAFFERTY

When artist and mother of two Jess Bird (she/ they) founded Luna Cooperative last year, they wanted to create a hub where queer people of all ages – especially queer kids – could feel comfortable just being themselves and relax away from the hypervigilant mode that defines their lives in the general population of American culture.

“I want them to see themselves grown up, and that there’s value in art,” Bird, 35, said of the High Falls-based space and its community of creators.

A core idea driving Luna is that people don’t need to have a specific purpose for being there — they could just rely on the space as a safe hangout, but also pick from a variety of creative and social activities offered there.

“We’re here to aid in healing and building community through creative arts,” said Bird. They founded the center during the pandemic, when schools and other spaces were shut down.

“I was concerned about all the kids that had to be at home,” they said. “I did not have a very good home life growing up, and my school was my sanctuary. So I wanted to make a good space, when all of these kids were now going to be spending more time in maybe not safe environments.”

But it’s not just school kids that the space has helped. An adult recently released from in-patient care for an eating disorder has also found refuge in the space. It’s a happy environment, painted in cheerful hues and decorated with defiantly positive affirmations and a jungle of thriving plants.

“Parents have told me that this is the first recreational place they

felt comfortable bringing their trans child,” Bird said.

Bird runs the space from the second floor of 60 Browns Race with their partner, Sarina Kari (they/ them), who is 26. Kari is an educator earning a graduate degree and serves as the program coordinator at Luna. Like Bird, they also understand the need for a queer-friendly creative space in Rochester.

“I grew up in a very small, homogenous white community,” Kari said. “I’m half-Japanese and queer, and I’ve always felt a bit out of place. I came out in high school, but I didn’t have spaces like this.”

Luna is stocked with art supplies and a calendar full of workshops and social events for different age groups (game nights, clothing swaps, etc.), queer artist vendor events, and a recurring creative camp for kids.

It’s also a creative co-work with a variety of artists who rent individual studio spaces. Tenants include the prismatic and playful jewelry studio, Pop Shop; The Adorned Studios, where one can take a metalsmithing class or purchase minimalist fine art jewelry; Bird’s own illustration and design practice, Bless the Messy; illustration and stationery

Jess Bird with son, Sawyer, left, and partner Sarina Kari. PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH

by Casseophia;

art therapist Abby

Whelan’s

office; and Fluid, which is Kari’s beautifully-curated genderfluid second-hand clothing boutique, complete with accessories and gifts. Some of the businesses, including Bird’s, are ex-pats of The Hungerford Building, which has been experiencing an exodus of artists under its new ownership.

Luna also has a queer-friendly library filled with books geared toward different age groups, and Bird is constantly updating and refilling the shelves of YA novels and manga when loaners don’t make their way back.

“But that’s okay,” Bird said. “The books are here for those who need it.”

Much like the library, Bird is sort of winging it with Luna’s growth. Serendipitous connections happen

through chance conversations, which is what led a queer-friendly barber to offer pop-up, pay-what-you-can haircuts at the space. Luna also has an ongoing crowdfunding effort for help in supporting the space.

For Kari, Luna has been a way to mitigate a sometimes crushing feeling of dread.

“I felt like I couldn’t save the world,” they said. “And then coming to Luna, I was like, ‘Oh, wait, this is a decent chunk. I could help at least with this opportunity.’”

Bird and Kari both like to think of Luna as a “community living room,” and they hope to expand the space to be able to serve more people. Until then, folks can pop by during Luna’s open hours, have a seltzer or coffee, draw, paint, and chill. lunacooperative.com

PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH

PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH

HIDE AND SEEK W

A mural scavenger hunt through the city

BY QUAJAY DONNELL @QUAJAY

1IYKYK that IRBIR was a wacky alien spokesman in the 1980s for a Chamber of Commerce campaign that played off the acronym that is his name. Now he’s in a little bit of a hideaway on this mural, thanks to Shawn Dunwoody and company. Like Rochester, It’s (Still) Got It.

ith so much mural art throughout Rochester that we ride and walk by daily, we thought it would be fun to take you to a few favorite hidden treasures throughout the city with a lighthearted scavenger hunt. Want to play? All you have to do is find all seven murals using the clues, take a photo of the full walls, then drop them in a story on Instagram and tag @roccitymag. At the end of the month, we’ll choose a winner at random from the correct tags. But whether you win a prize or not, we hope you enjoy the art while learning a little more about each piece along the way.

3Roughly 152 years before Faith47 added a drop of paint to the weathered canvas beneath the elevated railroad tracks, then President-elect Abraham Lincoln’s train stopped nearby enroute to Washington, D.C. It was the early morning hours of February 18, 1861, and his words were brief: “I appear merely to see you, and to let you see me, and to bid you farewell.” He must have needed caffeine, because as CITY editor Leah Stacy will tell you, there are no coffee shops immediately nearby in the High Falls District–so on that train he kept on chugging.

2Beware of this beaver crossing with a side of payback courtesy of Onur and Wes21. The pair visited Rochester in 2015 with WALL\THERAPY and added a bit of playful fun across from a space known for its play-filled experiences

4Formerly wheat paste adhered to this exterior wall by Dellarious, it has since worn away in the grayness of Rochester winter. Now, all that remains is the outline of Frederick Douglass, surrounded by a campus full of art inspired by him, his life, and his words, crafted by local creators on land that was once home to his family and now serves the community in many new ways.

A bit of Good Luck will lead you to this not-so-little boy. Painted by brothers Saman and Sasan Oskouei (AKA ICY and SOT), whose work focuses on humanitarian topics, is just outside of a space filled with imaginative Rochesterians.

5Inherited Traditions has this royalty-like presence of a Queen on King Street, and rightfully so. Painted by Brittany Williams, the mural is inspired by the Quilts of Gee’s Bend, a quilting tradition that dates back as far as the early 1800s when enslaved women in the rural community of Boykin, Alabama began to stitch scraps together as a means of making bed covers for warmth, now celebrated for its beauty and rich history.

7Get that cup of coffee Lincoln probably needed the morning he visited Rochester in 1861 when you find this wall by Meagan Spendlove. While getting caffeinated in the South Wedge, enjoy the views of this mural in the courtyard it overlooks.

FLASH FICTION

LIFE GOES ON T

Rochester writer-comedian Charlie DeMott Wildley depicts the end of the world (not) as we know it.

BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER @DANIELJKUSHNER DKUSHNER@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

en years ago, a group of quirky, self-possessed 20-somethings formed the Rochester-based comedy collective Goo House. The group only performed in earnest for a year, presenting a series of bizarre variety shows filled with sketches, stand-up comics, live music, and appearances by a singular performance artist who called himself ‘Puddles the Cat Comedian.’ But several of its members have made notable contributions to the culture atlarge: cartoonist and comedian Mikey Heller went on to write for the animated sitcom “We Bare Bears” on Cartoon Network; comedian Colin Burgess, the creator of Puddles, has appeared in videos for Comedy Central, IFC, and Adult Swim, among others; and humorist Lucas Gardner authored two novels and has been a frequent contributing writer for The New Yorker and McSweeney’s.

The novel-writing bug has now bitten Gardner’s fellow Goo House alum Charlie DeMott Wildey, who recently returned to Rochester from Ithaca and released his debut novel “Lightning Bolt” via Buffalo-based NFB Publishing in May 2023.

Even as a member of Goo House, Wildey always considered himself a storyteller at heart, and his subtle, slowly unfolding approach to humor comes to the fore in the book.

“Lightning Bolt” can best be described as an apocalyptic story for people who don’t dig typical doomsday scenarios that frequently feature zombies, cannibals or some combination of the two. Alternatively, the new novel advances the bleak-yet-profound premise that life doesn’t stop just because the world has ended.

Set vaguely in the future, Wildey’s cleverly conceived plot follows the everyday exploits of

a bodega employee and aspiring writer named Wyatt in a garbagestrewn, pollution-addled metropolis formerly known as New York City. Early on, the protagonist reads a poetry book while sipping a beer at work, and it’s impossible not to sense Wildey critiquing his own writing:

Some of it was pretty good. A few of the pieces tried too hard and some of them were a little more earnest than Wyatt usually liked to read…[he] found the writing to be a bit clumsy but the insight was clearly rendered.

As a self-assessment, it’s an

accurate one, if overly critical. While the novel’s environmental angle is heavy-handed, it isn’t off the mark. Despite the grim physical world depicted in “Lightning Bolt,” Wyatt and his friends still manage to indulge in hipster pastimes such as listening to obscure music on 7-inch vinyl records, producing original plays and DIY zines, and frequenting coffee shops and bars — with one such establishment conspicuously named Tap and Mallet.

Even as the plot gets weird and surreal, it never seems implausible. Wildey’s characters are well-

"Overhead, above the rooftops surveillance drones surveilled. Wyatt pulled the stool towards the window and leaned on the counter to see as much of the sky as he could. As he sat, the wind meandered around just right to reveal a glimpse of the blue of the sky, something that happened so rarely that it felt like a little treat. Scooting around, visible above the shog, were satellites hanging in the sky where you’d think they’d ought to fall right down. Most were dormant or dead, belonging to now defunct companies or governments, and they just kept drifting around and around until they bumped into something.”

— EXCERPT FROM "LIGHTNING BOLT," CHAPTER 1

meaning and endearing, and the more fantastical elements are grounded in their surprisingly banal lives. Despite the irreparably contaminated environment, poverty and homelessness, looming police brutality, and the lack of a social safety net, life goes on in “Lightning Bolt.” The future postapocalypse depicted in Wildey’s novel is both an eerily honest reflection of our present reality and an entertaining cautionary tale.

WHERE LITERATURE MEETS LUNCH

Rochester’s newest staple is one for the books.

BY JULIA SMITH

Amidst the bustling streets of Rochester’s South Wedge neighborhood lies a hidden oasis filled with colorful bookshelves and cozy reading spaces. Between the sound of the rustling of pages turning and the smell of freshly made comfort food, it’s impossible to not want to spend the day there, curled up with a good book and tasty breakfast sandwich. It’s precisely this fusion of literature and cuisine that makes Bookeater, brainchild of Chad Ellis and Peter Mastrodonato,

an unmissable new Rochester experience.

Newly opened in the heart of the South Wedge, Bookeater serves as a combination bookstore and cafe, blending Peter’s passion for cooking with Chad’s love of literature.

The two met as coworkers at Swiftwater Brewing, and over busy shifts and late night pool sessions, they realized a need to bring their strengths together. “We thought books and food worked really well together, rather than just one or the other,” Mastrodonato said.

By combining both their interests, Mastrodonato and Ellis hope to offer the Rochester community a niche, gastronomic bookstore experience. Featuring relaxing reading areas, a lounge area with a Nintendo, and a diverse menu, Bookeater blends comfort and convenience with community at its core. The classic interior is filled with natural light and carefully curated with vibrant pops of color, including a dazzling mural by artist Zazie Weldgen featuring imagery inspired by the history of

Rochester. The multi-level building even houses a sizable backyard space with al fresco seating and ample greenery for those craving an escape from the bustle of the city.

Bookeater’s menu is classic comfort food with a modern twist, including adventurous items like their bánh mì wrap and beef carpaccio.

“It has something for everyone,” Mastrodonato said.

From mystery to manga, the book selection is equally as vast; one that visitors with voracious

Assorted sights from Bookeater, a new bookstore and cafe in the Swillburg neighborhood. PHOTOS BY JACOB WALSH

appetites for reading can sink their teeth into. The impressive inventory of books even includes a used section curated in collaboration with Taylor Thomas, AKA The Secondhand Librarian.

Both longterm Rochester residents, Mastrodonato and Ellis want to offer members of the Swillburg community a spot where they can relax, connect and get lost in a good story and meal. “It’s something the neighborhood needs,” Mastrodonato said.

Going forward, the duo has plenty more ideas about how to expand Bookeater’s operations, including movie nights in the private outdoor space. “We’ve really gotten a feel for what the community is looking for and are making adjustments to accommodate them,” said Mastrodonato.

In the meantime, just watching their vision come to life has been surreal. “We spent a year and a half working on the building and thinking about the business,” Ellis said. “It’s been very nice to feel welcomed by the community.”

See also...

Hipocampo

This woman-and Latinx-owned children’s bookstore has a wide selection of stories representing a diverse mix of culture and heritage. Located in the South Wedge, the store hosts programs, classes and performances showcasing and celebrating children’s literature.

638 South Ave. hipocampochildrensbooks.com

Akimbo

Having recently reopened in a new location in the Neighborhood of the Arts following a devastating fire in its last space and a second crowdfunding campaign, Akimbo Bookshop serves as a testament to the enthusiasm of Rochester’s literary community. The woman-owned bookshop hosts author signings, lectures, workshops, and more.

714 University Ave. akimbobooks.org

Ampersand

Owned by literary nonprofit Writers & Books in the Neighborhood of the Arts, Ampersand has a bevy of titles from local writers, award-winning authors and rare and unique books. With a number of book clubs, reading lists, and community events, Ampersand is a Rochester staple for literature lovers craving connection.

740 University Ave. ampersandbooks.org

The Unreliable Narrator

Situated inside Village Gate, queerowned independent bookstore and gift shop The Unreliable Narrator is the perfect place to peruse books, trinkets, and goodies. Plus, they have a large selection of items from local artisans–and a tea shop is located in the back. 274 N. Goodman St. b133, instagram.com/theunreliablenarratorroc

Above (left to right): Bill Skillern, Peter Mastrodonato, Allison Wasskin, and Chad Ellis of Bookeater. Below: Co-owner Chad Ellis behind the coffee bar at Bookeater; a sunny windowside reading area on the 2nd floor.

PHOTOS BY JACOB WALSH

CARTOONIST’S NEW PROJECT IS AN ODE TO MILES DAVIS

As both a skilled jazz trumpeter and a perceptive visual artist, Rochesterian Dave Chisholm has carved out an odd, singular career path: he creates graphic novels about some of the greatest movers and shakers in American jazz history.

Legendary ambassadors of the art form, including Charlie Parker and Blue Note Records, have been the subject of sprawling graphic novels that are part musical biopic, part fantasy dreamscape. Now Chisholm is setting his sights on another jazz titan: Miles Davis.

“It’s like the nichi-est of niches here,” Chisholm said of his role as auteur of jazz cartoons. “But it’s cool, because I can be spreading the good word about this music that’s so important, and then spreading the good word about comics.”

The new graphic novel “Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound” is slated to be released in late September by Z2 Comics, a company dedicated to publishing music-inspired comic books and frequent collaborator with Chisholm, who writes the text and illustrates it.

In order to depict the distinct musical qualities of Davis’s different creative periods — from his early days in Parker’s band and the career-making “Birth of the Cool” era, to his work in styles as varied as hard bop and ’80s synth pop — Chisholm used a chameleon-like approach to visuals that the author also employed in his Charlie Parker novel “Chasin’ the Bird.”

“Every chapter has a different look because of the music that he’s making at the time,” Chisholm said of the Miles Davis novel. “And sometimes, chapters show his musical evolution in terms of the visual language.”

Chisholm said the story is as factually accurate as Davis’s autobiographical account. The comic book artist likens the process to a game of telephone. “It’s not really meant to be a historical, scholarly document,” he explained. “No, it’s meant to be an entertaining look into this guy’s music and his life and his motivations.”

— BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER

POV: Two Best Frenz Invite You To The Mall

JOYWAVE’S DANIEL ARMBRUSTER AND SIR SLY’S JASON SUWITO CRAFT A CONCEPT ALBUM ABOUT GETTING EVERYTHING YOU WANT (AND NOTHING YOU NEED)

BY PATRICK HOSKEN @PATRICKHOSKEN

Daniel Armbruster has never visited the Adirondacks. While the Joywave vocalist and lifelong Rochesterian has toured the world, the formidable peaks to the east have eluded him. But that hasn’t stopped him from using the mighty mountains as creative inspiration.

“It’s you and I on a chair in the Adirondacks,” Armbruster sings on a new song from his group Best Frenz, a collaboration with California musician Jason Suwito. “We’re so alive like it’s 1993.”

The electronic pop swirls as Armbruster waxes nostalgic about a vacation he never actually took, with a car fueled by dirt-cheap, Clinton-era gasoline. It’s pure fantasy, a running theme throughout Best Frenz’s debut album, “The Mall,” which hits streamers on August 11.

Armbruster has another name for the concept: “implanted memories.”

“It’s certainly escapism, looking around at the same four walls and not going back to an earlier time in your life, but an earlier time in a different life,” he said.

After Armbruster and Joywave toured with Suwito’s band Sir Sly in 2018, the pair kept in touch, eventually reconnecting in a Los Angeles studio while producing a song by the pop group Dreamers. They decided to make a little music for themselves; Suwito sent tracks to Armbruster, but both were busy with their main commitments — until COVID hit. They formed Best Frenz, created 2021’s “30% Off” EP by sending music back and forth online, and kept working on songs as new virus variants popped up. “The Mall” came out of a desire to leave the uncertainty behind.

“We were like, ‘You know what sounds really good right now? Going to the f*cking mall,’” Armbruster said. “Just walking around with your

friends and not worrying about everything outside. That’s how we arrived at this concept. The songs are more about things that maybe I wished I had done as opposed to things that I have done.”

A playful, postmodern romp through a metaphysical space in which memories appear like sunglass kiosks and cellphone shops — where else could this buffet of choices happen but the mall?

The songs reflect the fun of daydreaming. “The Carousel” begins with a circular blast of synthesizer that feels like a carnival, while “Sunshine & Milkshakes” leans into bright string samples and lyrics about “sharing a glass of wine in the umbrella shade.” Armbruster likened the track to Len, whose 1999 hit “Steal My Sunshine” still soundtracks summer revelry among millennials.

“I was going through a period of rediscovering house music,” Suwito said via email. “I remember telling Dan that I wanted to make a house record. I think some of that came through in ‘The Carousel.’”

The death of the American mall is easy to exaggerate. A 2020 report forecasted that 25% of all U.S. malls would shutter in five years or less, while others remain optimistic malls will never die. The nostalgic quality they maintain — dated architecture, declining food chains, a lack of e-commerce — provides a playground for Best Frenz, even if Suwito said he wasn’t a mallrat as a teen.

“I do have fond memories of my parents bringing me to the mall to ride the carousel and of smelling Mrs. Fields cookies,” he said via email. “I’d also go to a build-your-own baked potato spot

in the food court after hockey practice.”

Growing up with “nowhere to go and no one to hang out with,” Armbruster and Joywave drummer Paul Brenner frequented The Mall at Greece Ridge on weekend nights. But Armbruster stressed Best Frenz’s mall is a complete construct of fancy and imagination — even if some modern darkness seeps through lyrically.

“Did you think there could be so much death here?” he sings on “Sunshine & Milkshakes” before quickly snapping back into the brightlit illusion partially inspired by the Santa Monica Pier.

Armbruster snuck one actual memory on the final track, “Closing Announcements.” He recites, verbatim, the loudspeaker spiel he’d give while working at Staples in the early 2000s.

Unlike certain malls, that shop is still open.

“It is still there, always taunting me,” he said, “letting me know that it’ll be there when I need it again.”

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN ZUCKER

“FEATHERS OF MA’AT”

BY BEN MILLER

Whether he’s at a piano or a Fender Rhodes keyboard, Rochester pianist Ben Miller is a formidable player and inventive improvisor. His debut album, “Feathers of Ma’at,” is a tour de force, amply displaying Miller’s prowess as an instrumentalist and composer.

If his music is hard to pin down and song titles like “Ennead” and “Zep Tepi” seem even more mysterious, consider Miller’s diverse life. Because of his mother’s work as a plant biologist, Miller’s family moved from the Philippines to Peru and then from Ithaca, NY to Kenya.

He studied jazz piano in Montreal before earning a master’s at the Manhattan School of Music. After becoming firmly established on the Brooklyn scene, he moved to Rochester during the pandemic to create Third Motion Studios in a more affordable environment.

The album’s title, “Feathers of Ma’at,” refers to an eagle-winged Egyptian goddess representing truth, order, balance, and justice. The nine tunes written by Miller fit nicely into the hard-bop genre but also allude to mythological figures, mathematical concepts, alchemy, and numerology.

The first track, “Azoth,” is bluesy and catchy but not a typical blues progression – unsurprising when you learn what Miller is attempting to conjure. “Azoth” refers to an ancient alchemist’s occult formula for a universal medication.

Miller’s trio is rounded out by Joseph Lepore on bass and Taru Alexander on drums. There is a deep sense of simpatico between the three, whether they are taking off on solos or providing strong support.

BY RON NETSKY

“ROLL THE CREDITS” BY

DANIELLE

PONDER

Danielle Ponder released the new studio single “Roll the Credits” back on May 5, but it’s hard not to hear the soul singer-songwriter’s latest song about selfactualization and love’s transcendent power over life’s obstacles in the context of the recent Canadian wildfires that left the East Coast literally on fire.

“And if there’s smoke, then I’ll be water/ If there’s fire, I’ll be rain,” Ponder sings over a thick synthetic bass line, the swagger of a loping hiphop rhythm, and a simple yet effective chord progression.

As always with Ponder’s music, it’s her voice that’s the center of attention. “Roll the Credits” finds the Rochester native at the peak of her charismatic powers to this point, sounding like an artist who has found herself amidst what can often be a challenging period following the initial wave of mainstream success.

It remains to be seen whether “Roll the Credits” will be a part of Ponder’s eventual second album, but it’s clear she’s found a sweet spot in her songwriting, creating anthems of empowerment — particularly for women of color — while continuing her winning combination of soul, gospel, pop, and hip-hop.

Ponder’s voice is in full control on this record, and the finished pop product is encouraging while also inducing some serious head-bobbing. As a stand-alone single, “Roll the Credits” is due for some serious play on the airwaves. That said, the danger of using an established formula in one’s songs is that, eventually, boredom and apathy settle in and the integrity of the person’s artistic expression is diluted.

This does not appear to be the case with Ponder, whose strength and vitality as a singer continues to grow each day.

— BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER

“AWAKEN” BY THE MIDNIGHT SCONCE

Don Henley famously began the Eagles’ “Hotel California” singing about “a dark desert highway” and what lies beyond it. Rochester band The Midnight Sconce channels that mystic energy, and a heavy 1970s influence, on its new single “Awaken.” Like a lower-BPM Blue Öyster Cult or a more interior Santana, this quartet finds the groove right away and doesn’t let it go.

The most telling lyrics of “Awaken” speak to “a force of nature” that “whips across the desert sand” and a trek up a great height to “see what’s become of this planet we live on.” An initial reading of the song evokes climate change — its very title suggests a call to action.

But as the meaning remains slightly opaque, the crisp interlocking rhythms of drummer Jakeb Wilczewski, bassist Kyle Hall, and dual guitarists Nick Rose and Shane Joyce all slide into sharp focus. Along with their penchant for slightly psychedelic jams, three of the band’s four members share vocal duties while playing live, making the Grateful Dead an easy analog.

That said, a slight edge courses through “Awaken,” even as the chewy guitar tone and cowbell place it closer to The Fillmore stage than any garage setup. Joyce’s other project, Jimso Slim, focuses on sun-dappled indie rock, letting him delve into more panoramic soundscapes with The Midnight Sconce.

And there’s plenty more exploration in store. After releasing three freewheeling live recordings over the past year, the group cut “Awaken” at Wicked Squid Studios with assistance from audio wiz Josh Pettinger. The resulting record showcases a previously unheard polish that allows Rose’s lead guitar to ascend groove mountain near the end of the track.

It’s a tasty aperitif whipped up by a welcoming hotel bartender. If we’re lucky, The Midnight Sconce won’t be checking out anytime soon.

— BY PATRICK HOSKEN

“LIVE. WILD. LOVE.” BY THE MIGHTY HIGH & DRY

The Mighty High & Dry had to find a way to live through the pandemic, so they chose the same route that many musicians did. Quietly writing songs, even as the venues where they would usually be heard quietly went silent or closed for good.

The album that emerged from this pandemic pause is “Live. Wild. Love.” Live, because its foundation was recorded in 2019 during shows at Three Heads Brewing and Iron Smoke Whiskey. And live, because that’s what the best humans do: Live. Live wildly. Live with love.

The core of “Live. Wild. Love.” is Alan Murphy on guitars, keyboards and vocals. Alex Coté on drums sometimes, other times guitar, or harmonica. Eric Katerle on lead guitar. Kyle Vock on bass. They all sing, and they get plenty of help. In what Murphy refers to as “The Mighty High & Dry Assembly,” various tracks feature female vocals and horns aplenty.

If that feels like the kind of fullthrottle rock you’d hear from Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes — or even The Boss, Bruce Springsteen — yes, it is that. Yet, The Mighty High & Dry doesn’t sound like it’s copying. It’s not coming from Asbury Park but the Genesee shore.

The Mighty High & Dry is all over the sonic map. “Misused/Mistreated” is a bluesy, Howlin’ Wolf animal, where leaving means “just grabbing my shoes and walking out the door.” On “Down By the Wayside,” Murphy laments “people not making the most of their time.” And “I Hear My Heart” is that old tale of “star-crossed lovers.”

A Van Morrison influence creeps into “Wild Love.” The horns are a part of that as well. And “Little Red Dress” is exuberant. With Zahyia Rolle sharing the load of the writing and vocals with Murphy, it comes off like a Tina Turner and Mick Jagger duet.

— BYJEFF SPEVAK

AT THE CORNER OF ART AND EQUITY

Finger Lakes Opera commissions‘Two Corners’ as part of antiracist initiative.

BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER @DANIELJKUSHNER DKUSHNER@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

Finger Lakes Opera — the preeminent professional opera company in Greater Rochester — reached its milestone 10th season last year, and is entering its second decade with the 2023 season. Founded by Artistic Director Gerard Floriano, the conductor and music department chair at SUNY Geneseo, Finger Lakes Opera was formed in the wake of Mercury Opera Rochester’s dissolution in 2011, which in turn had been born out of the community opera theater Rochester Opera Factory.

Along with Eastman School of Music’s opera department, FLO has been the main source of live opera

performance locally in recent years. But rather than rest easy in this accomplishment and maintain the status quo, the professional company has commissioned a new opera — Black composer B.E. Boykin and Black librettist Jarrod Lee’s “Two Corners” — suggesting a progressive approach to presenting the centuries-old art form in the 21st century.

On July 23, FLO will present a workshop version of “Two Corners” at the Theater at Innovation Square downtown, featuring Rochesterian and emergent star soprano Kearstin Piper Brown (who is also a fill-in host at WXXI’s Classical 91.5). The story is

based on a true-life friendship between the composer’s grandmother Florine and a white woman named Sarah during the civil rights era.

“I do like the storytelling mechanism of opera,” said Lee, who is a singer in addition to being a librettist (another word for ‘playwright’ in opera). That doesn’t mean being a contemporary librettist is without frustration for Lee – he is sometimes asked if he has read the great librettists of the past, who were almost exclusively white Europeans. “And I say, ‘No. No. No,” he said, “because your question was already tainted with an influence that does not serve me, nor the artists that will present

the story, nor the collaborator that I’m going to work with, nor the people who will receive the story.“

“Two Corners” is also a personal story for Lee, who connected with the character of Florine in ways he did not anticipate when he and Boykin began working together during their time at the American Opera Initiative, a commissioning program created by Washington National Opera.

As Boykin began telling Lee the origins of the “Two Corners” story — where her grandmother was from, what her name was – the two realized that not only were their families from the same part of Alabama, but the name

Soprano Kearstin Piper Brown sings the premiere of composer B.E. Boykin's song cycle "Moments in Sonder" in November 2021.

PHOTO BY DAVE JONES

‘Boykin’ was a part of both heritages. The conversation eventually led to the discovery that they were cousins with the same great-great-grandparents.

Attendees of the workshop performance will get a rare opportunity to see the development of opera in real time, including potential stop-and-start adjustments being made during the performance. This creative process in action will culminate with Finger Lakes Opera putting on the world premiere production in Rochester in August 2024.

“Two Corners” is FLO’s first commissioned opera, a project the company was inspired to take on in the wake of George Floyd’s murder while in the custody of Minnesota police in 2020. The newly formed Black Opera Alliance issued an eight-point call-to-action thereafter for company members of Opera America, requesting that professional opera companies demonstrate a commitment to being anti-racist in their work with a “Pledge for Racial Equity and Systemic Change in Opera.”

Finger Lakes Opera’s development and eventual premiere of “Two Corners” is a part of that commitment. The opera is also a transparent, bold challenge for the Rochester community to come to terms with its history of racial injustice.

“The opera itself is set in Alabama around the time of desegregating schools,” FLO’s Director of Communications and Community Engagement Gwen Paker said. “And while we don’t have explicit segregation in Rochester, this city has such a devastating history of redlining and racial inequity.” She cited the school district boundary between Pittsford schools and Rochester City School District, one of the most economically segregated in the entire country, as a current example of the effects of racism. She said BOA’s good-faith challenge to American opera companies gave FLO “more fire in our bellies to do more and do better.”

Casting singers of color is the first step toward achieving racial equity in opera. FLO will also present Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘Aida’ August 11 and 13 at the Auditorium Theatre, with Black Rochester soprano Elena O’Connor in the title role.

“These are, from our perspective, the bare minimum things,” said Paker. “And so, we’re really happy about ‘Two Corners’ being more than that. We’re hoping to add new stories while also telling the stories we all know and love in a more sensitive and appropriate light.”

Librettist Jarrod Lee, at left, with his collaborator B.E. Boykin. PHOTO PROVIDED

FIFTY YEARS AFTER SUMMER JAM, AND THE END OF AN ERA

BY JEFF SPEVAK @JEFFSPEVAK1

Chris Kennedy and three or four of his friends were tucked away in the back of a rental truck, riding from Syracuse to Watkins Glen. He recalls a couple of them alleviating the boredom by firing up joints while they sat on stacks of combustible paper.

When the truck arrived at Watkins Glen, the outdoor concert site was deserted except for the three bands and their crews, running through rehearsals for the next day’s show. Which promised to be a pretty good

one. “Summer Jam,” 12 hours of The Allman Brothers Band, The Grateful Dead, and The Band.

The job for the 18-year-old Kennedy and his friends was simple: As people arrived for the concert, hand out the advertisement-filled pamphlets they had been sitting on.

“To say I didn’t understand how many people would be there would be an understatement,” Kennedy says. No one seemed to understand how many people would be there. Watkins Glen was a quiet village of a mere

3,000 people, nestled at the bottom of Seneca Lake. But just four years after 400,000 people turned out in Bethel, New York, for three days of Woodstock, it’s generally estimated that 600,000 people flooded into tiny Watkins Glen on July 28, 1973 for one day of Summer Jam: the largest crowd to ever attend an outdoor concert in the United States.

Fifty years later, musicians and music lovers alike are celebrating – or

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

More than 600,000 people flooded Watkins Glen for a weekend of music in 1973.

PHOTO PROVIDED

remembering, anyway – Summer Jam. Among the commemorations is “Watkins ROCs” at Lovin’ Cup Bistro & Brews on July 28, featuring Blue Sky Brothers (an Allman tribute band), The Next Waltz (a tribute to The Band) and Eric Carlin’s Half Dead (a Grateful Dead tribute).

Similarly, “Summer Jam ’23: Celebrating 50 Years since Watkins Glen” is set for July 29 at Lincoln Hill Farms in Canandaigua. That one features Friends of The Brothers (an Allman tribute), Terrapin Flyer (a Grateful Dead tribute) and the redundantly named The THE BAND Band (a tribute to The Band).

These are but two of many events statewide linked to the historic concert. Further afield, at the brand new venue Wonderland Forest in LaFayette (just outside of Syracuse), “Summer Jam 50” will take place July 28 and 29. On both days the headlining band, Dark Star Orchestra – just two days after it plays Rochester’s Innovative Field –will recreate the Grateful Dead’s set list from Watkins Glen 50 years ago. Dark Star Orchestra will be joined by another set of corresponding cohorts: Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country (the Allman tribute) and The Weight Band (as The Band).

“It was interesting to see these three kinds of threads come together,” Kennedy says. A synchronicity of unlikely social sets. Bikers who came for the Allmans. Deadheads for the Grateful Dead. Lawyers for The Band.

Kennedy, who now teaches creative writing at Syracuse University, remembers the pamphlet crew sitting on the back of their truck watching drug deals (mostly pot). “There was a lot of haggling going on, or bartering,” he says. “‘If you give me half an ounce of that, I’ll give you five hits of this…’”

From the back of the truck, Kennedy and his friends also watched a skydiver leap from a plane and fire up a flare. Then the skydiver disappeared behind some trees, his chute never properly opening. “It was clear that he had fallen,” Kennedy says. The man died, and when Kennedy later saw a newspaper story on the accident. “I realized who it was,” he says, “I knew him. Some friends of mine had just taken skydiving lessons from him.”

Few things went according to plan that first year. Kennedy saw Bill Graham, the legendary concert promoter and producer of the show, on horseback at the gate, “clearly perturbed that so many people were coming in without having paid. Eventually they just let everyone in, like Woodstock. They just stopped trying.”

The rain arrived at the end of the day, and the end of the show. Having lost contact with each other in the early hours of the concert, only Kennedy and one other member of their pamphlet crew ever found their way back to the truck. They watched from the vehicle’s open back door as an army of 600,000 concertgoers retreated. Kennedy remembers it being miserable.

“The road was clogged with people, you couldn’t go more than a mile or two an hour,” he says. “The guy who drove the truck was basically freaking out, and ready to drive over people to get out of there.”

Looking back a half-century, Kennedy says Summer Jam was not a great experience in terms of how people dealt with each other.

“A lot of people tried to take advantage of other people’s naivety about drugs and stuff like that. A little disillusioning for an 18-yearold,” he says. “It was an era coming to a close in a lot of ways.”

“It was an era coming to a close in a lot of ways.”

PHOTO PROVIDED

todo DAILY

Full calendar of events online at roccitymag.com

SATURDAY, JULY 1

ANIMALS

Big Fun Cat Show

ROC Dome Arena, facebook.com/ ROCNYCatShows

I’m a dog person and that’s usually clear after people talk to me for five minutes. But I also love cats. Something about the fluffy, temperamental little hellions just tugs at my heart. Cat shows don’t have quite the casual following that dog shows do, but they are a great way for feline fanciers to see and learn about the different breeds that are out in the world, such as Russian blues, Maine coons (my favorite), Persians, Sphynx, Scottish folds, and many more. The Big Fun Cat show promises more than 35 breeds, free cat coloring books, the opportunity to pet cats, and feline agility demonstrations. (By feline agility let’s hope they don’t mean all those missed attempts at jumping on counters, fridges, or any flat surfaces.)

Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and children 6-12, and free for kids under 5. The show runs from 9 a.m. to 4p.m. and continues through Sunday. JEREMY

MOULE

MUSIC Counting Crows with Dashboard Confessional

CMAC, cmacevents.com

On paper, the 90s pop-rock darlings in Counting Crows teaming up with aughts-era emo band and musical lightning rod Dashboard Confessional for a summer tour called “Banshee Season” seems like a classic case of strange bedfellows. But the more I think about it, the more the pairing makes sense: both bands feature heart-on-the-sleeve frontmen — Adam Duritz and Chris Carrabba — who belt out songs of romantic longing and existential wistfulness. The dominant approach from the two rock groups is to make poetry out of paralyzing self-awareness, but what sounds unbearable on paper is incredibly effective musically, thanks to the catchy, highly singable melodies. CMAC opens the gates at 6 p.m., and the music starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $41.

DANIEL J. KUSHNER

MONDAY, JULY 3

ART On Point

UUU Art Collective, uuuartcollective.com

As the last notes of the Rochester Jazz Festival are still ringing in our ears, it’s the perfect time to work your way past

the State Street construction to see the work of jazz photographer Frank Stewart in a show curated by UUU Art Collective co-owner Chris Lofton. Stewart got his start working on the road, touring clubs with jazz pianist and composer Ahmad Jamalin in the mid-1970s. For almost 50 years, he has photographed some of the most notable jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Lionel Hampton, Roy Hargrove, Marcus Roberts, and Wynton Marsalis. He is also currently senior staff photographer for Jazz at the Lincoln Center. The gallery is open 5-10 p.m., and on Monday night you can also catch their regular jazz jam starting around 8 p.m. for a $5 cover.

TUESDAY, JULY 4

MUSIC

Lincoln Hill Farms, lincolnhillfarms.com Lincoln Hill in Canandaigua, one of the newest venues on the Finger Lakes’ summer concert landscape, invites you to “light up the Fourth on the farm” at a free, family-friendly event that lasts from 1 p.m. until 10 p.m. Aspiring young musicians from local singer-songwriter and Daughtry keyboardist Elvio Fernandes’s Roc Star Academy will play throughout, and fireworks will cap the evening after sunset. In the meantime, there will be plenty of food and beverage available for purchase. If you really want those farm vibes, the Lincoln Hill goats will be in attendance. Parking is $10 per vehicle (cash only). DK

CELEBRATION

Fireworks

Irondequoit Town Hall, irondequoitband.org

Plunk down on a blanket with a picnic for festive music by the community band and fireworks. All these simple, almost sentimental, pleasures are here to enjoy for the holiday outside the Irondequoit Town Hall, with the Irondequoit Community Band playing music starting at 8 p.m. followed by fireworks at 9:30 p.m. MS

MUSIC + SCIENCE

Laser Taylor Swift

Strasenburgh Planetarium, rmsc.org

Move over, laser light show mainstays (Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd). This one is for the Swifties. The planetarium is a great alt concert venue for millennials who couldn’t score Taylor Swift tickets...but we all know that a chill, non-crowded venue with comfy seating is more our speed these days, anyway. You know I’m right. Shake it off and spend the $10-$12 for a 55-minute show (which sure beats prices at ticketlord or whatever). Dancing laser lights will accompany more than an album’s worth of select tunes by the princess of pop, including “You Need to Calm Down,” “Bad Blood,” and “Look What You Made Me Do.” There are scores of shows in July; today’s is at 3:15 p.m. Visit rmsc.org for the schedule.

REBECCA RAFFERTY

MUSIC

Hopeman Carillon Summer Series

University of Rochester, facebook.com/ HopemanCarillon

An hour of music peals forth from the tower of Rush Rhees Library starting at 6:30 p.m. with different soloists each week, starting this evening with carillonist Simone Brown. You can hear the music many places around the River Campus; the Eastman Quad as the best place to set out to listen. Bonus: Melissa Mead of Rush Rhees Library will also be offering pre-concert campus carillon historical walking tours each week prior to the concert at 5:45 p.m. (meet in the center of the quad); space for these tours is limited, so signing up in advance is recommended. MS

SUNDAY, JULY 2

MONA SEGHATOLESLAMI

“Fourth of July at the Farm”

THURSDAY, JULY 6

MUSIC Reverend Horton Heat

Montage Music Hall, rocentevents.com

Reverend Horton Heat’s raucous blend of rockabilly and punk seems the perfect sweat-inducing concoction for the dimly lit Montage Music Hall and its raw, uninhibited vibes. Led by singer-guitarist James Heath, the trio collectively known as Reverend Horton Heat are prominent purveyors of the genre known as psychobilly, with its off-the-rails country rock sensibility and devil-may-care thematic content. The band is touring in support of its new 2023 album “Roots of the Rev. (Volume One), ” a collection of covers that have been meaningful to Horton Heat over the years. The 16+ show, with supporting act The Delta Bombers, starts at 7 p.m. $27. DK

FRIDAY, JULY 7

MUSIC Mosaic Foundation

Twisted Rail Brewing, mosaicfoundationmusic.com

If you’re a reggae fan who’s away from the city and closer to Canandaigua Lake, there’s another solid option. The Finger Lakes-based band Mosaic Foundation makes smooth layered roots reggae, delivered with understated charisma by vocalist Yao “Cha Cha” Foli. The six-piece band plays at 7 p.m., so there will be plenty of time to grab a beer and feel the groove. DK

SATURDAY, JULY 8

MUSIC iGNiTE! Reggae Band

Rochester Public Market, bandsonthebricksroc.com

This summer is a momentous one for Bands on the Bricks. Hosted at the Rochester Public Market, the concert series is celebrating 25 years of free live performances. Bands on the Bricks is kicking off the celebration in style with igNiTE! Reggae Band. Led by Ronnie “Skill” Gordon on vocals and keyboards, the group’s music incorporates disparate stylstic elements, including dancehall-style MCing, lover’s rock, and roots reggae. The result is good vibes and meaningful music. Bostonbased reggae band Might Mystic is headlining. The music starts at 5:30 p.m., and parking is free. DK

COMEDY Madelein Smith

Comedy at the Carlson, carlsoncomedy.com

Rochester native Madelein Smith is now based in New York City, but the stand-up comedian got her start here. Today’s homecoming is a headlining set in The Rickles Room at the Carlson, and it’s sure to include the bubbly extrovert’s proprietary blend of clever and crass, which is welldocumented on her 2020 comedy album “Belle of the Ball.” After all, this is the comedian who recites Nicki Minaj lyrics as Julie Andrews in “Mary Poppins.” Smith’s comedic delivery is so effortless and her performance so consistent, you get the sense she’s the same whether she’s cracking wise with friends or holding forth onstage. The 21+ show starts at 8 p.m., with local comedians Gabby Garcia and Kai Von Doom beginning the evening. Tickets are $20. DK

31 DAYS OF ARTS, MUSIC AND CULTURAL EVENTS TO CHECK OUT THIS MONTH

SUNDAY, JULY 9

FESTIVAL

Corn Hill Arts Festival

Corn Hill, cornhillartsfestival.com

Every year at this festival, I get lost in the winding streets of this beautiful neighborhood - no matter how many times I’ve walked through it before. I can’t ever regret that confusion, because it often leads me to intriguing art, a fascinating design, or some music I haven’t heard before. I love the showcase of emerging artists along with many established artisans and crafters, and just the way that people are happy to stop and talk, whether sitting on their porches or just creating informal, unexpected reunions in the street. Plus, Corn Hill always has good bike parking during the festival. MS

there to participate in this evening of creativity and community with them and NAMI ROC, featuring a tie dye workshop led by Indigo. The event runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. with a suggested donation of $5 to help pay for materials. MS

TUESDAY,

MUSIC

JULY 11

“Jazz at the Beach” feat. Jimmie Highsmith Jr.

Tropix Eatery & Lounge, tropixroc.com

Jimmie Highsmith Jr. is practically Rochester music royalty. The accomplished jazz saxophonist, who plays an ecstatic combination of smooth jazz, funk, and R&B, has performed alongside and opened for the likes of singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, bassist Victor Wooten, and trumpeters Wynton Marsalis and Chris Botti. Tonight’s “Jazz at the Beach” show at Tropix, presented by Jazz 90.1 and the Ontario Beach Park Program Committee, is free and starts at 7 p.m. DK

WEDNESDAY, JULY 12

MUSIC Marshay Dominique

The Little Café, thelittle.org/music

Marshay Dominique is on her way to music stardom, and I’m glad for any chance to get to hear her along that journey, whether on Instagram, a recent songwriter showcase at the JCC, and now live in a solo show at The Little Café. Her expressive voice delivers lyrics about love, life, regret, and Hollywood dreaming above intricately crafted backing tracks. She sings at The Little Café tonight 7-9 p.m. No cover. MS

MONDAY, JULY 10

CRAFTS

Tie Dye for Pride

Muck Duck Studio, muckduckstudio.org

Want some more colorful threads to celebrate Rochester Pride? Bring some plain white clothes to Muck Duck Studios (595 Blossom Rd, Suite 317) or plan to purchase some

MUSIC Fleet Foxes

Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards, beakandskiff.com

Known for their complex vocal harmonies and sophisticated instrumentation, Fleet Foxes – the indie-folk brainchild of Robin Pecknold – have drawn acclaim since their 2008 debut. Their latest release, 2020’s “Shore,” continues that trend, with critics lauding both the album’s ambition and catchiness. Nigerianborn, NYC-based singer-songwriter Uwade kicks off the show at 7 p.m.; tickets start at $49.50.

JIM CATALANO

CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

MUSIC RPO @ Ontario Beach Park

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, rpo.org

The RPO has escaped the concert hall for the season, and they are popping up throughout the region in parks, bandstands, and elsewhere throughout the summer. Tonight, the full orchestra is going to the beach with conductor Matthew Kraemer for a free outdoor concert at Ontario Beach Park (4799 Lake Ave for your GPS), with the music starting at 7:30 p.m. Seating is on your own, so blankets and lawn chairs are encouraged, and no tickets are required. MS

THURSDAY, JULY 13

MUSIC Brody Schenk

Abilene Bar & Lounge, abilenebarandlounge.com

Rochester native and acoustic guitarwielding Brody Schenk plays modern folk music that’s easy to listen to and even easier to relate to. Listening to his 2022 self-titled album, the musician’s admitted influences of Bob Dylan and John Prine are obvious. It’s also hard not to hear impressions of the Bright Eyes masterpiece “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning.” But Schenk delivers his tunes with an easy-going earnestness that’s all his own, and his indie-country sensibility is endearing. The music starts at 7 p.m. but you can mosey up to the bar as early as 4 p.m. when the doors open. The cover charge is $7. DK

FRIDAY, JULY 14

FESTIVAL Downtown Canandaigua Art and Music Festival

Downtown Canandaigua, canandaiguaartfestival.com

Well into its third decade, the celebration includes the work of more than 150 juried artists in every medium with demonstrations here and there, live music, children’s activities, food trucks and festival food. The celebration takes place at and around 115 South Main St. in Canandaigua. The hours are noon to 7 p.m. on Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, July 15-16. RR

MUSIC Band on the Bricks: Latino Night

Rochester Public Market, bandsonthebricksroc.com

This free concert series at the Public Market suggests bringing a folding chair, though with tonight’s bands, you may find yourself too busy dancing to ever use it. Both of the featured bands are stars both locally and around the country for their excellent playing and style.

Orquesta Antonetti has been playing salsa music for several generations, beloved by dancers around the country. They’re joined by Afro Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation of the Mambo Kings, led by pianist/ composer/arrange Richard DeLaney. These concerts are free, and food and drink are available to purchase at the show. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., and the music runs from 6 to 10 p.m. MS

CONTINUED ON PAGE 41

WXXI NEWS & NPR NEVER SOUNDED SO GOOD!

WXXI News/NPR can now be heard on a full-powered FM signal.

105.9 WXXI-FM has launched as a 24/7 simulcast of AM 1370 and this new FM signal guarantees you’ll hear the in-depth news you rely on... loud and clear!

WXXI News will continue to be heard on AM 1370, as well as streamed on WXXINews.org, and can be accessed on home smart speakers and mobile devices.

“Investing in 105.9 FM will help us provide a better service to our community by reaching a broader and more diverse audience and improving our services,” said WXXI President Norm Silverstein. “With the AM frequency, the FCC requires us to pull back our signal at sundown, which cuts service to a large portion of our broadcast region. With WXXI News now on the FM dial we will be able to provide a superior listening experience.”

The launch of 105.9 is part of WXXI’s ongoing investment in local journalism and its news team, which includes more than 20 journalists whose work can be heard on air and read online and in this magazine. The news team provides indepth reporting on topics that have the greatest impact on the Rochester and Finger Lakes region – from education, economic development, and health to the region’s robust arts and culture scene. This new FM signal will mean that more people will be able to hear those reports and news programming, especially in the evening.

NPR is an independent, nonprofit media organization that was founded on a mission to create a more informed public. Every day, NPR connects with millions of Americans on the air, online, and in person to explore the news, ideas, and what it means to be human. Through its network of member stations, NPR makes local stories national, national stories local, and global stories personal.

Photo: John Schlia Photography

WXXI TV • THIS MONTH

Human Footprint

Wednesdays at 9 p.m., July 5 - August 9 on WXXI-TV

Hosted by biologist and Princeton University professor Shane Campbell-Staton, this six-part series examines how humans have transformed the planet. The part-science, part-travel series takes you from hightech labs to sweltering street markets, from farms to restaurants, and from primeval forests to the back alleys of New York to explore the ways humans are transforming the planet – and what those transformations tell us about who we are as a species.

Connections with Evan Dawson: Aging Together

Thursday, July 6 at 5 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Taped in front of a live audience at St. John’s in Rochester in May, Evan Dawson speaks with a panel of experts who explore issues important to older adults and those who care for them. The discussion includes points about social isolation, maintaining friendships, caregiving, and how to reconcile the different factors of aging. This production is part of “Aging Together in New York,” a statewide, multi-platform public media initiative addressing social isolation among older adults. To learn more, visit WXXI.org/aging.

Frank Lloyd Wright Night!

Friday, July 14 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Considered by many to be America’s greatest architect, Frank Lloyd Wright built over five hundred buildings over the course of a sevendecade career. Spend an evening learning more about his long and prolific career when WXXI-TV presents Frank Lloyd Wright: The Man Who Built America at 9 p.m., which follows architect Jonathan Adams as he travels across the U.S. to explore Wright’s masterpieces and the Welsh roots that shaped both his life and signature design. Then at 10 p.m. take a tour of Rochester’s own FLW home with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Boynton House: The Next Hundred Years. Produced by WXXI, this beautifully shot documentary spotlights the restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright house located on East Boulevard in Rochester.

Southern Storytellers

Tuesdays at 9 p.m., beginning July 18 on WXXI-TV

Celebrate Southern identity through the eyes of contemporary creators of literature, music, film, and television, including authors Jesmyn Ward, Michael Twitty, Angie Thomas and David Joy; poets Jericho Brown and Natasha Trethewey; songwriters Jason Isbell, Lyle Lovett, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Adia Victoria, Amanda Shires and Justin Moore; songwriter/screenwriter/actor Billy Bob Thornton and songwriter/actress Mary Steenburgen; and screenwriters Qui Nguyen and

POV: Eat Your Catfish

Monday, July 24 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Fantastic New York: Boldt Castle

Friday, July 7 at 8:30pm on WXXI-TV, PBS Passport, and YouTube

WXXI producers Jason Milton and Katie Epner share the astonishing history, the long-forgotten mysteries, the quirky qualities, and the delightful anecdotes surrounding some of New York State’s most intriguing people, sites, and stories. In this premiere episode, they visit Boldt Castle, an abandoned island castle turned into a million-dollar tourist destination near Alexandria Bay. It repeats Sunday, July 16 at 3:30 p.m. and Friday, July 21 at 10:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

Paralyzed by late-stage ALS and reliant on roundthe-clock care, Kathryn clings to a mordant wit as she yearns to witness her daughter’s wedding. Drawn from 930 hours of footage shot from her fixed point of view, this film delivers a brutally frank and darkly humorous portrait of a family teetering on the brink, grappling with the daily demands of disability and in-home caregiving. This film is presented as part of Move to Include, a partnership between WXXI and the Golisano Foundation designed to promote inclusion for people with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. Courtesy of Deckert Distribution

Photo: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Boynton House, Credit: Marty Nott

Photo: Host Shane Campbell-Staton stands between aquaria that hold almost 10,000 African Clawed Frogs at the National Xenopus Resource. Credit: Courtesy of Nathan Dappen /© Day’s Edge Productions

Michael Waldron

Photo: Poet Jericho Brown, Credit: Courtesy of Renaud Brothers Films

TURN TO WXXI CLASSICAL FOR MUSIC PERFECTLY TUNED TO YOUR DAY

WXXI Classical’s Julia Figueras Hangs Up Her Headphones

After more than 26 years on the air, WXXI Classical’s Midday Host & Music Director Julia Figueras is retiring. Julia began her radio life in 1980 at WICN in Worcester, MA, and has been playing formats ranging from classical to rock to jazz, with a dash of talk in Boston, MA as well as at stations in Concord and Portsmouth, NH. Currently, Figueras sits on the Board of Directors for the William Warfield Scholarship Fund.

We caught up with Julia before her final day, June 30, in the studio to ask her a few questions.

Feminine Fusion

Saturday at 8 p.m. on WXXI Classical

What are you most excited to do once you’re retired?

I’m really pleased and honored to be able to continue the pre-concert chats for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

In addition to hosting those pre-concert chats, you also have a special connection to the RPO. My grandfather John Figueras was a founding member of the RPO. He was a violinist, originally from Barcelona.

In your 26 years, what is the best piece of advice you received?

Long before my time at WXXI, my acting teacher at Bard College, Neil MacKenzie, always said, “Do the best you can. The angels can do no more.” That advice has guided my life for the last 50 years.

What is something surprising your listeners may not know about your music taste?

My tastes are extremely eclectic; there isn’t a form of music that I don’t like, although I like some better than others. At any point in time, you may find me blasting Led Zepplin, blissing on Radiohead, or sinking into some Sibelius. And did I mention Bruce Springsteen?

What will you miss most here at WXXI Classical? I will miss the camaraderie of my coworkers and the daily infusion of new and beautiful music.

This weekly radio program highlights the influence of women in classical music. These are the women throughout history and into the present day who create, perform, and inspire. Composer/announcer Diane Jones of WCNY-FM in Syracuse is your host, and every week showcases some of these remarkable women.

Performance Upstate 2023

Tuesdays 8 p.m. beginning July 18 on WXXI Classical

wThis WXXI Classical production highlights concerts from ensembles throughout the Upstate and Finger Lakes region from their 2021-2022 seasons. Each episode features a mix of ensembles, hosted by Brenda Tremblay. Ensembles include Cordancia, fivebyfive, Gateways, Geneva Music Festival, Pegasus Early Music, Nazareth College, Skaneateles Festival, Society for Chamber Music Rochester, VOICES, and more.

Selected Shorts: Romance of the Summer

Sunday, July 2 at 9 p.m. on WXXI News/NPR

Host Meg Wolitzer presents a light-hearted collection of summer-themed works including:

• “A Case for Remaining Indoors,” by Samantha Irby, performed by Retta

• “The Miraculous Beach, or, Prize for Modesty,” by Massimo Bontempelli, translated by Jenny McPhee, performed by Hugh Dancy

• “The Thrill of the Grass,” by W.P. Kinsella, performed by Denis O’Hare.

ANDREA’S TOP 6 SUMMER SONGS

Alt.Latino

Sundays at 9:30 p.m. on WRUR-FM 88.5

Every week, Alt.Latino introduces you to new artists shaping the sound of Latin music. From Mexican American R&B darling Omar Apollo to Dominican Dembow game-changer Tokischa and everyone in between, the show’s one-on-one interviews with artists use music as a tool for exploring the history and culture of Latin America and what creates a shared Latinx identity.

Hochstein at High Falls

Thursdays at 12:10 p.m. in the High Falls Business District

Join WXXI Classical’s Mona Seghatoleslami and WRUR’s Ryan

Yarmel, aka Yarms, at High Falls for Hochstein at High Falls, a free lunchtime concert series, hosted by WXXI and WRUR, The Hochstein School, and the High Falls Business Association. The concerts begin at 12:10 pm in the outer parking lot at 4 Commercial Street, corner of Browns Race. For details, visit WXXI.org/hhf.

This month features:

July 13: Watkins and the Rapiers.

(Open Tuning’s host Scott Regan sings and plays guitar in this band!)

July 20: Mambo Kings

July 27: Hanna PK

WXXI’s Creative Services Summer Intern is Andrea Sun from the University of Rochester. She’s currently a senior pursuing her Bachelor’s in Arts with English: Creative Writing with minors in Psychology and Religion. She is the external general manager of WRUR-FM at UR. We asked her to share her six favorite summertime songs. Here they are with great explanations.

Dance the Night (From Barbie The Album) – Dua Lipa

One of the most anticipated movies of the year, “Dance the Night” is the lead single off Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, a delightful callback to Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia with delectable orchestration and electrifying synthesizers. It’s your turn, Oppenheimer!

True Blue – boygenius

It’s boygenius summer (self-declared, of course)! Off of their new album “the record,” “True Blue” is a testament to the all-encompassing feeling of being known and the power of love that is tough, tried, and true-blue.

Hummingbird – Metro Boomin, James Blake

Another soundtrack pick, “Hummingbird” comes from the long-awaited Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse. The combination of James Blake’s sultry voice and Metro Boomin’s dynamic songwriting results in a chill R&B track that will have you casually swinging, Miles Morales-style.

Chosen to Deserve – Wednesday

A little bit of country, a little bit of rock, a little bit of shoegaze – put it together, and that’s Wednesday. “Chosen to Deserve” is a lifetime of stories in 5 minutes and 32 seconds; with its brutally honest lyrics and addicting guitar riffs, this track is wonderfully complex and powerful.

Silk Chiffon – MUNA ft. Phoebe Bridgers

Perhaps one of my favorite songs of all time, “Silk Chiffon” has become a summer essential in the last couple of years because hey, life is so fun! When it comes to queer representation, MUNA always delivers; when it comes to indie pop, MUNA never misses.

Your favorite sidekick – underscores, 8485

As hyperpop grows increasingly popular, underscores is an interesting take on the emerging genre; their songs are intelligent, and their melodies are addicting. Almost all will find underscores familiar as they smash glitches, hip-hop backbeats, 2000s pop punk, and emo melodies together.

SUMMER MOVIE SEASON IS HERE!

Oppenheimer

(July 20)

Screening in 35mm film only at The Little Filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s explosive new movie tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

Also at The Little...

Barbie (July 20)

The stylish, fun, downright iconic comedy of the summer, director Greta Gerwig takes us to Barbie Land. Margot Robbie stars as the titular character, and Ryan Gosling plays the buff, blond Ken.

Talk to Me

(July 28)

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. Very relatable!

NT Live:

Fleabag

Sunday, July 30 at 11:30am +

Tuesday, August 1 at 7pm

Tickets at thelittle.org

Written and performed by Phoebe WallerBridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve), Fleabag is (turns to camera) a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life.

Theater Camp

(July TBA)

A comedy about lifelong best friends and drama instructors at a rundown camp in upstate New York.

Past Lives

(Now Playing)

Filmmaker Celine Song’s critically acclaimed debut about destiny, love, and the choices that make a life. Bring those Little-branded tissues.

Squaring The Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)

Thursday, July 13 at 7:15pm + Saturday, July 15 at 3pm

Tickets at thelittle.org

Documentary about the creative geniuses behind album art for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Paul McCartney.

SATURDAY, JULY 15

FILM

“Jaws”

The Little Theatre, thelittle.org

Everybody has their favorite summertime movies and “Jaws” is one of mine. The movie that made viewers question whether they’d ever go in the water again is a perfect mix of welldeveloped characters you care about and a lurking menace with killer teeth that strikes suddenly and viciously. I’ve been watching this movie since I was a kid and it never gets old. This classic thriller is showing tonight as part of the Saturday Night Rewind series, so there’s bound to be some fun surprises. The screening starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $11 for general admission, $7 for members, students, seniors, and those in the military. JM

THEATRE

“Austen’s Pride”

JCC Centerstage, jccrochester.org/artsculture/centerstage

Author Jane Austen steps into her novel “Pride and Prejudice” and gets to know her characters in this musical by Lindsay Warren Baker, who developed the show here in Rochester. Recommended for fans of Golden Age musicals, meta fiction, and stories that combine earnest feeling with charming wit and style. Tickets are $20-30. Plays through July 23 as part of JCC’s “Summerstage” series. MS

SUNDAY, JULY 16

FILM

“LYNCH/OZ”

The Little, thelittle.org

The resonances between David Lynch’s haunting cinematic worlds and the fantastic world of Oz are no coincidence, and this muchanticipated stylish new documentary

explores the ways that “The Wizard of Oz” is woven throughout Lynch’s art and filmography through six different perspectives. You can see what Rolling Stone called, “A must for film nerds,” one night only on the big screen at The Little, at 7:30 p.m. MS

FITNESS

ROC SweatFest

Innovative Field, thiscitysweats.com

Founded in 2019, ROC SweatFest is a unique fitness festival that brings the community together to sweat, try new workouts, and meet new friends while supporting local charities. Presented by This City Sweats, which partners with organizations on health and wellness events, the full day will be held outdoors 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. at Innovative Field and feature instructors from studios and gyms around the city. All fitness levels welcome. Tickets are $55-75 and include up to five 30-minute sweat sessions throughout the day.

LEAH STACY

MONDAY, JULY 17

DANCE/MUSIC

Kaleidoscope Around the World: Journey through Song and Dance

Hatch Recital Hall, esm.rochester.edu

Pianist Yoshiko Arahata is a stylish virtuoso, who brings music to life from the baroque and classical eras to contemporary music, including her own compositions. She’s well versed in jazz improvisation too, especially the art of playing music for dance. In this free concert at 7:30 p.m. in Eastman’s intimate and resonant Hatch Recital Hall, she collaborates mezzo-soprano Jessica Best and dancer/choreographers Ruben Ornelas and Mariah Steele for a program of music and dance from around the world, drawing on themes of love and nature. MS

CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

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31 DAYS OF ARTS, MUSIC AND CULTURAL EVENTS TO CHECK OUT THIS MONTH

TUESDAY, JULY 18

MUSIC Advance Base

Bug Jar, afterdarkpresents.com

You may not be familiar with the moniker Advance Base, but if you’re a 2000s-era indie music lover, you probably know the artist behind the project. Ashforth made his way as a lo-fi favorite with his first solo project Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. While he’s retired that name, the vibe is very similar in Advance Base, with dreamy, endlessly wistful keyboard music and slightly grainy vocals. Ashforth’s songs are atmospheric AF, but still disarmingly honest and quaint. Fans of the quirky, but expert songwriting of Daniel Johnston and the Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt will likely find kinship with Ashforth. The latest Advance Base Record, “Wall of Tears & Other Songs I Didn’t

Write” from 2021, has a slightly bigger, more cinematic sound than previous collections. The 21-and-over show at Bug Jar features opening act Young Moon. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the music starts at 9 p.m. $15. DK

WEDNESDAY, JULY 19

MUSIC Garden Vibes: The Big Take Over

George Eastman Museum, eastman.org

George Eastman was famously dedicated music fan, so his backyard is a good place to catch some tunes, even if roots reggae was probably outside good old George (ahem, Mr. Eastman)’s varied musical tastes. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 6 p.m. with The Big Take Over bringing its grooves to Rochester from the Hudson Valley. Picnic baskets are welcome, or you can get treats from food trucks that will be on the scene. Tickets are $12, $10 for GEM members. MS

THURSDAY, JULY 20

FESTIVAL GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance

Trumansburg Fairgrounds, Grassrootsfest.org

FRIDAY,

JULY

The Little Theatre, thelittle.org

Come on, Barbie, let’s go party! From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig (“Little Women,” “Lady Bird”) comes the plastic and pink-drenched “Barbie,” starring Oscar nominees Margot Robbie (“Bombshell,” “I, Tonya”) and Ryan Gosling (“La La Land,” “Half Nelson”) as Barbie and Ken. America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell also star. Gerwig directs a screenplay she co-wrote with Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story,” “The Squid and the Whale”). LS

SATURDAY, JULY 22

CRAFTS

Queer Handmade Yard Sale

30 Shaftsbury Road, instagram.com/ queer_handmade_rochester

It’s Pride month in Rochester, which means a good percentage of companies have upped their offerings of rainbow-themed goods. It’s always best to spend your hard-earned dough in support of the folks being celebrated this month, so get your rainbows from their source at the 4th annual yard sale dedicated entirely to goods made by queer artists. The event was founded in 2020 by Jules Mack, owner of macrame biz Chaotic Knots Roc, who wanted a way to support queer makers through the COVID years. It’s not a yard sale in the traditional sense of hawking things white elephant style, but a collection of vendors — 30 crafters this year — selling everything from knit garments to pottery, pins, drawings and photos. The sale takes place both Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. RR

MUSIC Charlie Lindner

Rochester Academy of Medicine, charlielindner.com

Local music fans may be most familiar with pianist Charlie Lindner as the leader of the progressive jazz trio The Pickle Mafia. But he’s also been known to play a solo gig here and there, as he does tonight at 8 p.m. For this show, Lindner — whose brand of jazz is a fusion that plays at the edges of pop balladry, edgy rock, and classical proficiency — is presenting what he calls “The Grand Experiment” — a performance spanning multiple genres, including originals and cover tunes alike. Whatever Lindner ends of playing, you can expect eclectic music played at a high level. Tickets are $28.75. DK

SUNDAY, JULY 23

FESTIVAL Arts at the Gardens

Sonnenberg Mansion and Gardens, sonnenberg.org

I love an opportunity to check out the digs of elite folks whose houses and grounds are now open to the public. But this weekend is about the arts. Work from more than 100 artists will fill the mansion and gardens on Saturday, July 22 and Sunday, July 23. The event includes a wine and beer garden, live music, and food. Arts at the Gardens runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, and admission is $10 ($5 for kids 3-15, free to kids under 3). RR

FESTIVAL Indigenous Music & Arts Festival

Seneca Art & Culture Center, ganondagan.org

This annual celebration of traditional and contemporary Indigenous culture spotlights global native cultures through music, dance, storytelling, art, food, demonstrations, and family activities. The event will be held at the Seneca Art & Culture Center at Ganondagan. This year’s headliners inlcude the Mohawk folk-rock band December Wind, The Sinquah Family Dance Troup, storytellers, folk dancers, and more. The festival goes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both Saturday, July 22, and Sunday, July 23. Admission is free, but donations to support the festival are appreciated. RR

MONDAY, JULY 24

MUSIC Music Mondays: Cammy Enaharo and Chris Wilson

JCC Rochester, jccrochester.org/canalside

Kelly Izzo Shapiro has created something special this summer in her series highlighting original music by local singer-songwriters. She shares a song at the beginning and end of the evening, a few opening artists get to share a song a two, and then the featured artists trade several sets while sharing some insights to their musical process. With Cammy Enaharo and Chris Wilson in the spotlight, I’m

VOTED ‘BEST MECHANIC’ BEST OF ROCHESTER

hard pressed to believe you won’t come away with at least one new favorite song. Tickets are $10 and the show starts at 7 p.m. MS

TUESDAY, JULY 25

MUSIC North Star String Band

Angry Goat Pub, facebook.com/ NorthStarStringBand

If you prefer your bluegrass served up old-school, with the band gathered around a single microphone and playing acoustic instruments that couldn’t possibly be plugged in, North Star String Band is here for you. The quartet is led by Jug Band Dan — also of the Ruckus Juice Jug Stompers and the annual holiday show featuring the “Music of Emmet Otter’s Jug-band Christmas.” For this free “Bluegrass Tuesday” show at Angry Goat, North Star String Band will keep the music thumpin’ and your blood a-pumpin’ with danceable bluegrass music that can also delightfully drift into other genres at a moment’s notice. DK

WEDNESDAY, JULY 26

MUSIC/DANCE

The Gateswingers Big Band

Lovin’ Cup, lovincup.com

Head out to the patio at Lovin’ Cup at 7 p.m. for swinging danceable tunes from a great complement of horns and some sweet singing. The GateSwingers Big Band brings decades of experience to this classic jazz/big-band music from the 1940s to 1960s. Dancing is an option, but not required. No cover. MS

THURSDAY, JULY 27

DANCE

Thursday Night Contradance

cdrochester.org, Harmony House, Webster Did you square dance in gym class back in school? I remember it being some sort of mix of awkward and fun. These Thursday night contradances put on by the Country Dancers of Rochester feel like a chance to relive the parts of those classes. And rather than a scratchy old record played by the PE teacher, here you get different live bands and callers each week. The dancing starts at 7:30 p.m., with an introduction for beginners at 7 p.m. Don’t forget to pay the piper, at a sliding scale of $5 to $15. MS

MUSIC

Nickel Creek and Aoife O’Donovan

Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards, beakandskiff.com

Nickel Creek’s Chris Thile, Sara Watkins, and Brad Watkins have been playing progressive bluegrass music together since 1989. While they’ve pursued other projects in recent years, they’re back together to promote their new album, “Celebrants.” Aoife O’Donovan (Crooked Still, I’m With Her) also has a new record, “Age of Apathy,” on which she takes her folkbased sound in new directions. The show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets start at $45. JC

THEATRE “Spring Awakening”

The Temple Theater Mainstage, thecompanytheatreroc.org

Adapted from the play by Frank Wedekind, “Spring Awakening” tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of adolescent sexuality. A gripping story line and score by Duncan Sheik round out this popular piece, directed by Sean Britton-Milligan. The Company Theatre presents this at their new home in the Temple Building. $30 for adults; $28 students/seniors. A sign language interpreted performance is planned; see website for updated information. Show runs through July 30. LS

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS

PUZZLE ON PAGE 70. NO PEEKING!

EXPO

Skaneateles Antique & Classic Boat Show

Clift Park, skaneateles.com acbs-flc.org/ boatshow

Ahoy, matey! The 45th annual Antique and Classic Boat Show will feature dozens of vintage boats docked at the north end of Skaneateles Lake. Expect to see sailboats, canoes, rowing craft, race boats and more vessels, many restored to their original condition. Judging of the boats, in 35 categories, takes place Saturday morning; visitors can cast their votes for the People’s Choice Award. The family friendly, handicappedaccessible event also includes live bands, a model boat display, a knottying demonstration, a parade and a spectator cruise aboard the Judge Ben Wiles. There’s no admission charge for the show, which runs through July 30. JC

THEATRE

“Godspell”

Blackfriars Theatre, blackfriars.org

From the musical genius behind the Broadway blockbusters “Wicked” and “Pippin” comes this exuberant take on the gospel according to Matthew. An offbeat group of disciples helps

Jesus bring his enduring parables to life through games, stories, and unforgettable songs by Grammy and Tony Award winner Stephen Schwartz. Having touched the hearts of theatregoers throughout the world, this timeless tale of friendship, loyalty and love grapples with the eternal question: How can spirituality survive in a stubbornly material world?

“Godspell” is the capstone production of the 2023 Blackfriars Theatre Summer Intensive, a professional training program for the next generation of theatre artists. Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for subscribers, and $20 for students. Show runs through August 6. LS

SATURDAY, JULY 29

FESTIVAL Spencerport Canal Days

Downtown Spencerport, spencerportcanaldays.com

Arts and crafts, live music, food trucks, wine tastings, and other festival favorites are all part of the mix in Spencerport along the canal this weekend. Don’t forget to enter your “canaligator” in Sunday’s race for a chance to win prizes as the fastest or slowest critter floating down the canal. MS

MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana, by La Fura del Baus

Artpark, artpark.net

This show looks absolutely bonkers, and I can’t wait to experience it. Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” (which you will absolutely recognize from commercials and movie soundtracks)

is already an over-the-top sort of musical work. In the 1930s, Orff combining massed choirs and soloists with an overpowered orchestra in his setting of medieval poems of the turning wheel of fate and fortune, along with a side of love and lust, drinking and dancing, and generally reveling in experiences of world. Add in Fura del Baus’s theatrics, animation, side-show, carnival/cirque-esque performances, and it looks like it will be just the right amount of too much. The Buffalo Philharmonic and Chorus will provide the music for this North American premiere of this extravagant production from Spain. Tickets start at $25. MS

SUNDAY, JULY 30

western swing musician for more than four decades. But that hasn’t stopped Lovett from staying busy. His latest albums include two from 2022 — the versatile big band album “12th of June,” with heavy helpings of jazz and country, and the more musically intimate, collab-filled “Release Me.” Tonight’s opening act is the dynamic duo of Iggy Marino and Adrianna Noone, best known as the dynamite voices from the Rochester alt-country band Public Water Supply. You just might kick yourself if you don’t make it out to the vineyard for this one. DK

MONDAY, JULY 31

MUSIC Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

Point of the Bluff Vineyards, concertsatpob.com

You’ve seen Lyle Lovett and His Large Band on Austin City Limits, from the comfort of your couch. Now, you can catch them live at a scenic vineyard overlooking Keuka Lake. The four-time Grammy-winning singersongwriter has nothing left to prove at this point in his career, having plied his trade as a first-rate country and

MUSIC Drank the Gold with Alyssa Rodriguez

The Little, thelittle.org/music Saratoga Springs-based duo Drank the Gold team up with Rochester’s own Fiddle Witch, Alyssa Rodriguez, to bring “craic agus ceol” (good times and music) to The Little Café from 7-9 p.m. in a mix of North Atlantic dance tunes and folk songs – some mix of Irish music, old time, and Cajun and other America in the mix, played on fiddles, viola, banjo, guitar and more. Free show, tips encouraged. MS

31 DAYS OF ARTS, MUSIC AND CULTURAL EVENTS TO CHECK OUT THIS MONTH

FLOWER CITY UNION TAKES ITS SHOT AT REVIVING PRO SOCCER IN ROCHESTER

BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER @DANIELJKUSHNER DKUSHNER@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

On a recent hot, sunny Saturday at the soccer stadium in Rochester’s Brown Square neighborhood, a newly assembled women’s amateur team called Flower City 1872 –named for the year Rochesterian suffragist Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women were convicted for voting in the presidential election – was playing its second game ever. Sporting a black and dark purple color scheme with the silhouette of Anthony emblazoned on their jerseys, the players stood in contrast to the brightly colored stands surrounding the field at Rochester Community

Sports Complex. The green and yellow seats were a visible reminder of the days when the Rochester Rhinos called the stadium home from 2006 to 2017.

Fast forward to May 2023, and the majority of the more than 13,000 seats were empty, with the exception of those occupied by roughly 100 fans scattered behind the players’ benches and a few more on the other side of the field. The players from the men’s soccer team Flower City Union, affiliated with the 1872 squad, loudly supported the home club on the pitch from the shaded comfort of the second-level suites.

Flower City Union defender Mitchell Brickman laces up his cleats before a team training session.

PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH

In the wake of one high-profile team’s shutdown, a crowded field of soccer clubs vie for local support.

Flower City 1872 forward Maya Rutland tracks the ball during a game against BC United.

PHOTO BY NINA KORN

Fourteen minutes into the game, it was a promising start for 1872 after defender Taylor Rutland sent a volley up and over the BC United goalkeeper from 35 yards away to make it 1-0 — and score the first goal in Flower City 1872’s young history. As the match progressed, the away team gradually took control, and the final score, 6-1 in favor of BC United, told the full story.

Despite the fact that some of the players for 1872 had only been with the club for a matter of days, defender Amanda Wisotzke said there were moments in the game when the team played like they’d been together for years. “I think we’re definitely capable of great things,” she said, “and sometimes good things take time.”

When it comes to local soccer players achieving great things, one player towers over all: Abby Wambach, the Rochester native and National Soccer Hall of Famer who attended Mercy High School and went on to win the 2015 Women’s World Cup and Olympic gold twice with the United States women’s national team.

As a soccer player at Mercy during the height of the superstar’s career, Wisotzke considered Wambach a role model. Wisotzke hopes Flower City 1872 can be inspiring to today’s young players. “Especially a team like Flower City that’s so empowering for women, having played on several teams in the past,” she said, “this is a team that the younger generation of female soccer players can look up to.”

PRESERVING THE (FLOWER CITY) UNION

Flower City Union, part of the third-tier National Independent Soccer Association, is the only active professional men’s soccer team in Rochester.

FCU Head Coach Jordan Sullivan, a London, UK native who played at Monroe Community College and Roberts Wesleyan University, says the second-year team is working on establishing an identity based on community engagement. This is articulated in the club’s motto, “Rooted in Rochester,” and exemplified in local youth coaching and coaching seminars, as well as in the product on the field. The goal is to rekindle the spark enjoyed by the Rochester Rhinos 20 years ago, when thousands of fans rooted them on at the former Frontier Field.

“Not many people like to support a losing team,” Sullivan said. “So it’s imperative that the coaching

staff get it right on the field and we start producing results, we start getting points on the board, we start winning games.” Sullivan added that it’s important that the team plays in a way that fellow soccer players and aficionados will recognize and respect, a style that he calls “good to the soccer eye.”

The FCU head coach credits Nelson Cupello, the Brazilianborn, longtime Rochesterian who coached Sullivan at Monroe Community College, with giving him an opportunity to pursue soccer in America. When Sullivan became FCU manager for the 2023 season, he brought his former coach out from retirement to be an assistant coach for the club.

Cupello, who has extensive experience as a soccer player and coach in the Rochester area, says that historically there have been too many local teams vying to be the main attraction. “The size of Rochester, the population, you can only support so many professional teams,” he said. “You can’t have four or five professional soccer teams. And I think the city has to get behind one team.”

1872 Defender Amanda Wisotzke follows the play during a game against BC United.

PHOTO BY NINA KORN

Top: FCU Head Coach Jordan Sullivan, in gray, calls a team huddle at practice.

Bottom: FCU goalkeeper Michael Mejia.

PHOTOS BY JACOB WALSH

REVIVING THE SPIRIT OF THE RHINOS

If there was one moment when professional soccer in Rochester was at its pinnacle, it might’ve been September 14, 1999 — when the underdog Rochester Raging Rhinos defeated the Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids 2-0 to capture the U.S. Open Cup among a field of 40 teams from all over America. Or, maybe the Rhinos’ consecutive A-League titles the following two years. The Rhinos remained princes of the pitch at Frontier Field until 2005. The team shut down in 2008, after ownership defaulted on its stadium agreement with the City of Rochester.

A CROWDED FIELD

With RNYFC’s future uncertain and the nascent Flower City Union and 1872 teams attempting to secure a foothold as the eminent local soccer teams, other clubs in the community continue to operate. These organizations include the Rochester Lancers, which recently merged with WNY Flash under its banner; Roc City Boom of the fourth-tier United Premier Soccer League; the newly formed youth teams known as Flash Rochester (affiliated with WNY Flash Academy) and RNYFC Youth’s MLS Next Academy and pre-academy teams. There is also Smugtown FC – a collection of UPSL, Rochester District, and recreational teams, some of whose players have ties to Flower City Union.

Michael Cunningham, a Flower City Union forward whose instructional soccer channel on YouTube, 7mlc, has more than 1.4 million subscribers, says local teams have spent too much time competing against one another for fans. “Anytime

After a series of stops and starts in multiple leagues, the team again faced stadium lease issues with the city in 2016 — at which point David and Wendy Dworkin assumed ownership of the club.

More false starts followed as the team attempted to join the USL League One, but it wasn’t until 2021 — when professional soccer player Jamie Vardy, a star striker in England’s Premier League, joined the Rhinos’ front office as a co-owner — that a true resurgence seemed likely. The team was rebranded as Rochester New York FC and entered the 2022 season as the only independent club in the recently formed third-tier league MLS Next Pro. But after just one season, in which RNYFC made the playoffs, the organization failed to field a team for 2023 and closed operations due to what it characterized as an unviable business plan.

a club seems to struggle in Rochester is when it just wants to compete with the other clubs,” said the former Roberts Wesleyan University and Lancers player. “Instead of worrying about what the Rochester soccer community needs, they’re just worrying, ‘how can we do it slightly better or different than another club?’”

Rather than contribute to what he sees as petty competition, the English-born Cunningham said local teams need to invest in youth players, whom he sees as the future of local soccer. “What I think would be really great for Flower City, and what I think the Rhinos did so well in how they engaged the community, is they had their youth clubs all attached to a firstteam ultimate goal,” Cunningham said.

It remains to be seen how Flower City Union and 1872 will fare the rest of the season and in future seasons, but it’s clear that the vacuum left by the Rochester Rhinos has yet to be filled. As youth soccer programs designed to encourage and develop young players grow, a local professional soccer club to which those players could aspire has yet to establish itself as the face of a flourishing Rochester soccer culture.

Above: Forward Malik Stewart.

Below: Defender Frederick Opoku.

PHOTOS BY JACOB WALSH

FCU forward Michael Cunningham also hosts the popular instructional soccer channel 7mlc on YouTube.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

SCHOOL OF THE ARTS PROM CITY VISITS...

LEAH BAUERGAST, SENIOR

“I’m going to take a gap year, but then I’ll go to college for Greek and Roman history.”

NINA PALLOTTA, JUNIOR

“I’m thinking about pre-med. This summer I’m just hanging out with my family.”

MEREDITH MAZUR, JUNIOR

“I might go into teaching. This summer

I’m gonna work a lot and see my cousin in New York.”

PEDRO LEBRON, SENIOR

“I’m going to North Dakota State University for vet tech and zoology. I plan to be a zoologist.

KYDELL MYRIE, SENIOR

“I’m probably going into the Air Force.”

KYRA TAPPIN, SENIOR

“I’m going to Keuka College for criminology.”

JAMARI

AT MONROE “I’m going to trade school to be an engineer.”

ALIYAH TOWNSEND, SENIOR

“I’m going to take the pre-reqs to be an ultrasound technician.”

TANKSLEY, SENIOR

PHOTOS BY LAUREN PETRACCA INTERVIEWS BY REBECCA RAFFERTY

On Friday, June 2 CITY visited the SOTA prom at Urban Euphoria to ask about students’ post-graduation and summer plans.

JA’VON GAMBLE, SENIOR

“I plan on attending Buffalo State University for interior design, but ultimately I will pursue a music career.”

DEJAH GRANT, SENIOR

“I’m going to be attending SUNY online with MCC, majoring in psychology.”

SHANNON GOULD, SENIOR “I’m going to SUNY Potsdam for anthropology.”

ALEX WEBB, JUNIOR AT U PREP MAKAYLA SMITH, JUNIOR

“Our outfits are inspired by the ‘Spider-Man’ movie, which came out today.”

ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ, SENIOR

“I want to develop myself in both creative writing and photography.”

JARIANA RODRIGUEZ, SENIOR

“I plan to go to SUNY Brockport. This summer I want to spend a lot of time outdoors with friends, hiking and hopefully kayaking.”

Hand-to-Hand combat

(witH a side of fries)

BY DAVID ANDREATTA @DAVID_ANDREATTA DANDREATTA@WXXI.ORG

Part ‘therapy,’ part adrenaline rush, the EZ Rollers

Arm Wrestling Club rides a wave of popularity.

The back room of a burger joint in Greece seems an unlikely arena for hand-to-hand combat.   Yet there the warriors were, men with ham hock forearms and chalk-powdered hands clasped in a vise-like grip, facing off over platform tables. In the throes of battle, beads of sweat bubbled to the surface of their foreheads in unison. Grunting ensued.

For Peter Brana, right, arm-wrestling is therapy. ‘All those emotions, everything you want to let out but you can’t, you’re letting out on the table.’

PHOTO BY LAUREN PETRACCA

These are Thursday nights at Bill Gray’s on Latta Road, the proving ground for the EZ Rollers Arm Wrestling Club.

Peter Brana, 33, said the evening sessions are “like therapy” for him and other “pullers,” as arm-wrestlers are called.

“You come every Thursday, you get aggression out. With someone pulling on your arm and you fighting against it, you’re getting a lot out,” he said. “Like all those emotions, everything you want to let out but you can’t, you’re letting out on the table.”

Interest in arm-wrestling was on the upswing before the pandemic, buoyed by AMC’s reality television series “Game of Arms,” a broadcast deal between ESPN and the fledgling World Armwrestling League, and tournament purses as high as $100,000.

But practitioners of the sport say its popularity has exploded since the health crisis, spurred by people — mostly men — who stumbled on online arm-

wrestling videos while in isolation and began training to stave off boredom.

The EZ Rollers have been around since 2017, yet all but a handful of the nearly two dozen pullers at practice said they were introduced to the sport in the last two or three years.

One of them was Gunnar Coston, 25, a drummer in a rock band called Wicked, who goes by “Guns” around the club.

“The adrenaline is absolutely insane,” Coston said. “It’s so awesome. It’s like driving a race car.”

For a young man, the sport has the potential to reap other benefits. “You look cool in front of the girls, when they do come,” Coston added.

Which is how often?

“Not often,” he replied.

Pinpointing participation in the sport is difficult. Unlike other sports, arm-wrestling has no governing body that tracks registrants. Holding the sport together is a loose network

of independent clubs, nonprofit associations, and promotion companies that host tournaments — mostly in barrooms, hotels, sports parks, and casinos.

Denise Wattles, executive director of the United States Armwrestling Association, which claims to be the largest promoter of arm-wrestling events in the world, said she has seen an uptick in attendance and interest since the pandemic.

“I do think a lot of it has to do with the videos on the internet and word-ofmouth,” she said. “And boys and men have to have something to do or they’re going to get in trouble. That’s just the way it is.”

Arm-wrestling has been around in some form for millennia. Historians of the sport trace the earliest record of a match to a painting on an ancient Egyptian tomb dating to 2000 B.C. The sport feeds something primal in its competitors.

Giovanni Leone, center, a marketing student at RIT, believes arm-wrestling has tremendous potential as a spectator sport.

PHOTO BY LAUREN PETRACCA

Giovanni Leone and Gunnar Coston compete at Bitter Honey.

PHOTO BY MIKE MARTINEZ

Many pullers say the allure of armwrestling is in its showcase of strength and the chance it provides to engage in one-on-one combat in a controlled and collegial setting.

“It’s kind of the intensity of the UFC with the safety and the group concept of golf,” said Walter Crowe, 55, who joined the EZ Rollers two years ago and makes the weekly drive for practices from his home in Erie County.

“It’s the mano-a-mano . . . without all that risk,” he said. “You don’t have to be so limber. You don’t have to be in shape. You just have to be tough.”

The sport has its share of arm sprains and breaks, but injuries are something most pullers can’t afford to risk. The vast majority of arm-wrestlers don’t earn a dime from their avocation and balance training with day jobs.

Among the arm-wrestlers atop Puller Magazine’s North American rankings are a car dealership owner (Jerry Cadorette), a corrections officer at a maximum-security prison (Dave Chaffee), a restaurant manager (Jordan Sill), and a geologist (Geoff Hale).

Members of the EZ Rollers include a day trader, a real estate investor, and a marketing student. They range in age from their teens to their 50s.

The club’s most celebrated arm belongs to Brandon Ellsessor, a 32-yearold hulking ironworker from Wayne County. His biceps measure 20 inches, just shy of the circumference of a football. The word “Determination” is tattooed on his right forearm.

Ellsessor is internationally ranked and recently competed for the welterweight world title in the acclaimed “East vs. West” tournament in Turkey,

where he lost to Davit “Monster” Samushia, from the country of Georgia.

“They paid for all my expenses, I didn’t lose any money, I got paid to compete, so it went good right off the bat,” Ellsessor said.

He recalled the largest prize he ever took home to be around $1,500. But, for him, arm-wrestling is not about the money.

“I love the fact that it is a one-on-

one combat sport,” Ellsessor said. “I like combat and I like strength, and I like depending on myself and not a team.”

Not all arm-wrestlers are behemoths. Success has more to do with strategy than brawn.

There is the angle of the pull, the roll of the wrist, the position of elbows on the platform.

Levi Miller, 23, said pulling was more like chess. “You can get really competitive, but it’s also a very technical sport,” he said.

Some pullers articulate their fingers “over the top” of an opponent’s hand, a move made famous by the 1987 film of the same name in which Sylvester Stallone plays a trucker who armwrestles his way into a new rig and his estranged son’s heart.

Inherent in the sport is a bonding effect between teacher and student, old and young, father and son.

Miller was arm-wrestling with his father on one platform table in the room. The father-and-son combination of Jim Jackson, 51, and 13-year-old Jimmy, whom the EZ Rollers call “The Beast,” occupied another table.

Like all the warriors, they shook hands before their matches as a sign of respect, then clasped palms, braced their bodies, and pulled. As the arm-wrestlers swayed back and forth, Bill Gray’s customers sipping on sodas periodically stopped to watch the spectacle through windows.

Giovanni Leone, 22, a Rochester Institute of Technology marketing student, had just finished warming up when he took note of the spectators. He was out of breath, sweating, and rubbing his sore forearm.

“We get a lot of bystanders here and I think that’s why there’s potential in this sport,” he said. “People obviously love to watch it. So if people can kind of understand the competitive sport, maybe it can become more of a mainstream sport.”

Tim Clark of Perry, left, competes against Walter Crowe. PHOTO BY LAUREN PETRACCA

Jim Jackson, 51, said he has bonded with his 13-year-old son, Jimmy (The Beast) Jackson over arm-wrestling.

PHOTO BY LAUREN PETRACCA

MUSIC IS THE ELIXIR

ROC Pride headliner Thea Austin talks immortal dance music, self-love, and the power of grooving together.

BY REBECCA RAFFERTY @RSRAFFERTY BECCA@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

This summer marks the 51st anniversary of Pride celebrations in Rochester, and its organizers – led by Trillium Health –expect a massive turnout. In preparation of the July 15 festival at Cobbs Hill Park, they’ve expanded the footprint and are doubling the number of food trucks booked for the event.

Susanna Speed, Trillium’s Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging, said this year’s guiding theme is about love and acceptance, while honoring Pride’s legacy.

“Making sure that in a crazy world where folks are often made to feel like they are not valid and their identities aren’t valid,” she said, “that this is a place where they are valid, and they are celebrated.”

Drag will be featured heavily in the festival’s entertainment, including a headlining performance by singersongwriter Ada Vox, the first drag queen to place in the top 10 on “American Idol.”

Sharing top billing with Vox is Thea Austin, a multi-genre performer who fronted the Eurodance group Snap! and is perhaps best known for writing and singing on the chart-topping 1992 hit “Rhythm Is a Dancer.” Immediately an iconic tonic, that anthem still spins in dance clubs today.

Austin, 63, recalled how she sat alone with the driving beat track the producers presented to her, and let the right words come to her. The lyrics are full of optimism and sound like a hymn, urging solidarity in joyful expression and being a body: “Lift your hands and voices/free your mind and join us.”

Austin recorded the vocals for the synth-heavy, mesmerizing song in one take, and the song was chosen as a single. It was picked up by DJs and bumped to in clubs worldwide.

“I knew it was special,” she said. “It had great energy. But I didn’t know it

would last a lifetime.”

Austin’s approach to songwriting is still “pure passion” and intuitive, and she writes about the freedom to love and to express oneself as well as openness to the possibility of joy. Her message and mission are simple – and couldn’t be more in line with the Pride festival’s tone.

“My purpose is music and love,” she said. “I don’t have to search myself too deeply.”

But Austin didn’t always have such clarity about her role in this messy world.

A Pittsburgh native, she got her start in the biz writing for a magazine called The R&B Report, a short-lived Black music and radio industry guide in circulation from 1987 to 1990. After the periodical closed down, Austin spent six months in Japan, performing covers of popular songs night after night.

The experience was educational, in that she gained the chops for marathon performances and learned to navigate racism that, she found, wasn’t exclusive to America.

Austin was the first artist to take the stage at jazz club Blue Note Tokyo

when it opened in 1988, and the venue connected her with established musicians.

“Jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Joe Williams, Carmen McRae, George Benson, McCoy Tyner,” she said. “I mean, the list goes on and on and on, the greats that I get to hang out with.”

Back stateside, music helped Austin ride out some years of bad relationships, setbacks, and deep depression before “Rhythm Is a Dancer” rocketed to the chart tops. She went on a world tour with rapper Turbo B (whose bars are featured on the hit), which included opening for Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” tour in Romania. Other dance hits followed with Snap! and other groups Soulsearcher and Pusaka, and her music has been featured in film soundtracks and video games.

These days, Austin is a regular headliner at Pride festivals around the U.S. and is recording new songs with producer David Alphen. She’s also preparing to record a TEDx talk on the healing power of music and how forging a better society starts with your own well-being.

“It is essential,” she said. “We’re living in some difficult times, and I think once people can wrap their heads around how important it is to take care of oneself, I think we’d definitely be a much better human race, you know? Because when the mind is well, when a person understands the ultimate importance of self-care, self-love, and selfpreservation, they carry a different frequency. They carry a different vibration and it is a healthier, happier one.”

Austin knows the hits are expected when she performs, and she enjoys facilitating that sweaty, glorious revelry of letting go of doubt and fear – even for a little while – and being at home in your body.

“You know, people listen to dance music and they feel better,” she said. “It gets them on the inside and starts to create an internal movement that becomes external. My success is in highenergy dance music. And I honor it.”

For full details on Rochester Pride 2023, visit trilliumhealth.org/patientand-community-services/pride.

Multi-genre performer Thea Austin will headline this years Pride Festival on July 15.

PHOTO PROVIDED

CONCESSION STAN

TAKE OUT AT THE BALLPARK

Dine like a pro at Innovative Field.

BY DARIO JOSEPH @ DARIOPARTY64

Leave the peanuts and Cracker Jacks at home and bring an appetite to the next Red Wings game. You’ll find traditional ballpark fare like hamburgers and hot dogs (Zweigle’s, of course) at Innovative Field, but General Manager of Food and Beverage Jeff DeSantis and his team created a concessions lineup that will have you (almost) forgetting there’s a baseball game.

Food is a big part of the experience at Innovative Field, and has even crossed over to the game itself. During every Thursday home game, the Red Wings trade in their red

TRASH CAN

Where to find it: ‘Home Plate’ stand

Here in Rochester, we’re used to unappetizing names for delicious entrees. Enter the ‘Trash Can.’ “Rochester’s culinary claim-to-fame, with a twist,” DeSantis said. “It’s everything you love about a plate, in a cup.” Use a fork to excavate the layers of house made meat hot sauce, hamburger chili, macaroni salad and home fries for each bite that delivers the delicious, familiar combination of flavors (and maybe a faint memory of past late night adventures).

ROC DOG Where to find it: ‘Sup Dog’ stand

Sure, you can order a plain ol’ hot dog, but why would you when there’s a ROC Dog? A Zweigle’s Red or White is topped with a heap of house-made chili meat hot and finished with a healthy (amount, that is) sprinkling of bacon and onions. Biting into the ROC dog is a journey in flavor and texture – and once you’re finished, there are two more specialty hot dogs to try at the stand…

and white jerseys for ‘Rochester Plates’ uniforms, their homage to the local favorite since 2017. Unique food-focused games – like the Coco Loco Night on July 9 – are popping up more, especially given the recent addition of executive chef Keith Hillock.

“(It) really allows our team to offer new items and be creative,” DeSantis said. “We feel there’s something for everyone and enough variety to try a new item every time you visit.”

SPECIALTY MAC ‘N’ CHEESE: DESPERATELY SEEKING CHICKEN

Where to find it:

‘Say Cheese’ stand

Can’t step away from the chicken wing dip at a party? This specialty mac ‘n’ cheese is for you. A bowl big enough to share is filled to the brim with creamy noodles and cheese mixed with chunks of grilled chicken, then drizzled with Big Red Wing sauce and bleu cheese dressing. A combination of spicy, tangy and cheesy you can’t pass up.

FRIED DOUGH Where to find it: ‘Sweet Spot’ stand

Fried dough is a ballpark staple that, on first bite, brings you back to summers of childhood. It’s served up on a paper plate – hot, pillowy and crispy all at the same time, with your choice of powdered or cinnamon sugar on top. Pro tip: park yourself on the grassy knoll a few feet from the stand and take in one of the best views in the park while indulging in the sugary treat.

PHOTOS BY DARIO JOSEPH

SUMMER STREAMING GUIDE

Hit play on our top picks for rainy days or outdoor movie nights.

BY MATT PASSANTINO @ MATTPASSANTINO

Summer in Rochester brings more time outdoors, and it’s natural to want to enjoy fun in the sun before sequestering at home for the long winter months. But at the end of a busy day, tired and red from the sun, there isn’t a better time to relax on the couch with a new show or movie.

Knowing what to watch is often the hardest task, and the endless streaming platforms make it even more challenging, so we’ve rounded up a few of the most interesting titles headed to various streaming platforms, just in time for a late night in to beat the heat.

BIOSPHERE

Mel Eslyn’s “Biosphere,” which had its debut at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, stars Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass. The sci-fi plot about two men who have to save humanity is vague enough to make it a summer must-see.

“Biosphere” debuts on VOD July 7, along with a limited theatrical release.

THE AFTERPARTY (SEASON TWO)

Christopher Miller’s comedic all-star series returns for its second season this summer. The first season of the murder mystery show was infused with Miller’s comedy sensibilities and allowed some of the funniest people in Hollywood a chance to shine. Season two promises to be more of the same and that’s a good thing.

“The Afterparty” season two begins on July 12 on AppleTV+.

“They Cloned Tyrone” debuts on Netflix on July 21.

PHOTO COURTESY NETFLIX

PHOTO COURTESY IFC FILMS

THE DEEPEST BREATH

Documentary film has had a renaissance in recent years, with filmmakers expanding the medium to show documentaries can contain more than talking head interviews. Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Free Solo” and Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love,” as recent examples, showcased documentaries as being immersive and thrilling – “The Deepest Breath” looks like it could follow in their steps.

“The Deepest Breath” debuts on Netflix on July 19, after a brief theatrical run.

THEY CLONED TYRONE

Sometimes all you need is a strong cast for a movie to create interest. This action-thriller, starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, Jamie Foxx, and Kiefer Sutherland looks like a promising summer diversion on all fronts.

“They Cloned Tyrone” debuts on Netflix on July 21.

THE BEANIE BUBBLE

“The Beanie Bubble” offers a nostalgic trip back to the 90s, dramatizing the origins of a major toy phenomenon. The Beanie Babies craze was a singular moment in time, and it’s currently having a pop culture resurgence (there was also a 2021 Max documentary called “Beanie Mania”).

“The Beanie Bubble” is a narrative fiction film starring Zach Galifianakis as Beanie Baby creator Ty Warner, with co-stars Elizabeth Banks and Sarah Snook.

“The Beanie Bubble” debuts on AppleTV+ on July 28.

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING (SEASON 3)

Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are three names no one ever expected would have tremendous comedic chemistry, but this hit show proves that’s exactly what they have. The creative series returns for a third season in August, and if there is one reason to return to the show, it can be summarized in two words: Meryl Streep. The Oscar-winning legend is the newest addition to the cast, making it one of the must-see titles of the summer.

“Only Murders in the Building” season three begins on Hulu on August 8.

LIFT

The Kevin Hart-led heist-comedy will debut in the dwindling days of summer, which is a perfect time for cheap escapist thrills. Director F. Gary Gray, who has had an up-and-down career both critically and at the box office, has undoubtedly left his mark on movies with his signature style, proving he can cross genres with ease. That alone makes “Lift” a movie worth watching.

“Lift” debuts on Netflix on August 25.

PHOTO COURTESY APPLE

HOUSE AND HOME

Local Ballroom culture creates a chosen family.

BY RACQUEL STEPHEN RSTEPHEN@WXXI.ORG

It’s a Saturday night in Rochester and inside 75 Stutson Street, a former church-turned-event space, roughly 100 people are clapping and chanting. Ballroom music is blasting from the dimly lit space, but it’s not the waltzing kind — here, the people are voguing.

“You can’t f*ck with this! It’s

Fendi, bitch!”

Welcome to the Black Excellence Juneteenth Kiki Ball, emceed by Ballroom legend Precious Old Navy.

“Sometimes people come to balls and think it’s just about voguing,” she said. “It’s about runway. It’s about self-expression. It’s about safe spaces.”

Voguing, in this case, refers to highly

stylized house dance that evolved in the late 1980s from the Harlem Ballroom scene of the 1960s.

The Ballroom scene is a predominantly Black and Hispanic underground LGBTQ+ subculture which originated in New York City during the late twentieth century, when the HIV/AIDS epidemic was

almost exclusively perceived as a disease within the gay community.

Individuals within this community were shunned by their families and blacklisted by society because of the unknowns and the fear of transmission.

“You were tossed to the street, you were disowned,” said Chasmar

A group vogues during the Black Excellence Juneteenth Kiki Ball. PHOTOS BY NARADA J. RILEY

Aponte, who has been a major player in the Western New York Ballroom culture for decades.

This feeling of exile forced LGBTQ+ persons to create “safe spaces” in retaliation to the hate that was met above ground. It was at these balls they were able to freely showcase their true selves through pageantry, fashion and dance. But it’s the competitive nature of the events that transcends it all.

“That’s where you get most of the fame when it comes to Ballroom,” said Aponte.

At the Balls, groups referred to as “houses” compete for money and bragging rights on a mainstream stage or on the Kiki (a more amateur) level. Houses originated as actual homes where kids who were shunned by their families due to disease or lifestyle would be taken in and offered a place to live. The house was run by a gay mother and father. Because it was more difficult for LGBTQ+ identifying people to get jobs in the late 70’s and early 80’s, the money won at balls were used to maintain the home by paying bills and buying groceries.

“So, you would go to these balls and really show out,” said Aponte. “Nowadays, you’re not really paying to live anywhere, instead you’re getting bragging rights and notoriety.”

But the hierarchy system of Mainstream and Kiki remains.

On the Mainstream scene, Aponte is a child for the House of Balmain, but on the local Kiki scene he is the overall father of the House of Fendi, where he nurtures 18 kids.

“I pretty much teach the youth how to be a part of the Mainstream scene, and I actually guide some of them into the Mainstream scene,” said Aponte, who also tutors and offers ballroom lessons at Trillium Health’s MOCHA Center. “I like to put my kids in a place where they can create their own legacy and live as free as I do.”

At Saturday night’s Kiki Ball, Aponte’s house was the most dominant in size and accomplishment, taking home most of the prize money.

“You can’t f*ck with this! It’s Fendi, bitch!”

Event curator Nyk Tyrell is new to the Ballroom scene but was once a child of Aponte’s House of Fendi. He has branched off and is now the mother of his own house with a mission of growing and legitimizing the Kiki Ballroom scene in Western New York.

“I believe in what we have here, and I believe that we can do a lot,” said Tyrell, who goes by ‘Symphony’ on the Ballroom scene. “I want to start something here that’s everlasting. Something that really gives the ballroom community a bigger platform.”

Together, Tyrell and Aponte have launched the Western New York Ballroom Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to ensuring the region gets the recognition they feel it deserves.

“I’m really excited about where Ballroom is, and where Ballroom is going for this region,” said Tyrell.

The next Kiki Ball will be held August 12. Stay updated through The Western New York Ballroom Alliance Inc. page on Facebook.

Event curator Nyk Tyrell, center, is growing the Kiki Ballroom scene in Western New York.

PHOTO BY NARADA J. RILEY

Judges throw up scores for Kiki performers.

PHOTO BY NARADA J. RILEY

GAME TIME

How the ‘Wild West’ of video games and esports is taking shape locally.

BY PATRICK HOSKEN @PATRICKHOSKEN

When Ben Garvey graduated from RIT in 2021, he wasn’t sure he’d stay in Rochester. He’d started Great Lakes Gaming, a business that utilized his background in video game design and entrepreneurship, but COVID made its early days uncertain. It was a conversation with Gallina Development Corporation, the company that transformed the iconic Xerox Tower into the Innovation Square complex, that convinced him to stick around.

“They were like, ‘We heard you’re the guy to talk to about gaming facilities,’ because there weren’t any in Rochester at the time,” Garvey said.

Developers sought the lounge as an amenity for building residents and as a public space to give local college and high school students potential career opportunities. The view from a downtown skyscraper was too good to pass up, so Garvey opened his shop in 2022.

“Our name was Great Lakes Gaming, and they wanted to show us the 22nd floor that overlooked Rochester and the lake in the distance,” he said. “I’m like, ‘I can’t beat this.’”

A year later, Great Lakes Gaming — which Garvey calls “a country club for video gaming” — is thriving, thanks in part to the continued rise of competitive

gaming, known as esports. As with traditional major sports like basketball and soccer, the fire of competition fuels the esports empire, with teams vying for annual championships and international glory. Gamers gather for bombastic tournaments in arenas, airplane hangars, and convention centers around the globe filled with 20,000 fans and more streaming the match-ups virtually.

The industry itself was valued at $1.39 billion in 2022.

But in smaller markets like Rochester, esports can feel less organized. Talent turnover is high, and gaming spaces may disappear as quickly as they open.

“Places pop up in strip malls, or classrooms, or churches, or whatever it might be,” he said. “With our gaming lab, that’s what we’re trying to address, getting away from that unstructured bit and offering a more consistent, more set-up experience.”

A gaming lounge matters because esports is inherently social, and gaming with people in the same room is a more positive experience. Crucially, there’s also an education component: the more you pay attention to the gaming ecosystem, the more you learn.

Rochester boasts a vibrant gaming development and design scene, including at Garvey’s alma mater,

A streaming event takes place at the Great Lakes Gaming space on the 22nd floor of Innovation Square. PHOTO PROVIDED

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The school’s MAGIC Center focuses on digital media and virtual production, helping students create their own games and develop business strategies. The center also hosts the yearly Rochester Game Festival in September, created in partnership with the Irondequoit Public Library and the community organization Roc Game Dev.

The Digital Games Industry Association of Rochester, or DIGA, is another resource for developers and those creating locally. But esports is still mostly a separate entity. Creative companies like Workinman Interactive don’t deal in the types of games typically associated with esports. Splyce, a former Rochester-based media company, was a power player in the esports world and even owned a team that competed in Europe’s top League of Legends league. Its parent company, OverActive Media, merged it with another subsidiary and shuttered the Rochester office in 2019.

Christine Morinelli, an Irondequoit resident, worked as an executive producer at OverActive, capturing videos of professional Call of Duty competitors getting ready for tournaments and traveling with teams to events in Miami, Las Vegas, and London.

“They were all under 20 years old, coming from all over the world. We had a guy from Ireland, a guy from Scotland, a couple kids from California,” she said. “They’d come to Rochester to have scrimmages and practice and train for events all the time.”

Since her time with Splyce, she’s seen the opportunities for esports gamers grow.

“[Professionals] are playing 24/7, almost never off. This was all done at home, after hours,” Morinelli said. “But now almost every college is starting to build their own esports team and maybe even at the high-school level.”

She shouted out Great Lakes Gaming as a great resource for pre-teens to learn the proverbial joysticks as well.

That training may set students up to actually declare esports as their major by the time they get to college.

Syracuse University recently announced plans to launch a new degree, Esports Communications and Management, for the 2024 academic year. Jeff Rubin, a professor of practice, helped launch the

program in his role as special advisor to the chancellor on esports and digital transformation.

“We were looking at what is going to attract this next generation of students and how we better engage the students that are on the campus today,” he said. “[The chancellor] sent me off with some homework to look at that, but it really was pretty easy. The answer was esports.”

Rubin envisions students who graduate with the new degree will land jobs in the esports industry involving storytelling and management — e.g. marketing and public relations, financing and promotion — as well as design and production. Syracuse University already has a dedicated gaming lounge as well as an esports organization that hosts campus tournaments.

There may be future opportunities to host larger events as well. Rubin said the university plans to furnish a recently acquired building on the edge of campus with “a stadium-style competition space where you can actually have fans watching” tournaments hosted there. In other words, gamers in Central New York may not have to travel to bigger cities to see some action.

Video games have long been part of academics, even going back to “The Oregon Trail” simulator that was a staple of computer classrooms in the 1990s.

But thinking ahead to their future is what concerns educators like Rubin, as well as Mark Watters, the director of the Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media at the Eastman School of Music. That program features a unique, and, as Watters said, “very, very intense” course devoted to scoring video games from the ground up.

“The students are taught to record footsteps, and then footsteps in water, and then being able to record it and put it into a game audio track,” he said. “The purpose of this is to focus purely on recording sound.”

The tricky part comes next: students must create music on top of those sounds, yielding a multi-layered final product that contains distinct music for various paths a gamer may choose to take.

“The thing that makes video game playing so fantastic is that we can control it, or we think we can,” Watters said. “But we can determine our own destinies, you know? And the music has to be part of that.”

As with any rapidly evolving tech industry, the state of gaming is constantly in flux, especially when it comes to esports. Garvey said Great Lakes Gaming has to weather those changes constantly.

“The scene changes every five weeks,” he said. “Believe it or not,

gaming has not been sustainable for me. I would be out of business if I just focused just on gaming.”

His office’s prime location overlooking the city of Rochester lends itself to hosting events like birthday parties, dinners, reunions, bachelor/ette bashes, and baby showers.

Having a diversified business may be smart, given the contrasting forecasts for the future of esports. Team owners are still struggling to make a profit. It still costs more to rent out the big arenas than what many can bring in, even from sponsorship deals.

“It’s all the Wild West as people try to figure out how to adapt traditional sports methods to the virtual and online [spaces],” Garvey said. “I don’t even have the answers and I’ve been living and breathing this for five, six years.”

But as his own business origin story reveals, not having a fixed plan can sometimes lead to unexpected opportunities.

“It’s an exciting time,” he said. “That’s what a new emerging market is always gonna be.”

Mayor Malik Evans speaks to a Great Lakes Gaming crowd. PHOTO PROVIDED

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

Local entrepreneur Jake Cornfield tests bar trivia’s limits.

BY JESS PAVIA @JESSICAPAVIAXX

The bowling lanes at Radio Social are empty and the bar is bare, save a few lingering couples. But in the belly of the dining room, all 15 tables are packed with trivia attendees. Murmurs of gameplay strategies and victory cries bounce off the factory ceiling and fall in a crescendo around the room.

For Jake Cornfield, this is a typical night—if those existed.

“I try to create nights that are always different, always new and unexpected,” says the 25-year-old game master behind Game Night Rochester. “I want to create an environment where people can come

out, have a good time, and not take things too seriously. Through trivia, I’m able to do that.”

Cornfield’s interest in games took off in college after he moved to Rochester and was introduced to Millenium Games, a local board game store that now sponsors his trivia nights. While he initially went into college with 15 games from home, Cornfield says he left with close to 100.

“I was spending all my money on board games instead of textbooks,” he jokes.

This interest—and some quiet Wednesday nights at Radio Social, where he worked at the time—led to Cornfield starting Game Night Rochester as an events pop-up in 2021. Since then, he has gone fulltime with Game Night Rochester and catalyzed a game night renaissance with his unique ‘Twisted Trivia’ format, which includes mini games between each question (think rock, paper, scissors; giant wooden dice; a jelly bean challenge; origami).

“The bonus rounds, in and of themselves, attract people who may

not be into trivia,” he says. “And they create a connection between me and the teams.”

That connection is vital, and keeps players coming back week after week. But Ben Parrow, videographer for Game Night Rochester, claims the biggest draw is the game master himself.

“It’s his personality and how he hosts the trivia, no one else can do it but Jake,” he says.

Rochesterians can find Game Night Rochester almost everywhere during the week, like clicking through a reel viewer. Daily Refresher, Lucky’s, Petit

Game Night Roc host and founder, Jake Cornfield.

PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH

Poutinerie, Radio Social—even college events. Cornfield prioritizes patronage to local spots. “If every single place could be packed, I would be over the moon,” he says.

Don Alcott, general manager at Radio Social, has been behind Cornfield’s idea since the beginning, watching Game Night Rochester fulfill its promise.

“It’s killer,” Alcott says. “It sells out a lot, we have to tiptoe around our dining reservations to accommodate everybody.”

Cornfield is also building his own studio space with over 600 games in Village Gate, which will allow him

Just Games: Board Games for Everyone

On miniature nights at Just Games Rochester, the doors whack open as players stream in from the parking lot, balancing black boxes full of their painted figurines and three-dimensional playing mats. The backroom, which is built to comfortably fit 60 or so attendees, transforms into myriad imagined worlds and battles and galaxies. But this is only one type of event for the business.

Matt Vercant, owner of Just Games Rochester, said if he could impart anything to newcomers it would be that there is a game for everybody. Their library has 700 board games (and counting), which customers can rent for a small fee or play right then and there—sometimes all day if they wish. On one shelf alone, you can find a Buffy the Vampire Slayer card game next to a collector’s edition of Pandemic.

“Even if they’re not an experienced gamer, even if they’re not a hobbyist, board games are for everyone now,” says Vercant. Board games—both the categories/ genres and people playing them—have exploded in the last 10 years. More than 3,000 titles come out a year, so Just Games Rochester curates their selection to prioritize interaction between players and tangibility. Staff members also match customers with games that will fit their interests.

“If you have looked at a game store in the past and thought,‘that isn’t for me,’ if it hasn’t been in the last five to 10 years, look again,” he says. “If it’s not our game store, that’s fine. But go and take a look.”

justgamesrochester.com

creative freedom to develop, test out, and offer new events without the limitations of a restaurant’s unique needs. Anyone can hire him to host an event.

Not many trivia nights can claim standing room only or players singing along to a karaoke song category so loudly the street can hear them below. All of this started with Cornfield’s desire to introduce new games to his friends and family. Now, it pays the bills.

“It’s fun when your obsession becomes your job,” he says. gamenightroc.com

Top, a crowd participates in Twisted Trivia at Radio Social. Bottom, Cornfield shows off a shelf of games in his Village Gate studio.

PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH

Matt Vercant, owner of Just Games.

PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH

Affection for confection

BY REBECCA RAFFERTY @RSRAFFERTY BECCA@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

HThe retail spaces at local chocolate shops

Hedonist Artisan Chocolates (674 South Ave.) and Laughing Gull Chocolates (1868 E. Main St.) are small yet bountiful boutiques, packed with scores of creatively flavored truffles, chocolate bark and bars, caramels, drinking chocolate, and more.

Playing with chocolate all day might sound like a dream job — and the shop owners say that it is — but it takes serious labor to make a stellar product, and serious ethical considerations go into the craft.

“I think what sets us apart is our attention to detail and our presence in the kitchen,” said Hedonist owner Jennifer Posey. “Like, ‘Should we just buy this spice or herb dry? Or should we dry it ourselves? Should I make my own peanut butter?’”

Many times the answer is yes, and Hedonist chocolates are filled with foodie bits Posey has picked locally and processed herself.

Each shop’s bounty is produced by a tiny operation in the back — at Hedonist, it’s a maze of tight rooms with large stainless steel tables and racks of chocolatedipped fruits and truffles setting, where Posey and her team toil over often repetitive tasks of mixing, tempering, dipping, and drizzling for long hours.

Hedonist, which Posey founded in 2007, employs up to 25 people depending on the season, and that includes a set of young workers through a partnership with RochesterWorks. In addition to the skills of the trade, Posey trains her employees to be supervisors.

“It’s our gift to humanity,” she said. “But it’s hard work for all of us. I really like what the city is doing, and I think developing our youth is important.”

Hedonist’s boxes of chocolate “collections” are the product of Posey’s fixations on culinary pleasures like floral flavors, bourbon or a goat cheese-strawberrybalsamic salad. Some have tapped into the diverse food traditions of Hedonist’s past apprentices. They also offer chocolate-covered salted caramels, which earned Hedonist a 2013 shout out in the New York Times. And, of course, there’s the adjacent small-batch gourmet ice cream shop, which regularly rolls out unique frozen flavors.

Laughing Gull, which has been open at its current spot for five years, has even less space and includes a small lounge room in the back that is often used as a play area for the children of the shop’s three owners. Lindsay Tarnoff, Karla Carey, and Allison Zukoski met when they each had newborns.

“I always knew I wanted Laughing Gull to be a family place, where you could come have a gourmet hot chocolate or try a chocolate and cheese plate, and sit with the kids,” Tarnoff said.

Aside from the owners, Laughing Gull has two employees. The counter and shelves are filled with decadent bars in rich flavors, like the chocolate mole

bar with black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, fennel, and three types of chilis. That bar is inspired by Mexican eatery Salena’s Restaurant, and is just one of the delicacies Laughing Gull offers that nods to local businesses and groups.

Some products benefit the organizations that inspired them. Laughing Gull created its “Mind Your Own Uterus” bar, which is shaped like the female

reproductive system, in response to the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The shop commissioned local business Unstrung Studios to design a uterus-shaped chocolate mold, and a portion of sales from the bars go to the Support Your Sistahs fund through the Dallas-based Afiya Center.

For Tarnoff, Carey, and Zukoski, food is political. They read the transparency reports of the companies where they source their chocolate, and offer regular educational classes to people through Rochester Brainery.

Neither shop is what the industry calls a “beanto-bar” operation — which means with some slight exceptions, both source the majority of their chocolate from companies that have already ground and processed the beans into chocolate pieces, which the shops then melt down and combine with different ingredients to make the different products they offer.

Hedonist uses between 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of chocolate each year, sourced mainly from French company Noel Chocolate. Laughing Gull is a considerably smaller operation, and went through 2,392 pounds of chocolate in 2022, which it bought primarily from Massachusetts company Taza.

“We all love chocolate and good food, and are passionate about the mission and the values,” Tarnoff said. “The fact that we’re all value-driven, I think that is definitely what gave us that instant bond.”

Laughing Gull Chocolates owners, from left to right, Lindsay Tarnoff, Karla Carey, and Allison Zukoski. PHOTO PROVIDED

Pride-themed chocolates at Hedonist.

PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH

CHASING GRAPES

A Finger Lakes wine guide for the curious consumer

BY MAIAH JOHNSON DUNN @MAIAH

On any given weekend, you can find my husband and me driving through the Finger Lakes, windows down and music up loud. Of all the wine regions we’ve visited, I remain fascinated by home.

We visit wineries across the lakes, take tours, sample wines, and ask questions. With each trip, we learn about the process and the hands crafting the final product. But it was a 2015 dry riesling from a Seneca Lake producer that changed everything. “This is a wine that made itself,” said the winemaker. He explained the wine went into natural fermentation, so he decided to sit back and watch. I peppered him with questions, and the winemaker came alive.

Producers are eager to open their doors and share their knowledge–often, the best thing we can do as consumers is remain curious and hungry to learn. From history and land to wine and pairings, there is no shortage of experiences in the FLX to bolster your knowledge, all while having some fun.

TASTE HISTORY

A visit to Pleasant Valley Wine Company will introduce you to the first award-winning sparkling wine producer in New York state. Founded in 1860 as U.S. Bonded Winery No.1, this Hammondsport producer will transport you back in time. The new library experience at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard demonstrates the age-ability of Finger Lakes wines through a sommelier-curated flight. Be sure to peruse the bottles–you’ll find amusing labels and wines to try, dating back to 1985. chëpìka can be found at Hickory Hollow Wine Cellars, producing natural wines from native Finger Lakes grape varieties once grown in the 1800s.

TOUCH GRASS

Native American legend says the 11 Finger Lakes were formed by the hands of the Great Spirit blessing the fertile land. Join Heart & Hands Wine Company co-owner Susan Higgins on a UTV tour to experience the land yourself: learn about the limestone-rich terroir of Cayuga Lake, farming practices, and sample six wines. After a farm-to-table lunch paired with Méthode Champenoise cider at regenerative farm Finger Lakes Cider House, take advantage of U-Pick apples, peaches, and CBD as the growing season allows.

EXPLORE VINEYARDS

As new producers flock to the Finger Lakes, creativity in vineyards and cellars is on the rise. At Six Eighty Cellars, ancient wine making vessels made from clay, stone, and terracotta coupled with old-world techniques and uncommon grape varieties create a one-of-a-kind experience. (Don’t leave without the Carbonic Cabernet Franc.) From Pét-nats to Sekt and solera to Méthode Champenoise, sparkling wine is a lifestyle at Red Tail Ridge Winery. Saperavi is king at Standing Stone Vineyards, home to the largest planting of the grape outside the Republic of Georgia. Living Roots Wine & Co. will open their Keuka Lake tasting room this summer, where you can enjoy wines from two hemispheres (and low ABV options) with a view.

EXPERIENCE PAIRINGS

To infuse food into the experience, visit Kemmeter Wines where you’ll taste with owner Johannes Reinhardt. Next door, his wife Imelda handmakes dumplings to go. At Fox Run Vineyards, Chef Brud Holland pushes the boundaries of New York wine and food through his worldly menus. Locally sourced applewood flavors the BBQ at Bully Hill Vineyards, which pairs wonderfully with the sparkling Seyval Blanc. Ask for a table on the deck and enjoy the lake views.

BITE-SIZED NEWS

Capone’s Italian Eatery recently opened at 1811 Penfield Road, which formerly housed Pontillo’s Pizza. The biz is a pizzeria-Italian deli hybrid, serving specialty ‘za ($21, cauliflower crust available for an upcharge), chicken cutlets, subs, pastas, fish frys, salads, deli meats, cold sides, and house made desserts. Capone’s is mostly geared toward takeout and delivery, as there are just a few indoor and outdoor seats on the premises. The spot opens at 7 a.m. on weekdays and at 11 a.m. on weekends and closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, at 11 p.m. Friday, and 2 a.m. Saturday. 267-7588, slicelife.com

Aguilera’s Authentic Mexican Food has opened at 521 Monroe Ave. where Sol Burrito previously operated. Owner-chef Fabiola Aquilera comes to Rochester from Sodus, where she ran her first restaurant, Made in Mexico, for five years. The menu is filled with traditional fare, including carne asada tacos, chicken flautas ($18 for five), sopes, huaraches, enchiladas verdes or rojas ($18 for five), burritos and the shareable (or not!) papas locas, which are french fries topped with refried beans, sour cream, cheese, and guac ($15). The tortillas are house-made fresh each day. Aguilera’s is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. 5375705, instagram.com/aguilerasroc.

There’s a new way to shop with an emphasis on sustainability and supporting small food businesses. Provisions, which opened at 1316 Culver Road in early June, is an old-time general store that aims to be a one-stop shop for locally made groceries and household items. Its owners are all small food business owners themselves: Jen Dondero creates artisanal bread, Ben Reiter grows microgreens and mushrooms, and Chad Flint is a purveyor of maple syrup and related goodies. Aside from those items, you will find meat, cheese, produce, pickles, honey

and much more. Hours are 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

provisions-jensartisan.square.site

Right next to Provisions at 1322 Culver Road is The Toast Factory, a new eatery that focuses on specialty French toast. After proving his concept at pop-ups around town since 2020, owner Keith Brown II opened a brick-and-mortar spot in tribute to his lifelong love of the carb-y comfort food. Varieties range from a simple Original French Toast, Vanilla Sensation and Banana Cream ($10 each), to Chicken French ($15) and the bougie Geechie, which comes with an 8 oz. steak ($25). The spot also offers breakfast sandwiches, fried fish and grits, breakfast combos, coffee, juice, tea, and breakfast cocktails. The Toast Factory is open for brunch and breakfast from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. 802-0264, thetoastfactory.net

Báhn mì and bubble tea joint Sea Me Go opened in mid-June at 1677 Mt Hope Ave. It offers a house bánh mì with juicy pork belly ($8) and a rotating series of specialty versions, including your choice of BBQ-style beef, chicken, or pork ($9). There’s also a variety of milk and fruit bubble teas (try the watermelon!), smoothies, Thai iced tea, lemonades, and desserts — don’t pass up the sweet rice with mango and custard ($6). Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, and menus are posted daily on Instagram. 355-4451. instagram.com/seamegoroc

— COMPILED BY REBECCA RAFFERTY

ACROSS

1. The Banana Boat Song

5. Remove a name from a Facebook photo, say

10. Kindergarten approved art supply / unapproved snack

15. Jack of 1950s TV

19. Scent

20. Sister’s daughter

21. Crashed somewhere during the X-Games?

22. Adjective for a towne shoppe

23. *** “Georgia on My Mind” crooner

25. *** Minneapolis & St. Paul collectively

27. Utah mountain bike destination

28. Vice partner

30. Sugary suffix

31. Jealously desire

32. Pop by another name

34. Lowest point

36. Twitch streamers, often

37. Bay Area airport code

40. Number on a foam finger

42. Automaker whose logo is four interlocking circles

43. Santa ___ winds

44. *** Financial figure on a clock in Manhattan

49. *** Pinewood Derby participant

54. First two words of “Send in the Clowns”

55. “Everyone knows the secret now”

57. Born: Fr.

58. Charlemagne’s domain: Abbr.

59. Cancún cash

60. Frequent De Niro co-star

61. Mr. Miyagi’s “yes”

63. Complete an online contract

65. Former “Tonight Show” host

67. Western prairie province

70. Yeats or Keats

71. *** Vessel for Jack Sparrow

76. *** Unbeatable poker hand

78. Still competitive

79. Discharge

81. Lascivious sort

82. Loses color

84. Ala. neighbor

85. Like chardonnay stored in certain wood barrels

88. Guts

92. WSW’s opposite

93. “Much __ About Nothing”

95. Security system component

97. Marigold, e.g.

98. *** “Attack imminent” signal for the US Civil Defense siren

101. *** Scientific discipline in which rocker Brian May has a PhD

103. What you should let sleeping dogs do

104. Crucifix inscription

106. Domain of 97-Down

107. Scottish refusal

108. Spoke roughly

111. Cars with proprietary charging stations

114. “I’m just a girl, standing in front of _____”

117. Baggins portrayer

118. Astronaut Jameson or actress Whitman

119. Locales

121. Mustachioed surrealist

124. *** Bamboo consuming bear that can weigh up to 330 pounds

127. *** Chemical process of converting food to energy

130. Brim

131. A Brontë sister

132. Health insurance giant

133. Like some orders, and most basketball players

134. Near-failing grades

135. Walks worriedly

136. Activist Sojourner who visited President Lincoln in the White House

137. The “A” of U.A.E.

PUZZLE BY S.J. AUSTIN & J. REYNOLDS

DOWN

1. Palme _____ (film award)

2. Name that means “man” in Hebrew

3. Toy on a string

4. Yacht attackers in recent news

5. Spanish article

6. “Come As You Are” rockers

7. Prefix with -cast or -caster

8. Bitingly sour

9. Painter’s primer

10. Butter slab

11. Author of “The Handmaid’s Tale”

12. Earth-shattering

13. Fork point

14. Abbreviating abbreviation

15. River that forms part of the border between Maryland and Washington, D.C.

16. Not dead yet

17. “Doe, ____ ...”

18. Put’s up one’s feet

24. Letters recently dropped from the streaming service now called just “Max”

26. “Yes, that much is clear”

29. Really steamed

33. Terse caution

35. Ballet dancer’s outfit

36. Kaplan or Kapler

37. Barbershop sound

62. Document or diet ending

64. Organs associated with anger

66. Platform for Mario, in brief

68. Cut of white meat

69. Havana greeting

71. Proverbial musician with a flute

72. Absurd

73. Wound (up)

74. Corrosive chemical, to a chemist

75. 401(k) alternatives

77. Amusing

80. Adenoids’ neighbors

83. Conspicuous

86. Where Seoul and Pyongyang are: Abbr.

87. Greek god of love 89. Destroy

Cow: Sp. 91. Otherwise 94. Title 96. Corn units

97. Monomaniacal captain of literature

99. Plants native to mountain districts

100. Ill-fated ship

102. Lowly worker 105. Sewing implement 108. Partied hard

109. Line delivered to the audience

110. Put on a play

112. Shoot for 113. Guide

115. Prefix for -meter

116. WWII conference site

118. One of the three bears

120. Caesar’s rebuke to Brutus 122. Yarn spinner

123. Cuba, por ejemplo 125. Vim

126. Shakespearean assents

128. “Poppycock!”

129. Sports org. whose players can be found at the start of each starred clue