CITY June 2024

ARTS. MUSIC. CULTURE. JUNE 2024

FREE | SINCE 1971

photo the city

ARTS ONE ARTIST'S CREATIVE INSTINCTS LEAD HIM BEYOND PHOTOGRAPHY BY

DANIEL J. KUSHNER

280 State Street Rochester, New York 14614

feedback@rochester-citynews.com phone (585) 244-3329 roccitymag.com

PUBLISHER

Rochester Area Media Partners LLC, Norm Silverstein, chairman

FOUNDERS

Bill and Mary Anna Towler

EDITORIAL

Editor: Leah Stacy

Arts writers: Patrick Hosken, Daniel J. Kushner

Contributors: Kellen Beck, Alex Crichton, Quajay Donnell, Katie Epner, Rudy Fabre, Roberto Felipe, Jon Heath, Johanna Lester, Megan Mack, Clay Patrick McBride, Jeremy Moule, Jessica L. Pavia, Rafael Rodriguez, Max Schulte, Brian Sharp, Racquel Stephen, Ryan Yarmel

CREATIVE

Director, Strategy: Ryan Williamson Art director: Jacob Walsh

ADVERTISING

ads@rochester-citynews.com

Sales director: Alison Zero Jones

Advertising consultant/ Project manager: David White

OPERATIONS/CIRCULATION

Operations manager: Ryan Williamson

Circulation: ryan@rochester-citynews.com

CITY is available free of charge. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased by calling 585-784-3503. CITY may be distributed only by authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of CITY, take more than one copy of each monthly issue.

CITY (ISSN 1551-3262) is published monthly 12 times per year by Rochester Area Media Partners, a subsidiary of WXXI Public Broadcasting. Periodical postage paid at Rochester, NY (USPS 022-138). Address changes: CITY, 280 State Street, Rochester, NY 14614. Member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and the New York Press Association. Copyright by Rochester Area Media Partners LLC, 2024 - all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced

B. Colón

Let in the light

EDITOR'S LETTER

BY LEAH STACY @LEAHSTACY

The word ‘aperture’ means opening, hole or gap. In photography, it applies to the size of the opening in a camera lens, or, where light enters the lens. Aperture determines the lightness or darkness of an image’s exposure, as well as how much of the image is in focus.

Put simply, light is pretty important when you’re using a camera.

I n our June issue, we wanted to shed light on the state of photography in Rochester. We have such a renowned history, but what about the present and future? In this issue, we talk to street photographers and industry leaders; to college educators and community champions.

What w e found was a (still) thriving industry that’s planning photo walks and experimenting in darkrooms. Their work is displayed in galleries like Behind the Glass in the Mercantile on Main, mounted on the walls of RoCo and posted daily on their Instagram accounts — where, yes, photography still reigns supreme.

To say we only tapped the surface of the local scene is an understatement, and of course, along with all the good we find in the photo industry, there is some darkness in the legacy, as noted in Brian Sharp’s story on page 56. We cannot look past this, but the future can be (and is) brighter. All walks of life, all races, all backgrounds coming together to celebrate the visual image; we see that especially in the photographers

documented by noted RIT professor and portrait photographer Clay Patrick McBride on pages 1823.

I n the words of Leonard Cohen, “There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.” Aperture.

We hope this issue inspires you to dust off your film camera, grab the ol’ disposable or snap a few shots with your phone. Let’s keep reinventing the Photo City’s legacy. L

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

On Friday, June 7, join the CITY crew from 6:30—9 p.m. at The Genesee Riverway Promenade for our second annual social event with Rochester Cocktail Revival.

(Heads up: this one’s ticketed and 21+ because it includes two drinks!)

Bask in a summer sunset along the river while sipping craft cocktails to a soundtrack from DJ Delano. Grab a copy of the mag, bring camera gear, mingle with local photographers + the team from CineStill, pose for Hypebooth, and chat with the creative forces behind the “Photo City” issue of CITY magazine. Snacks and two cocktails (or N/A drinks) included with each ticket. Must be 21+ to attend; ID required to purchase additional drinks onsite. Sponsored by Brown-Forman, CITY Magazine + CineStill.

Get your tickets at rochestercocktailrevival.com.

A NOTE FROM THIS MONTH’S COVER PHOTOGRAPHER

“Rochester’s photo community is not just about capturing images; it’s about capturing the essence of a collaborative city that fosters creativity and celebrates the power of togetherness. This is what makes Rochester a “Photo City,” and how it translates to me daily. It will forever capture ‘community over competition’”Richard B. Colón

PHOTO BY CLAY PATRICK MCBRIDE

CITY Social

FOLLOW

Scenes from our May party at The Alexander on Wednesday, May 8. PHOTOS BY RUDY

FABRE

R.E.P.O.R.T.S.

(R)EADING, (E)ATING, (P)LAYING, (O)BSESSING OVER, (R)ECOMMENDING, (T)REATING, (S)HOUTING OUT.

BY JOHANNA LESTER

REPORTER: Ahndraya Parlato, age 44, artist and RIT photography professor

SOCIAL: @ahndraya_parlato; ahndrayaparlato.com

HOMETOWN: Burlington, VT

READING: I’m an avid reader and generally find I’m a much happier person when I’m mentally engaged with more than what’s literally in front of me or happening in my life. Some recent books I read and liked are “The Long Cut” by Emily Hall, “Annie Bot” by Sierra Greer, “Chromophobia” by David Batchelor and “The Guest” by Emma Cline.

EATING: I always love eating at Leonore’s, Radio Social and Zemeta. For lunch, I like Voula’s, Orange

Glory and Bodega. And for sweets, Goodman Bakes. I don’t go out a ton, but I do like The Spirit Room and The Daily Refresher.

PLAYING: My friend, Kate Wolf, just interviewed Miranda July for the LARB (“Los Angeles Review of Books”) podcast about her new novel, “All Fours,” which I’m looking forward to reading. The interview itself is great and feels applicable to my current photographic project about women and aging. I’m enjoying St. Vincent’s new album, “All Born Screaming,” and Lana Del Rey, The Misfits and The Clash are generally always in my rotation. Like many people, I enjoyed the movie “Poor Things,” particularly Emma Stone’s dialogue—which I hope to read if I can find the screenplay. I also had fun watching “The Fall Guy.”

OBSESSING OVER: I’m a runner and my favorite trail starts in Ellison Park and goes into Lucien Morin Park. I love watching the trail change in different seasons and light, but I particularly love when it’s warm out and I can jump into the Irondequoit Bay post-run. During quarantine, my family discovered Golden Hills State Park, which is about an hour away on the lake, and has these really sweet yurts you can rent super affordably. We now have a tradition of going with friends every summer. One thing I also love about Rochester is that we have three independent movie theaters—The Dryden, The Little, and Roc Cinema—which is pretty amazing for a city this size!

RECOMMENDING: If I’m being honest, these days people rarely “need” most of what they buy, but it’s certainly fun to get new stuff. I’ve been an obsessive thrift store shop -

per since middle school, and try to limit my purchases of totally new clothing, but I did buy a couple of T-shirts for summer from Jungmaven. For gifts (bought) locally, I like Stem or Fee Brothers bitters (which I love with seltzer in the summer)! The recent acquisitions show at the George Eastman Museum is totally worth seeing, and the exhibitions at Light Work in Syracuse are reliably well-curated.

TREATING MYSELF TO: I recently had a date with a friend at driphouse in Pittsford. We did a sweat followed by a round in the cryo tank and definitely left in high spirits!

Interested in being a CITY R.E.P.O.R.T.S. interviewee? Send an email to leah@rochester-citynews.com.

PHOTOS

Reel to real

BY PATRICK HOSKEN PATRICK@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

In a corner room at Visual Studies Workshop on Prince Street, Patti Smith’s “Because the Night” plays in the afternoon sunlight. The song doesn’t emanate from Spotify or YouTube. It beams in directly from the past.

Nilson Carroll, VSW’s assistant curator and preservation specialist, has loaded a half-inch open-reel tape into an electronic mechanism. The scene on screen in the Media Transfer Lab, where Carroll digitizes old tapes, follows patrons at the House of Guitars likely in 1978 or a bit later.

Long-haired, mustached guests mingle, twirl drumsticks and listen to records, including Smith’s hit. The vibe is relaxed and natural.

“It’s really interesting to see people on video that are not used to being on video,” Carroll said. “Today, if someone’s taking a video with their phone, we all know how to act. No one had ever really thought about how it was possible to be on video at this point.”

The footage was likely shot by community members involved with the Rochester media group Portable Channel, founded in 1971 by filmmaker Bonnie Sherr

Much like the videotapes themselves, the equipment in VSW's Media Transfer Lab is analog.

Racks of film reels stretch to the ceiling in VSW’s collections room.

Nilson Carroll, a preservation specialist at VSW, readies the mechanisms to transfer half-inch tape to digital files.

PHOTOS BY JACOB WALSH

Klein. VSW houses the group’s entire collection, which staffers like Carroll diligently convert and upload to VSW’s Vimeo page as part of the organization’s ongoing digitization efforts.

It’s quite an undertaking. The 200 Portable Channel tapes account for a fraction of VSW’s nearly one million still and moving images. Tapes are only one format. Film reels, photographs and transparent glass positives called ‘lantern slides’ line the shelves inside the castle-like building; books and audio recordings are also kept.

Most of the materials came from libraries, museums and educational institutions that could no longer store the physical materials. VSW keeps them in air-conditioned,

high-ceilinged rooms equipped with dehumidifiers. And while tapes can mold and the chemicals in film can turn into hazardous vinegar, Mary Lewandowski, VSW’s collections manager, said digital files can be corrupted, too.

“ We’re digitizing, but you still can’t throw it away, because now we know how fallible digital is,” she said. VSW keeps both versions.

Carroll demonstrates the process. After pressing play on the tape, he surveys some squiggles on the analog waveform monitor. The preview screen above renders the nearly 50-year-old scene at the House of Guitars into high-contrast realism. The footage runs into a time base corrector (to fix mechanical issues) and eventually becomes a digital

Reels of Hollywood movies and educational films help comprise VSW’s library of over one million still and moving images. PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH

Charles Steinbeck in the Visual Studies Workshop Research Center, ca. 1978. COURTESY OF VISUAL STUDIES WORKSHOP

signal that shows up slightly dulled on a large computer monitor.

video are pretty different,” Carroll said. “It’s sort of my job to make them as accurate as possible.”

The care and detail shown in the digitization process reflect VSW’s continued mission of connecting art with the folks outside the doors of the institution itself. This includes its Community Curator program, which Tara Merenda Nelson, who runs the initiative, stressed is a trademarked title.

VSW invites community members — among them Doug Curry of WRUR’s “Blacks and Blues” radio show and local civil rights organizer Jalil Muntaqim — to curate their own screenings based on what they find in the digitized video archive spanning a half-century.

“ We thought, how can we help the archives meet the needs of the work being done in our community?” Nelson said. Since launching in 2016, the program has given Nelson a way of engaging with VSW’s massive collection by prioritizing what best serves the community.

“As a curator, it helps me learn about the collection. When I know that we have these keywords of, (for

example), police brutality, I can then direct my own research into what the collection holds and pull up things that may be relevant to that,” Nelson said. “And one thing always leads to another.”

This effor t is part of how organizational leadership looks to the future. SUNY Brockport ended its MFA partnership with VSW in 2022; this year’s class, the final VSW MFA graduates, just finished their thesis shows. Artist residencies, exhibitions and publications, anchored by the collections, remain VSW’s focus.

“ We have these wonderful collections that make us super unique,” said Jessica Johnston, VSW’s executive director. “We’re one of the earliest and longest running photo spaces in the country.”

Back on the lower level, near a shelf of lantern slides dating back to the late 19th century, Lewandowski pointed out that the work of scanning all 80,000 images is simply too much for their small team. But artists who dig into digitizing them during residencies often hit unexpected jackpots.

“ We’re very happy to help people dig through the magic of the archives,” Lewandowski said. “I’m glad that we have some collections that are not cataloged because that’s a real fun activity, stumbling on things and making your own connections.”

Jessica Johnston, VSW’s executive director, said she sees digitization as a key part of the institution’s future.

PHOTOS BY JACOB WALSH

Depth of field

Photography educator Mark J. Watts brings community into focus.

BY JESSICA L. PAVIA

Mark J. Watts is dressed in black, lugging around two bursting laptop bags, as he talks about his sticker collection.

“It’s in my will,” he said of the tokens he’s been gathering since the 70s, little pieces of art.

Beyond this lesser-known passion, Mark is a photographer and educator. When referring to Rochester as a ‘photo city,’ it’s impossible to do so without considering the education community that supports it.

Watts got his first camera when he was 13, after his father won a contest for a 35 millimeter single-lens reflex. He started taking classes in junior high, where his negatives came back riddled with dust from the ceramics class his photo teacher, Burt Grimes, also taught. After that, it was onto college in Wisconsin where Professor Rodger Grant prioritized technique and precision. Then, to the Rochester Institute of Technology to learn about tonality and color under the tutelage of Owen Butler.

What Watts loves about photography is simple.

“Just being able to show people the world that I saw,” he said. “Let me make an image that represents this thing in a way that can convey how beautiful it is.”

Watts first started teaching while working at RIT’s School of Printing, and early on, he began collaborating with Flower City Arts Center’s youth program, turning student prints into books. He’s now taught at the center for about 20 years.

“There’s nothing like teaching,” said Watts. “When I see that light bulb go off — and I have that opportunity plenty of times where people are walking in never seeing a darkroom before, and then they get it because I’ve helped them — that’s so rewarding for me.”

Being dressed in black seems ironic, for all this mention of light. His face glows under a black beanie when he talks about the moment students break through, the moment a photo appears out of nothing.

“It’s magic,” he said of developing prints. “Yeah, I can explain the chemical reactions that are occurring, but I have never lost that excitement.”

Watts refers to photography — analog or digital, which he stresses are equally valid artforms — as a

sort of jungle. It’s his job to hand the student a machete, and every week, they cut a bit more through the overgrowth to the root.

Vivian Rivers was one of these students. She took Watts’s ‘Go Retro with Film: Introduction to Photography’ class with no prior experience, once in the fall, and then again in the winter. Recently, her own show, “Back of House,” which focused on the oft-overlooked positions in the hospitality industry, was exhibited at Aldaskeller Wine

“I really don’t think I would have had the confidence to produce those darkroom pictures, or feel empowered to continue this process that does feel inaccessible, without having the arts center and Mark,” said Rivers.

As an instr uctor, Watts is patient and knowledgeable — and when it comes to film, he’s a resource that’s dying out.

“It was very full and cramped in that little darkroom,” said Rivers.

“But he was still giving everyone the attention they wanted to get.”

Beyond his work as an educator, Watts is a talented photographer. Mixing digital and film, his images are full of contrast and stark narratives. The cut between stones and their background, a fire that splits a field of wheat and the blue sky above. Dogs and their dog owners, strangers he stopped on the street.

“Don’t regret the picture you don’t take,” he said. “This exists right now, for maybe only a few moments, and then it may never be back.”

Even with Watts’s archive, some of his favorite photographs are made right on Monroe Avenue after finishing class. The night falling around him, freshly inspired by his students and their excitement, he takes out his phone and waits for something beautiful to unfold.

ARTS

Mark J. Watts in the darkroom at Flower City Arts Center. PHOTOS BY RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ

More than meets the

ARTS

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

As the longtime photographic process historian at the George Eastman Museum in 2012, Mark Osterman was hesitant to bring on an intern.

His concern was that such a person wouldn’t stick around long enough to have an impact on the work — but what he didn’t account for was the irrepressibly inquisitive nature of one Nick Brandreth.

The Rochester Institute of Technology graduate had moved back to his home state of New Jersey and worked as a photographer for the “Wall Street Journal” and Mercedwes-Benz, and initially reached out to attend a workshop about tintypes with Osterman.

Upon securing the internship, Brandreth moved back to Rochester, where he would work with Osterman for nearly a decade. “He ate it up,” Osterman said. “He asked good questions, and I could tell that first day what kind of a student he would be.”

At times, Osterman wasn’t sure he could keep up with Brandreth.

“Nick talks very quickly, and his mind works very quickly,” Osterman said. “I remember coming home and telling my wife, ‘I don’t know if I can survive him.’ His energy was so high, it was exhausting.”

As Brandreth learned more about different photographic techniques, Osterman gave him more responsibility,

Nick Brandreth’s creative instincts have led him

the eye

eventually putting him in charge while Osterman was away leading workshops. Brandreth became the primary teacher of a workshop about the use of gelatin emulsions in photography, and after eight months of working as an unpaid intern, Brandreth was hired as a fulltime employee, at the suggestion of Osterman.

Brandreth, now 37, currently works as the repair engineer at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences. But that’s only a part of his relationship to photography and art as a whole.

“His creative spark — you don’t need to fan that flame,” Osterman said. “It fans itself.”

Perhaps the most distinct photographs Brandreth creates are those made with Lippmann plates. Whereas traditional film photography uses a dry plate to capture the amplitude of light passing through the camera lens, Lippmann plates record light waves when they are out of phase with one another. In other words, the light bumps into itself, resulting in the colors seen in the image.

“It’s like on a rainy morning, when you look at an oil slick (on a

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Nick Brandreth is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative pursuits range from making photographic images with Lippmann plates (right) to producing “cosmic horror” movies. PHOTOS BY MAX SCHULTE

puddle), you see prismatic colors,” Osterman said. “That’s because it’s breaking up white light from the sky, to create those colors. These plates have no inherent color, but when you shine light on them a certain way, you see a full color photograph.”

Brandreth’s Lippmann plates look like vivid still-life renderings.

“I’m not the only person in the world who makes Lippmann images, but everybody else’s are kind of boring,” he said. His reasoning for that bold statement? Many people who produce Lippmann images focus on the science of it, rather than the aesthetics.

Brandreth admitted there is no practical application for Lippmann images today, even though they are the result of the only color photography process that occurs naturally.

His art is thoroughly postmodern. His portraiture has the hi-res look of digital photography, but the monochromatic aesthetic and intensity of tintype photography. The result is as if Dust Bowl-era citizens were given modern clothing. Brandreth directs his subjects as if they were playing a role in a movie.

“When I do a portrait session, I usually come up with something weird for you to think about,” Brandreth said. “I’ll tell somebody, ‘Okay, you’ve just invented something that’s going to change the way humanity exists forever. But now the government’s come to you and they want to weaponize it. Think about that.’”

He uses his custom portraiture work for storytelling, but when he

wants to tell weird stories, he turns to filmmaking.

A co-creator of the short films “Again” and “10.13.12,” as well as the 2023 feature-length movie “Blue Hour: The Disappearance of Nick Brandreth,” he has variously served as director of photography, producer and art director. The next movie project on his agenda, “The Drumlins”—for which Brandreth will serve as art director—will be filmed in the fall. These cinematic works all reflect the artist’s interest in the horror genre.

“It’s one of the oldest genres,” Brandreth said, “and it’s a way to deal with things in your life, especially nowadays where there’s so much shit going on. And it’s a way to digest and approach fears and things that make you uncomfortable.”

Brandreth worked for 10 years as the historic process specialist at the George Eastman Museum. During that time, he became known as “the museum guy.” But he was wary of this one-dimensional identity; and so the artist can just as easily be found making films or drawing and painting as well as taking photographs. In fact, he draws and paints for at least an hour every night.

“I’m curious,” he said. “ I follow my bliss—this makes me happy, I’m going to explore that.”

Brandreth in his home studio in Irondequoit. PHOTO BY MAX SCHULTE

IN FOCUS

PHOTOS BY CLAY PATRICK MCBRIDE

INTERVIEWS

BY PATRICK HOSKEN & LEAH STACY

For our Photo City issue, we asked Clay Patrick McBride to turn his tintype lens on a group of Rochester photographers.

Some work in the industry full-time; others part-time. Some shoot on film, others keep it digital. Some freelance for CITY. Some grew up here, others found themselves calling this city home. Some are still figuring out how photography fits into their career trajectory.

But they all have one thing in common: a love for the work they do behind the lens.

Meet 35 photographers who are capturing life in and around Rochester right now.

“Saying I’m food driven is an understatement. But in my work, I first and foremost want to tell human stories. I believe that there is power in play and I’m most excited by capturing the life that unfolds around food.”

Rob Bell, 35, from Philadelphia

“I like telling stories. I went to school for photojournalism, and I like being able to experience a bunch of different lives.”

“I love moments where if I didn't see them, no one else would. We saw Radiohead at Lollapalooza, and Jonny [Greenwood] dropped his pick and made eye contact — it was actually my wife who noticed. With photography you can capture it and share it with other people.”

“I use Sony because I don't like using artificial light. I like to use all natural light. I can shoot at night and all I need is a street light. It'll expose without flash. If you need a candle or something, that's cool. I think there’s magic in shooting things with people as candid as they are.”

“I’m proud of the photo I had displayed outside RoCo. It was an honor to showcase one of my best friends in the photo, and be shown alongside Raf (Radriguez) and Rudy (Fabre).”

Abby Quatro, 33, from Rochester

Paul Beinetti, 35, from Rochester

Nate Sanchez, 24, from California

Shamar Brown, 29, from Rochester

“I'm hard of hearing. I wear hearing aids. My whole life has been like that. I realized, what if I can combine those two things? What if I can show visually what it's like auditorily? I've gravitated toward trying to make my photos as quiet as possible.”

“Nostalgia is why I take photos — a desire to capture memories as they’re happening, and document the things and people I love.”

“I like to make things that look nice. I did a shoot for a musician in New York City, Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, who was on American Idol. I still love all of those photos.”

“Recently, I've been getting into more spur-ofthe-moment, off-the-cuff stuff where I'm not really trying to get the greatest photo but I’m capturing what I’m coming across at the moment. You'll try to guess, and they won't be in focus. But I like that.”

“I was always missing golden hour. I was driving on the road, wishing I could pull over and take a photo. I researched a little bit about infrared and realized the best time to shoot was noon. I'm always available at noon. I just like seeing different things and making things unique.”

“I just love capturing moments and candids. There’s this one photo in particular of my 15-year-old. It's probably my favorite image. We're out for a walk, enjoying each other, and there's some street art in the background. It’s this perfect medley of things I love and enjoy.”

Quajay Donnell, 46, from Connecticut

Erick Florez, 44, from between California and Nevada

Will Cornfield, 29, from Corning

Amber Layton, 41, from Pennsylvania

Noah Fox, 24, from Connecticut

Gabriel Flores, 40, from Brooklyn

Erin Connorton, 25, from Henrietta

“A lot of my photography is based on dreams, and then creating those dreamscapes through my double exposure photos — trying to create almost a fantasy I can pull people into. ”

Nicholas Kundrat, 30, from Rochester

“Photography has been a crucial part in driving my brain to stay creative. The limitless possibilities keeps me excited to bring my camera everywhere I go, with the hopes of capturing things I find unique.”

Mike Martinez, 35, from Fairport

“I usually come from a technical approach — technically executing the photo before I think of it as making art. I think of it more like I'm trying to accurately take a photo of something.”

Max Shulte, 51, from Rochester

The news drives my photography. I’m really just interested in capturing the people who live in our community and their experiences so I can give people an understanding of different walks of life.”

Victoria Lomaglio, 36, from Rochester

“I look for the ordinary and the interesting, or just a way to get to know the city and its people a bit better. I’ve been working on portraits of real, everyday people. I use film because it makes it more extraordinary.”

Jacob Walsh, 30, from Rochester

I'm always inspired by the little two-minute conversation with a stranger before I take their portrait. It's important to me to connect with someone, in some small way, before I photograph and maybe never see them again.

Adam Zarowny, 31, from Rochester

“My favorite photos are the ones I take of my friends — that’s something I’ll carry with me forever.”

“I use photography as a vessel to connect with people. Film photography in particular is the medium that I love the most because it's not instant. We have to wait to see, which also helps me connect with people in the moment. Sometimes it's a therapy session. Depends on the person I’m shooting.”

Joe Sotelo, 60, from Los Angeles

“My favorite shot is the one I took of a girl I saw in class when I was 15 years old. Almost 30 years later, we met up again. When she contacted me, I realized how much I missed her and enjoyed being around her. We've been married 15 years.”

Samantha Matthys, 30, from Rochester

“I snuck up onto a rafter above the stage and I got a shot behind the band Knuckle Puck looking down, with the crowd. It’s what the band sees but from above. It was a little sketchy but it was fun.”

“I’m proud of my work with Simon Business School, because I get to see the students at the beginning of their journey, then I go to all the events and see the growth and then I shoot graduation — it’s full circle.”

“I like to capture moments and memories. I shoot with film, black and white mostly — Ilford Delta 3200.”

Narada J. Riley, 33, from Irondequoit

Rudy Fabre, 35, from Rochester

Jen Carlson, 42, from Rochester

Roberto Felipe, 29, from Rochester

“Controlled lighting scared me a little bit. I was just so used to trusting my eye. But having more control and setting up a shot, coming up with the concept, posing the model — all new to me. It was just so cool to just see all these pieces come together.”

Amber James, 35, from Webster

“I’ve always loved telling stories and documenting moments. I was the kid with the disposable camera. As I got older, photography became a way to merge my political views and my love for documenting moments in history. It’s natural this is where I ended up.”

Danielle Kier, 44, from Rochester

“I really like water and old bridges. On my days off, I drive and try to find something like that. For landscapes, obviously I really like Ansel Adams. For portraits, I like the quirkiness of Diane Arbus.”

Sky Dain, 26, from Penn Yan

“I just showed some self-portraits in Behind the Glass, and they were double exposure. That’s what I want to learn this year — how to do more double exposure, and not by accident.”

Devin Gray Hull, 25, from Rochester

“I’m currently an artist-in-residence at the Flower City Arts Center, so I’m working on a collection of self-portraits comparing my femininity with bugs, like this grotesque feminine dichotomy. The lacy against the gory.” [Her show opens on First Friday in August at FCAC.]

Alex Freeman, 33, from New Jersey

“Henri Cartier-Bresson is my hero. It seemed like he was arranging things even though it was real life arranging them. That started me in photography, journalism-style, documentary-style. In film, I do documentaries, so that does cross over.”

Rafael Rodriguez, 29, from Rochester

“I’m inspired by the fashion industry. I personally love to dress up, and I love to capture a good ‘fit. My grandpa had a love for fashion, I found his notes and he was living for it — I want to do that.”

Houppert, 28, from Rochester and Chicago

“I’m very much drawn to really close, dynamic, slower shutter, faster shutter, anything with frozen motion. Consuming photos like that changed the way that I was interacting with my environment.”

Erica Jae, 34, from 19th Ward

“I recently returned from Kenya, and I took a lot of photos while out there. I’d like to have a solo exhibition that could double as a fundraiser for school supplies to send back to the Kenyan kids I photographed.”

Alice Cazenave, 34, from the United Kingdom

“I’m interested in the materials we use for photography, so I work a lot with experimental processes — foraged plants and other low-toxic ways of making analog photos.”

Lauren Petracca (and Frankie), 33, from Rochester

“It's been a cool transition for me to be a photojournalist and mom. When I was coming up, someone who I viewed as a leader told me that if I wanted to be a mom, I should switch my major. Now I want to show people that women can do both.”

McGriff, 35, from Rochester

“I was often someone who didn't like how they looked in photos. I wanted to help build other people's confidence in front of the camera. What drives me is anytime someone's like, ‘I'm not really photogenic.’ By the end of the shoot, they're throwing me poses.”

Rob

Jackie

todo DAILY

Full calendar of events online at roccitymag.com

SATURDAY, JUNE 1

FESTIVAL

Fairport Canal Days

Main Street in Fairport, fairportcanaldays.com

An annual celebration in the scenic village of Fairport, alongside the historic Erie Canal, in which the winning combination of live music, food, and work by regional artisans is on display. Saturday's performances include the bands Cold Water Blues at 7 p.m. and Atlas at 9 p.m. The festivities began yesterday, but the party continues through Sunday, June 2, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. On that day, the Duck Race will commence on the lift bridge, with some serious prize money for the winning duck at stake. Proceeds go to the Fairport Perinton Merchants Association Beautification Fund. The festival is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday. Free.

DANIEL J. KUSHNER

THEATER

Open Road Theatre presents “Hamlet”

MuCCC, muccc.org

MuCCC has become synonymous with Rochester’s community theater scene, and Open Road Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director Karen Dieruf, emphasizes the concept of community. The group’s productions deliberately seek out performers and audiences of diverse ages and

backgrounds, as they interpret classic stories. On June 1 at 7:30 p.m. and June 2 at 2 p.m., Dieruf directs the Shakespeare masterpiece “Hamlet.”

$17 in advance, $20 at the door. DK

NATURE

National Trails Day Grand Opening at Hickory Ridge Preserve

Hickory Ridge Preserve, nature.org June 1st is National Trails Day, and to celebrate the occasion, a new shareduse trail at Hickory Ridge Preserve in Naples is open to the public. It’s three and a half miles of a planned 13-mile trail offering enhanced access to nature. A guided walk at 10:30 a.m. outlining trail etiquette will precede the opportunity for people to hike or bike the new, environmentally sustainable shared-use trail. Registration is recommended but not required. Free. ALEX CRICHTON

SUNDAY, JUNE 2

FOOD & DRINK

ROC Drag Me to Brunch

CRISP Rochester, crisprochester.com

“Rochester’s most dazzling drag queens” bring some sparkle to your brunch, as does the champagne! Mrs. Kasha Davis, Aggy Dune and Carmen Adore invite you to laugh and sing along with them as you enjoy food from CRISP’s brunch menu. 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. $35, plus tax; ticket includes the show and the first mimosa. Brunch and additional drinks are available a la carte. MEGAN MACK

ART

“Past Forward: Native American Art from Gilcrease Museum”

Memorial Art Gallery, mag.rochester.edu

Opening today and running through August 25, this exhibition features work collected by the late Thomas Gilcrease of the Muscogee Nation. An extensive assemblage of artifacts, sculpture, portraits, and abstract images, “Past Forward” provides a compelling narrative about indigenous culture and its significance in American art history. $20 general admission, $18 for seniors, $9 for college students and children 6-18. Admission is halfprice on Thursdays after 5 p.m. Free admission for museum members, kids five and under, Nazareth and U of R students, and more. DK

MUSIC

Zac Brown Band

CMAC, cmacevents.com

Each summer finds no shortage of Zac Brown Band tribute acts playing across our region — at least two of which are based here. But nothing beats the genuine article. Georgia’s merry bringers of good cheer hit the stage at CMAC midway through their From the Fire Tour, a few months after releasing their latest single, “Tie Up” and a Jimmy Buffett tribute called “Pirates & Parrots.” Doors open at 5 p.m., music’s at 6:30 p.m. Tickets start at $82.35. PATRICK HOSKEN

MONDAY, JUNE 3

FOOD & DRINK

RCR Launchpad

Party

Essex, rochestercocktailrevival.com

Kick off Rochester Cocktail Revival 2024 with a party dedicated to spirits making their Rochester debut. Nine booze brands — Nàdar Gin, Fosforo Mezcal, Tierra de Ensueño Tequila, Widow Jane Baby Jane, Hendrick’s Cabaret, Albany Distilling, Hard Truth, Lake Hour and Barry’s Irish Cream — are teaming up with RCR bartenders for a live showcase of cocktails created with their brand new spirits. Rock to the sounds of the Honey Smugglers, and be ready to vote for your favorite new hooch! Snacks will be available; nine tastings included

with each $25 ticket. Must be 21+ and show ID for entry. The sixth and final Ziggy’s daiquiri competition will follow this event at Essex beginning at 10 p.m. Rochester Cocktail Revival continues with 80 more events through June 9. LEAH STACY

TUESDAY, JUNE 4

THEATER

“Tina”

West Herr Auditorium Theatre, rbtl.org When Tina Turner died in 2023, The New York Times referred to her as a “magnetic singer of explosive power.” Somehow that still doesn’t do her justice. Throughout her years as a force of rock ‘n’ roll and soul music in the 1960s to her mid-’80s re-arrival as a pop queen, Turner cemented her legacy as simply one of the best to ever do it. This musical adaptation of her life hits West Herr Auditorium Theatre for eight performances from June 4-9. Tickets start at $46.85. PH

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5

LITERATURE

Rochester Roots

The Little Theatre, wab.org

This Writers & Books event doubles as both a reading and a book signing, featuring five Brighton High School graduates: Sejal Shah (who curated the event), Ilya Kaminsky, Rachel Galvin, Michael Dumanis and Erica Cavanagh. The event, which is also available via Zoom, includes an ASL interpreter. 78:30 p.m. Name your price, from free to $20. DK

THURSDAY, JUNE 6

THEATER

“Kinfolks”

MuCCC, muccc.org

“Kinfolks,” from Eighth Child Productions, isn’t just one play, but three one-acts by playwright Laura A. Thomas. This triptych reflects on what binds family together in the face of adversity. All three works are directed by Reuben J. Tapp. Flawed people navigating love, manipulation, resentment, and unification — these are themes to which we can all relate. The production opens June 6 and runs through June 9. $10 for kids under 12, $15 for students and seniors over 55, and $20 for adults for all tickets purchased at the door. DK

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

Rochester International Film Festival

ART

Art & Treasures Sale

Memorial Art Gallery, mag.rochester.edu

The MAG Council refers to this annual favorite as “Rochester’s most prestigious garage sale,” but that doesn’t tell the whole tale. With tables of art, jewelry, china, stoneware, books and furniture, there are likely enough “treasures” for even those with the most discerning taste. A special ticketed preview night kicks off the action on June 6 from 68 p.m. The sale runs through June 9 and is otherwise free. And if you’re cleaning out your house, donation drop-off days are June 3 and 4 (call to schedule). PH

FRIDAY, JUNE 7

ART

“Rain Sun Cloud”

Rochester Contemporary Art Center, rochestercontemporary.org

An elemental triptych from Texasbased artist Suzy González colors the space outside RoCo, where it’s available for the public to view 24/7 through November 15. The artist utilizes what she calls “Mestizx Media” — in this case, corn husks alongside manipulated supplies — that aim to decolonize the medium and reclaim the maker’s ancestry. “Precipitate (Rain),” “Evaporate (Sun)” and “Condense (Cloud),” created during the COVID-19 pandemic, offer a reminder of the need for balance as well as healing. PH

MUSIC

Of Montreal

Water Street Music Hall, waterstreetmusichall.live

In indie music circles, the band Of Montreal has long been a paragon of psychedelic pop, and its live shows are spectacles of the wonderfully weird. But in reality, Of Montreal is the work of mastermind Kevin Barnes. With the recent release of “Lady on the Cusp,” Barnes has put out 19 albums under the moniker. If you’re in the mood for music that’s quirky, carefree, and decidedly queer, Of Montreal is for you. Godcaster plays in support at this 18-and-over show. Doors at 7 p.m., music at 8 p.m. $27.96. DK

FOOD & DRINK

History on Tap

Genesee Country Village & Museum, gcv.org

One of the region’s most scenic vistas for beer sippin’ is under the old deciduous trees at the Genesee Country Village & Museum. The History on Tap event expands that experience, inviting local brewers and food vendors to make the place their own for a night. Tours of the historic brewery onsite abound (it’s a museum, after all), as does live music from local groups. The GCV&M even pours their own period-appropriate ales, Stocking Hill and Fat Ox. 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $27 for members, $30 for everyone else. PH

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

ART

“Myung Urso: Mindscape”

Main Streets Arts, mainstreetartscs.org It may be off the beaten path in Clifton Springs, but Main Street Arts routinely presents worthwhile exhibitions in its gallery. South Korean-born Rochester artist Myung Urso is best known for her work with jewelry, but “Mindscape” showcases her work in another medium: painting. There is a simplicity to this work in both color and in form, but the effect is one of restrained and fragile beauty. The opening reception is today at 3 p.m., but the exhibition continues through July 17. Free. DK

CONTINUED ON PAGE 33

It’s a musical month on WXXI!

Elton John: The Millon Dollar Piano

Wednesday, June 5 at 9:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Celebrate the legendary singer, songwriter, and performer in a spectacular 2012 concert at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Featuring a state-of-the art Yamaha piano, this unforgettable show features Elton performing his much-loved hits.

Photo credit: Joseph Guay

Freddie Mercury: The Tribute Concert

Thursday, June 20 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Simon & Garfunkel: The Concert in Central Park

Saturday, June 8 at 4:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Joe Bonamassa & Orchestra: Live at the Hollywood Bowl

Thursday, June 13 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Cyndi Lauper Live… At Last

Sunday, June 30 at 1 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Photo provided by PBS

Photo credit: Neal Preston

Photo provided by PBS

Photo provided by APT

WXXI TV • THIS MONTH

Ringside Stories: The Heart and Hustle of Pro Wrestling

Saturday, June 15 at 11:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV

Delving into the lives of local wrestlers in Rochester, NY, this documentary reveals the passion and dedication these athletes have for their craft. Wrestling gives them a sense of purpose and community, helping them overcome personal struggles and adversity. These wrestlers aren’t yet household names; they work at the grassroots level, traveling from town to town. Their commitment and love for wrestling shine through, offering a universal story of finding fulfillment in following one’s passion, even when it’s not widely accepted. Their journey embodies the universal yearning to pursue one’s passion, even in the face of doubt or rejection.

Opportunity Knock$

Sundays at 5 p.m., beginning June 16 on WXXI-TV

At a time when more than 60% of Americans are living paycheckto-paycheck, three renowned experts guide six families struggling with financial hardship and debt on a path toward building better, financially secure lives. Along the way, they learn about easily accessible local and national resources designed to help people take control of their financial future. WXXI is proud to be the presenting station for this nationally distributed series.

Photo: Patrice Washington, Opportunity Coach | Credit: Erick Castro

For the Love of Friends

Monday, June 17 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV

At the height of the AIDS epidemic, Brent Nicholson Earle refused to watch his friends suffer due to government inaction and public ignorance about the disease. His audacious response in 1986 was to embark on a 10,000-mile run around the perimeter of the United States to draw attention to the plight of AIDS patients. Set against the lead-up to a stage play based on the same story, this documentary blends performance rehearsal clips with interviews and archival footage to highlight the remarkable life and work of the activist.

Photo: Brent running near Mount Rushmore | Photo provided by APT

The Porter

Saturdays at 8 p.m., beginning June 29 on WXXI-TV

A stirring, fast-paced exploration of Black empowerment and self-determination, this eight-part series offers a dramatic and compelling look at the lives of train porters, their families, and a community striving for success and equality. From Montreal to Chicago, and every stop in between, this is the story of a movement that gave birth to the first Black union in the world.

Photo: Ronnie Rowe, Jr. as Zeke and Ami Ameen as Junior with additional cast Credit: Shauna Townley

WXXI Education shares eight of their favorite free, kid-friendly, playful things to do this summer!

1

Visit the Central Library’s Secret Room in the Children’s Center. Accessible through a hidden door in the Children’s Center, the secret room offers a play area for kids with interactive projections, a starry night sky, and space for reading and story time. Visit roccitylibrary.org for more information. Address: 115 South Avenue, Rochester

2

Explore water! We are surrounded by amazing waterways - Lake Ontario, the Genesee River, the Finger Lakes, and so many creeks, ponds, and even puddles to explore.

Enjoy play time at the Toy Library at the Lincoln Branch. The Toy Library offers a wide variety of toys and equipment to enrich play experiences between children and their caregivers. The collection is primarily aimed at children ages newborn to 8 years old. Up to ten items at a time may be borrowed, free of charge, with a valid adult Monroe County library card. Visit roccitylibrary.org for more information. Address: 851 Joseph Avenue, Rochester

3

5

Go on a scavenger hunt. Be inspired by PBS KIDS “Elinor Wonders Why” and “Wild Kratts,” and explore the outdoors! Create your own list of items to look for while outside –plants, animals, signs, colors, textures. Or use an existing scavenger hunt from PBS KIDS for Parents at pbs.org/parents.

Splash at the Durand Eastman Spray Park! This popular spray park features dumping buckets and sprinklers. It’s a fun way to beat the summer heat! Address: 1301 Lake Shore Boulevard, Rochester

6

4

Check out the Lilac Adventure Zone at Highland Park. This nature play area features free-form timber structures that encourage free play and imagination!

Address: 249 Highland Avenue, Rochester

7

Have fun at Motion Junction Playground. This is a completely accessible and inclusive playground that everyone can play on, regardless of their level of ability or mobility. To learn more visit dreambiginclusion.org. Address: 2640 Outhouse Road, Canandaigua

Picnic in a park. Our region is full of beautiful and unique green spaces. From formal parks to neighborhood gathering spaces, grab some snacks and head to your favorite grassy area to enjoy being outside. Play games like “red light, green light,” “rock-paper-scissor,” “Lyla Says,” or make up your own.

8

JUN

Free Lunch Hour Concert Series - Rain or Shine

Thursdays - 12:10 pm

4 Commercial Street - Corner of Browns Race

Rain location: Monroe Community College Downtown Campus

is presented by: Made possible by:

Hochstein at High Falls

Witness History: Pride Month

Sunday, June 16 at 9 p.m. on WXXI News

Featuring first-hand accounts, archive material, and insight from historians, you’ll hear remarkable stories of LGBT+ rights, told by the people who were there.

Met Opera 2024

Laffont Grand Finals Concert

Saturday, June 29 at 3 p.m. on WXXI Classical

Ten singers advance to the final round of the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Each singer performs two arias, and from the finalists, five winners are selected, who each receive a $20,000 prize. Tune in to hear their performances with host mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves.

Provided by the Metropolitan Opera

Take Me to the Water

Wednesday, June 19 at 3 p.m. on WXXI Classical Harpist Ashley Jackson’s program “Take Me to the Water” is an immersive audio experience that touches on themes from African mythology, the antebellum spiritual traditional and water’s transportive, transmogrifying nature. Vernon Neal hosts.

American Routes

Saturdays 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on The Route

American Routes is blues and jazz, gospel and soul, rockabilly and country, Cajun and swamp pop, Tejano, Latin… and beyond. Songs and stories from musicians describe a deep and diverse nation with sounds and styles shared by all Americans. From the Bayous to the beltways, from crossroads to crosstowns, on interstates and city streets, turn up your radio for the sonic journey! Nick Spitzer (pictured) hosts.

courtesy of American Routes

Photo

NEW SUMMER MOVIES AT THE LITTLE TRAILERS, TICKETS & DETAILS AT THELITTLE.ORG

NOW-JUNE 2: KIM’S VIDEO

Physical media reigns supreme in KIM’S VIDEO, an elegiac tribute to the iconic video store in New York City that inspired a generation of cinephiles before it mysteriously closed its doors. But what starts as an homage to cinema quickly becomes a rescue mission to ensure the eternal preservation of the beloved video collection.

JUNE 7: HIT MAN

The charming, future hit of the summer about a strait-laced professor (Glen Powell) who uncovers his hidden talent as a fake hit man in undercover police stings. Directed by Richard Linklater.

JUNE 7: RUN LOLA RUN

A 1999 gem returns for limited showtimes! Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. She has 20 minutes to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola’s run.

JUNE 14: TUESDAY

A mother (Julia Louis-Dreyfus ) and her daughter must confront death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking bird.

JUNE 21: THELMA

A charming crowd-pleaser featuring June Squibb. Deceived by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, a 90-year-old woman sets out on a quest to reclaim what was taken from her.

JUNE 21: THE BIKERIDERS

Featuring lots of bikes and good-looking people. Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Mike Faist (Challengers) star.

JUNE 28: KINDS OF KINDNESS

Director Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things, The Favourite) is back with more glorious weirdness. Plot details are scarce, but promos have featured Emma Stone doing a bizarre, yet oddly hypnotizing dance, and that’s really all anyone needs to know to be sold on this one.

JUNE 28: FANCY DANCE

A new Lily Gladstone film is always one to mark on the calendar. Since her sister’s disappearance, Jax has cared for her niece, Roki, by scraping by on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma. Every spare minute goes into finding her missing sister while also helping Roki prepare for an upcoming powwow.

Jurassic Park | June 15, 8pm

The John Williams theme is stuck in your head right now? Isn’t it?! It should be because it’s as majestic as the dinosaurs themselves in Steven Spielberg’s iconic 1993 summer hit. “Life finds a way,” you’ll say with the biggest smile and a large Little Popcorn while seated for this one.

In 2017, June 12 was proclaimed Little Theatre Day in Rochester during an East Avenue block party to celebrate The Little’s newly renovated marquee. This makes it the perfect day to celebrate the Art Deco-dabbled history of one of Rochester’s most iconic spots.

Mrs. Doubtfire

June 16, 6pm

Spend Father’s Day with a legendary movie dad. One of Robin Williams’ most beloved performances (in a career filled with charming characters).

Members of The Little will get in free all day, including special Wednesday early matinees. There will also be an open house, so stop by and mingle with fellow film enthusiasts.

Full details at thelittle.org.

FOOD & DRINK

Rochester Real Beer Expo 2024

Innovative Field, rochesterrealbeer.com

With the addition of each new brewery in the Rochester scene, the question of when the beer bubble will burst rises to the surface. But apparently, our local thirst for the perfect pint knows no limits. This year’s Real Beer Expo has been culled by journalist and beer aficionado Will Cleveland, who welcomes not only regional mainstays such as Genesee, Fifth Frame, K2, Other Half, and Rohrbach, but also breweries from as far afield as Canada, Texas and Florida. For those not seeking beer specifically, the expo has you covered, too, with representation from Aporia Coffee, Brewlihan Mead, Embark and Seed+Stone for cider lovers, Happy Gut and Katboocha for ferment fiends, and more. The event runs from 6 p.m.-10 p.m. General admission is $56.50, VIP tickets are $76.50, and designated driver tickets are $16.50. DK

COMEDY

The Stromberg Comedy Hour

Comedy @ The Carlson, carlsoncomedy. com

You may remember comedian Charlie Wildey from his days as a member of the Rochester comedy collective Goo House about a decade ago. Well, Wildey is back, hosting his own comedy-variety show, entitled “The Stromberg Comedy Hour.” The evening will include stand-up performances from Rachel Daze, Alex Mallory, and Kai Von Doom, live music by Crockerdile, and a drag performance by Kyla Minx. There will also be animated shorts created by Paul Kozlowski and Goo House alum Mikey Heller, who was a writer on the Cartoon Network show “We Bare Bears.” The 21-and-over show starts at 8 p.m. $21.40. DK

SUNDAY, JUNE 9

MUSIC

Jackson Cavalier/ Pluck/Kitchen

Lux, lux666.com

There’s something about a live show at Lux that feels unlike anywhere else in Rochester. I don’t know if it’s the moody lighting, the energy of the

performances, or simply the aesthetics of inebriation, but Lux shows just hit differently. Tonight’s lineup is loaded with talent, from earthy singersongwriter Jackson Cavalier to the lofi tunes of Kitchen and the alternative rock-pop of Pluck. The 21-and-over show is set to run from 6 p.m.-10 p.m. right in the bar’s cozy backyard. And as always at Lux, it’s only a $5 cover for first-rate local music. DK

MONDAY, JUNE 10

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Jam with Matt Herrmann

The Social at The Naples Hotel, facebook.com/TheSocialNaplesHotelNY

Hosted by multi-instrumentalist Matt Herrmann of the bands Deep Fried Moonshine and The Mustard Tigers, this jam session will undoubtedly include the emcee employing looping on an acoustic guitar. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be out of the loop. Bring your acoustic axe and join in on the musicmaking. 7 p.m.-10 p.m. $6 for select draft mugs, $1 wings, $5 tacos. DK

TUESDAY, JUNE 11

MUSIC

Jazz at the Beach presents Ann Mitchell

Tropix Nightclub, jazz901.org

Vocal jazz possesses an undeniable charm that’s incomparable to other genres. Local singer Ann Mitchell brings a subtle charisma to every note she sings, as she interprets classic songs accompanied by piano and upright bass. What better way to welcome summer than with a breezy performance as part of the Jazz at the Beach series at Tropix Nightclub, located a stone’s throw away from Ontario Beach? 7 p.m. Free, with a cash bar and a limited food menu available. DK

CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

MUSIC

John Fogerty

CMAC, cmacevents.com

I defy you to dislike the music of Creedence Clearwater Revival. More than 50 years after the quartet called it quits, songs such as “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising” and “Fortunate Son” still slap. And fortunately, the band’s primary songwriter John Fogerty is still at it, performing his iconic rock songs that helped epitomize the sound of the ’60s and continue to resonate today. Fogerty’s “The Celebration Tour” stops through Canandaigua at 7 p.m. George Thorogood and the Destroyers, as well as Hearty Har, play in support. General admission lawn tickets are $41.20, while seated tickets start at $62.35. DK

SPORTS

“Napoleon Dynamite” Night

Innovative Field, milb.com/rochester Vote for Pedro! Two decades ago, the world first heard that campaign slogan (and saw the iconic ring tee) in the offbeat cult-hit film “Napoleon Dynamite.” To commemorate 20 years since its release, the Rochester Red Wings welcome actor Efren Ramirez, AKA class presidential candidate Pedro Martinez himself, to throw out the first pitch and hang with fans. Tater tots available. Game starts at 6:45. Tickets from $7. PH

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12

MUSIC

Burning Spear

Lincoln Hill Farms, lincolnhillfarms.com

Winston Rodney, the artist known as Burning Spear, is a veritable reggae legend. A contemporary of Bob Marley, Burning Spear has been releasing music since 1973, and continues to galvanize fans of Jamaican roots music and put out new

music. The two-time Grammy winner most recently released the album “No Destroyer” in 2023. Kabaka Pyramid and Rochester band Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad will warm up the crowd. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., and the music starts at 5:30 p.m. General admission is $69.91, and VIP tickets are $111.04. DK

THURSDAY, JUNE 13

LITERATURE

“Ground

Truth, Poems from the Field”

Rochester Contemporary Art Center, rochestercontemporary.org

Steve Lewandowski’s poetry reflects his life’s work in environmental conservation. For decades, the Finger Lakes writer and educator has been a watershed analyst and served other roles for organizations committed to safeguarding the land on which we all live. RoCo hosts a launch party for Lewandowski’s latest book, “Ground Truth, Poems from the Field,” which he says reflects the other side of that work committed to nature. Copies of the book will be available beginning at 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, JUNE 14

FILM

“Summer of Sam”

Dryden Theatre, eastman.org

With films like “Do the Right Thing,” the biopic “Malcom X” and the cuttingly satirical “Bamboozled” (showing at the Dryden on May 21), Spike Lee earned his reputation as one of the directorial greats. And something that has always impressed me about Lee is his ability to genrehop. He’s not known for directing thrillers, but his ability to explore tensions between people and groups of people makes “Summer of Sam” an excellent film. It’s set during the 1977 Son of Sam murders, but it focuses on the residents of an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx and their fear and distrust of each other. It’s classic Lee in one sense, but it’s also a taut thriller through and through. The screening starts at 7:30 p.m.; tickets are $12 general admission, $9 members, and $5 for students and children. JEREMY MOULE

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

FESTIVAL

Rochester

Juneteenth Festival

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, rochesterjuneteenth.com Historically, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in America and has its roots in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. It has come to represent a broader celebration of Black culture at large, with plenty of ties to the civil rights movement a century later. This year’s Juneteenth Festival theme — “From 1964 to 2024: 60 Years in the Fight for Justice in Rochester” — threads those together with food, arts and family-friendly activities that celebrate the diaspora of African Americans. R&B singer-songwriter Sevyn Streeter headlines. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. Free. PH

CULTURE

Vampire Ball

Flour City Station, flourcitystation.com

Do you moon over the macabre and enjoy letting loose on the dance floor? The fifth annual Rochester Vampire Ball may be just the thing for you. A dance celebration intersecting industrial and EDM with goth culture, this year’s ball features live music from To See Beyond the Shadows and Sapphira Vee, as well as DJ sets from Dresden, Energon, and Mimi Dromette. The Vampire Ball was started in memory of Kelly O’May AKA Penny Scandal, who was murdered in an act of domestic violence six years ago. Attendees of the ball are encouraged to wear their sharpest vampire, goth, formal, or just plain creative attire. 7 p.m.-12 a.m. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. DK

SUNDAY, JUNE 16

HOLIDAY

Father’s Day

Lincoln Hill Farms, lincolnhillfarms. com

Father’s Day at Lincoln Hill Farms in Canandaigua has become a family tradition. The free event features quality festival food, craft beer, live music and even a Dress Like Your Dad Contest. Clams will be available for noshing until they run out, and lawn games will be there to play across the pastoral landscape. If you’re looking for a chill hang with family and

friends on Dad’s Day, Lincoln Hill is an excellent destination. 12 p.m.-7 p.m. Free admission and free parking. DK

MONDAY, JUNE 17

EDUCATION Knife Skills

The Commissary, rochesterbrainery. com

I learned about the importance of good knife skills after I slashed my finger open using a santoku that was too small and entirely wrong for halving a delicata squash. My finger healed, I got appropriate knives and learned to handle them, but still, don’t be me. If you spend lots of time in the kitchen, knife in hand, it pays to learn the best ways to wield your blades. In this class, Christin Ortiz, who previously ran the food program at Joe Bean Roastery, will teach you how to properly grip a chef’s knife and how to do five different types of cuts. The class starts at 6:30 p.m. and registration costs $39. Participants must bring their own 7- to 10-inch chef’s knife and a to-go container for the items they’ll chop. JM

TUESDAY, JUNE 18

FILM

“Dinner at Eight”

Dryden Theatre, eastman.org

Herman J. Mankiewicz, the titular “Mank” of David Fincher’s 2020 biopic, and influential Hollywood screenwriter Frances Marion penned this 1933 pre-Code tale of New York society families. It stars what ultimately became a murderer’s row of screen greats: John Barrymore, Jean Harlow, Marie Dressler and more. Their faces glow on this 16-millimeter print made from a nitrate negative. The movie begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $9 for members, $12 for everyone else. Students and kids under 17 get in for $5. PH

CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19

DANCE

Dances at MuCCC: “Moving Margins to the Center”

MuCCC, muccc.org

Dances at MuCCC celebrates its 10th anniversary as a festival of contemporary and experimental dance with four performances featuring regional dances and choreographers. The festival runs through June 22, with two different programs being presented on alternating evenings. 8 p.m.-9:30 p.m. The featured choreographers include Missy Pfohl Smith of BIODANCE, Harold Taddy of The Velvet Noose, Natalie Marino and more. Tickets are free for kids 5 and under, $10 for students and seniors, and general admission tickets are $15. DK

THURSDAY, JUNE 20

MUSIC

Music at the Arb featuring Jazz Generation

Webster Arboretum, websterarboretum.org

This charming locale in Webster’s Kent Park featuring picturesque gardens is also a prime spot to catch live music. This time around, it’s the guitar duo Jazz Generation, which plays everything from jazz standards and bossa nova to Parisian café tunes and Spanish classical guitar music. Free. 6:30 p.m. DK

FRIDAY, JUNE 21

MUSIC

Estival Festival

Sugar Mountain Performing Arts Center, Canadea, estivalfestival.com

This three-day music festival doesn’t get as much attention as Grassroots, but it plays to a very similar crowd. Familiar artists such as The Sim Redmond Band, Richie & Rosie, Folkfaces and Cuppasoup all make appearances in this year’s festival. Rochester bands including The Honey Smugglers, Harmonica Lewinski and Matt O’Brian’s Flying Object help bolster a lineup loaded with talented regional musicians. In addition to the concerts, festivalgoers can expect parades, fireworks, hot air balloon

rides, drum workshops and more. Weekend passes are $116.67 for adults; $53.65 for ages 13-17; and free for kids 12 and under. Single day passes are also available at varying rates. Campsites, RV registration, and dog registration are available. Gates open at noon and close at 8:30 p.m. on June 23. DK

FESTIVAL

Harborfest

Port of Rochester, ontariobeachentertainment.org/ harborfest

Through June 23, Harborfest returns to the Charlotte neighborhood this year, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of Monroe County and the Charlotte Genesee Lighthouse. There are plenty of family-friendly events, plus free rides on the historic Dentzel Carousel and a kid’s fun zone, among other things. Local bands will play and there will be plenty of food and beverages at lakeshore restaurants and bars. AC

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

MUSIC

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

East Ave. & Chestnut St. Stage, rochesterjazz.com

It’s hard to believe the Mississippi bluesman known as Kingfish is only 25 years old. His burly voice feels wise and lived-in, and his magnetic guitar playing recalls B.B. King, one of his most frequent comparisons. Though the spirit of his Delta forebears (and even Texas great Stevie Ray Vaughan) courses through him, Christone Ingram revels in an amped-up live sound that he continues to make his own. He’ll turn East & Chestnut into his own musical playground when he hits the stage for this free show. Music’s at 9 p.m. Blues staple Chris Beard Band opens. PH

CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

SUNDAY, JUNE 23

MUSIC

Ben Folds

Point of the Bluff Vineyards, Hammondsport, concertsatpob.com

One of music’s more underrated figures, singer-songwriter Ben Folds has been a top melody-monger since his curiously named trio Ben Folds Five came onto the scene in the ’90s with a punk-rock approach to piano pop. Folds has always been an irreverent artist, but it belies a talent for catchy vocal hooks and a technical proficiency at the keyboard that helped make him the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony

Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. Folds’s latest record is last year’s “What Matters Most,” which contains the artist’s signature mix of silly and sophisticated. Lindsey Kraft plays in support. Gates open at 2 p.m., music starts at 3:30 p.m. Tickets for the allages show start at $80. DK

MONDAY, JUNE 24

MUSIC

Kevin Gordon Trio

The Little Theatre, thelittle.org

The marquee shows can get all the love, but the more intimate jazz fest gigs often yield cozy and unexpected moments. Case in point: twangy East Nashville singer-songwriter Kevin Gordon, who rolls into town with a duo backing him and his guitar for The Little Theatre’s Roots & Americana series. The venue’s neon-lit entrance feels like the right backdrop for this vibe. First show’s at 7 p.m., with a later set at 9:15 p.m.. Tickets are $30 at the door without a Club Pass. PH

TUESDAY, JUNE 25

MUSIC

James Taylor

Darien Lake Amphitheater, jamestaylor.com

A long-time purveyor of heartfelt folk-pop songs, James Taylor has had an illustrious career — with six Grammy Awards and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to his name. Although best known for the hit singles “Fire and Rain” and “You’ve Got a Friend,” he hasn’t stopped releasing new albums. The most recent, “American Standard” from 2020, is a collection of beloved covers, including “Moon River,” “Pennies from Heaven” and “Almost Like Being in Love.” Taylor and his band, which includes Rochester’s own Steve Gadd on the drums, take the stage at 8 p.m. Available tickets start at $54.35. DK

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26

MUSIC

Sheila E. and the E-Train

Wegmans Stage at Parcel 5, rochesterjazz.com

Percussionists always dance to the beat of their own drum. But Sheila E. has made a career out of merging her own inner music with giving the people what they want. In the 1980s, it was funky pop collaborations with Prince. In the case of her 2024 album “Bailar,” it’s 10 salsa numbers with the likes of Gloria Estefan and Rubén Blades. Sheila merges a little bit of everything with her five-piece backing band, the E-Train, turning Parcel 5 into a gigantic dance floor with absolutely no cover charge. Music starts at 9 p.m. Afro Cuban rhythm makers Grupo IFE open. PH

FOOD

Food Truck Rodeo

Rochester Public Market, cityofrochester.gov/foodtruckrodeo Food… Music… Entertainment…. Music and entertainment while you

eat food? Who could ask for more? The monthly food truck rodeo at the Public Market is back. The event began in 2011, after market director Jim Farr attended a similar event in Florida. The local rodeo is held the last Wednesday of every month from April through September. Bring your lawn chair, a fold out table, and your appetite. 5 - 9 p.m. MM

THURSDAY, JUNE 27

MUSIC

Kiefer Sutherland

Center for the Arts of Homer, center4art.org

Jack Bauer with a guitar? Yes, Emmywinning “24” actor Kiefer Sutherland moonlights as an Americana singersongwriter, with three albums of original tunes under his belt. The latest of these, “Bloor Street,” references ambling down one of the main thoroughfares in his native Toronto. The bright twangy guitars pair well with his distinctive warm and crackling voice; these features promise to be on display at this gig in the small town of Homer, 97 miles east of Rochester. For an intimate

night with Kiefer, the drive ought to be worth it. Music starts at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are $44.81. PH

FRIDAY, JUNE 28

MUSIC

Outlaw Music Festival feat. Willie Nelson & Family

Empower FCU Amphitheater, blackbirdpresents.com

It doesn’t get much more star-studded than the lineup for Willie Nelson’s touring Outlaw Music Festival. In addition to Nelson and his musical family, legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, the powerhouse folk duo of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and singer-guitarist Celisse will take the stage. This feels like the blockbuster show to kick off the summer in style. 5:30 p.m. Available tickets start at $68.20. DK

SATURDAY, JUNE 29

MUSIC

Rejuvenation 50! Celebration of the Meters

Wegmans Stage at Parcel 5, rochesterjazz.com

It’s hard to overstate just how influential New Orleans funk band The Meters were. The group’s tight grooves and unforgettable breaks became foundational to the fabric of hip-hop, and their song “Cissy Strut” remains a touchstone of the era, not to mention an earworm. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the group’s album “Rejuvenation,” original members George Porter Jr. and Leo Nocentelli join fellow NOLA music makers Dumpstaphunk for what’s being billed as a celebration and a Mardi Gras party. Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen open. Free. PH

SUNDAY, JUNE 30

FASHION

Rochester Ukrainian Fashion Show

The Wintergarden by Monroe’s, eventbrite.com

The second annual Ukrainian Fashion Show, spearheaded by Tatyana Tymkiv, is a philanthropic endeavor that aims to rally support for wounded soldiers and civilians ensnared in the ongoing war. The event is a diverse showcase of creative talent, featuring three esteemed designers. Renata, a luminary in Ukrainian design, will present her signature flair. The lineup culminates with Maceoo, a renowned figure on the national stage. Attendees can anticipate an array of collections spanning demographics and styles, including a charming children’s collection, opulent women’s evening dresses, a celebration of Ukrainian heritage with a collection of traditional Vyshyvanka dresses and two exclusive men’s collections from Valentine and Maceoo. Following the runway spectacle, festivities will continue with a grand after-party. Tickets start at $100. LS

Ride the lighting

MUSIC

BY PATRICK HOSKEN PATRICK@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

When photographer Clay Patrick McBride met Dolly Parton, he called her a disco ball.

“ You just light everything up in the most spectacular way,” McBride recalled saying to her. To break the ice, he also brought a box of Polaroids he’d snapped of the Great Smoky Mountains, her Tennessee homeland.

The photo shoot yielded a stark portrait of Parton literally supported by her guitar — a potent metaphor. It was a career highlight for the Rochester-based McBride, who’s spent more than 30 years photographing some of the most famous people on the planet.

Jay-Z. Metallica. Willie Nelson. Kobe Bryant. Jake Paul. And, earlier this year for the cover of “Sports Illustrated,” Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.

“ You don’t always have to do a song and dance. But you need to let them know, ‘I’m the artist here. You’re in my little world now,’” McBride said. “I don’t say that to anybody. I just try to lead.”

To McBride, the camera doesn’t take the picture; the photographer does. After earning two degrees from the School of Visual Arts in New York, his keen eye for lighting and bold backdrops landed him at the front of the classroom — he began teaching at Rochester

Institute of Technology’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences in 2014.

The thoroughly tattooed, mohawked photographer says he brings an edge to the Henrietta campus that helps get students’ attention.

“The school is filled with PhDs and geniuses, and then there’s me, this guy who comes from the filthy streets of New York and more of the underbelly of photography,” he said. “I fit in very well there because I don’t fit in with everything that happens there.”

McBride’s time in New York coincided with surging hip-hop and hard rock scenes in the late 1990s. He made a name capturing crisp portraits of Lil’ Kim, Slipknot and Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA, who notably pointed two guns directly at the lens. He worked as Kid Rock’s personal photographer for nearly two decades.

His formidable archive boasts fresh-faced snaps of LeBron James and Norah Jones in the early 2000s, plus long-departed rock stars Scott Weiland and Chester Bennington.

And then there’s Jay-Z in a mockup of the Oval Office, recalling “President John F. Kennedy conferring with his brother Robert Kennedy, using President Shawn Carter and his little brother Kanye West,” McBride wrote in the photo’s footnotes.

That 2004 shoot for “XXL” has become a teaching moment.

“Over the years, my reasons for taking pictures changed,” he said. “Now, my life is a lot less about me. It’s about contributing to young photographers. It’s about helping people get to the next place.”

After coming to Rochester initially, McBride experienced what he called “ego death.” “I wasn’t Clay Patrick McBride in New York the way I was,” he said.

He found his way thanks, in part, to teaching. He lives downtown and enjoys the diversity of the Rochester Public Market and the Roc City SkatePark, where he loves photographing and hanging with the kids.

McBride digs the local scene and has shot many artists, including Sam Snyder, more commonly known by the moniker ‘Overhand Sam.’

“He’s one of the most improvisatory people I’ve ever met,” Snyder said. “He’s more about the making of the thing

than the business element to it. That’s the punk attitude that any good artist maintains.”

Rochester native rapper Ishmael met McBride at The Little Theatre years ago when McBride asked to take his photo. Ishmael reluctantly agreed before scanning McBride’s portfolio.

Soon after, McBride invited him along to photo assignments in New York, including one with super producer DJ Khaled. McBride even unexpectedly asked Ishmael to rap for Khaled at the end of the shoot.

“ To think so highly of a person that you’ll put them with the sharks and trust that they won’t get killed?” Ishmael said of McBride.

“People in this industry don’t give. Clay gives.”

In 2008, McBride gave a gift to himself while embedded with Metallica at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. As he ran around trying to capture the band’s final bow, he realized photo conditions were suboptimal. The crowd was too far away. The lightning wasn’t right.

“I just stopped and thought, ‘what’s happening right now?’” McBride said. “I’m standing on stage behind my favorite band. In front of them are 80,000 people. Let’s check that out for a minute.”

That mental image might be a more important memento than any photo McBride could’ve shot for a magazine.

Clay Patrick McBride poses with a tintype camera at RIT, where he began teaching in 2014.

PHOTOS BY QUAJAY DONNELL

Clay Patrick McBride began his photography career in New York City in what he calls the "early Gen X '90s" during surging hip-hop and rock scenes.

PHOTOS BY QUAJAY DONNELL

“JUST FRIENDS” BY ROCHESTER METROPOLITAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA

Ever since the internet became a household utility, vaporous electronic music has been the subgenre of choice for being online. Early 21st-century artists like Aphex Twin and Burial remain evergreen, especially as contemporary artists channel their

Enter Jan in Hell, the moniker of Rochester native and current downstate

Her latest self-released short album, “Gammatology,” a seven-song adventure through rainy and mellow drum and bass, hit Bandcamp earlier this spring. It proves a formidable assembly of electronic somnambulance injected with life courtesy

“Haunted” dances around alternative R&B with mesmerizingly out of reach vocal fragments, while “Bonanza Split” integrates old film dialogue into a rhythmic churn, highlighted by bright synthesizer patches. The twitchiest tune, “Heartbreakingly,” surges like a caffeine high and pairs nicely with certain high-intensity gaming aesthetics.

“Gammatology” relies on cool, detached beats to create an overall mood of casual aloofness. The more you lean in, the more you discover: tiny synthesized squiggles on opener “Abjad,” subtle evolving musicality on ambient closer “XTine” and more

Close listening is essential, given Jan in Hell’s sparse digital presence. Apart from a few glitched images on Bandcamp and SoundCloud, the artist has taken a backseat

These songs, created and finalized over the past few months before seeing release, are the focus. The lack of further detail creates an aura of mystery that lends itself to

Some of Jan’s past work, like 2023’s “Modular Jams,” explored heavy, acerbic sounds. “Gammatology,” plus recent flips of Charli XCX’s single “B2b” and the hyperpop moments of the “Pahnishment” EP, point to a bright — if unpredictable — path forward. Just like the last 25 years of being online.

Opportunities to hear big band music are plentiful when Gibbs Street transforms into “Jazz Street” at the end of June every year, but at other times such performances feel rare. That’s where the Rochester Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, with its new album “Just Friends,” fills a void.

From the get-go, there is a vitality in the orchestra’s sound. Opener “In the Mood” is downright celebratory, particularly during solo sections featuring trumpeter Bill Baldwin. Plenty of credit goes to audio engineer Eugene Bisdikian, who captures the busy arrangements with precision and balance.

Vocalist Shanthi Kelley’s take on “Feeling Good,” made popular by Nina Simone, is not an explosive one, but her understated approach belies intelligent phrasing and onpoint intonation. Underneath Kelley’s faithful vocal rendition is Brian Barr’s excellent guitar work, which remains embedded in the orchestral blend for much of the song, until a key change elevates the emotional tension and he ratchets up the riffing.

As directed by BJ Comer, the ensemble interprets tunes by the likes of Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin and Louis Armstrong with clarity and quaint charm. Perhaps the most charming of all the tracks is by beloved Rochester legend Chuck Mangione — the title track from his 1973 album “Land of Make Believe.” Powered by samba grooves and Kristy Barr’s straightforward vocal tone, the performance has a transportive quality.

Much of the record is a nostalgic trip through the familiar, but RMJO hits its stride midway through the album with “I’ve Got What?!” — Steve Owen’s playful spin on the George and Ira Gershwin classic “I’ve Got Rhythm.” This clever reimagining features dizzying melodic turns and clever rhythmic flights. The orchestra’s version of Chicago’s “Make Me Smile” also boasts a powerful charisma.

Comer and his ensemble play with punchy energy throughout, interpreting a collection that could have easily sounded staid with poignancy. Jazz fans, take notice. — DANIEL J. KUSHNER

“GARDEN DREAM”

BY TOUGH OLD BIRD

Tough Old Bird is an Americana band on the periphery of the Finger Lakes folk scene. And while the Buffalo native duo Matthew and Nathan Corrigan perform in Rochester periodically, they have always carried with them an “in this world but not of it” relationship to the 585 music landscape.

Musically, TOB’s dreamy aesthetics also have a decidedly detached feel, with the Corrigan brothers utilizing lulled timbres and tempos that never exceed a tentative countryside march. On “Garden Dream” — the fifth collection from the band since 2016 — Tough Old Bird doesn’t provide any surprises, but reminds listeners why its music was so endearing in the first place.

The Corrigans write contemplative songs dripping with sentimentality and tempered with Rust Belt fatigue. As ever, earnestness is the order of the day on “Garden Dream,” but the lush arrangements blending strains of mandolin and banjo with the more atmospheric tones of electric guitar and pedal steel help to avoid folk singersongwriter clichés.

The 10-tune set opens with “Locks,” a terrific first impression pairing the sonic warmth of an acoustic guitar and organ with lyrics about mundane life that bely an emotional profundity: How are you doing? You don’t have to tell me / The attic is cold and the closets are empty / I just like the sound of your voice, say whatever you want.

“My Love (Satellites)” is an endearing ballad that explodes briefly into postrock chaos before coming back down to earth with folk instrumentation.”Summer of Spiderwebs” is another delicately spun winner, featuring a clever use of handclaps that transcends the twee indie music stereotype. “Remain” imagines what ’90s R.E.M. would sound like if it were a country band.

On “Garden Dream,” Tough Old Bird continues to produce pretty songs with interesting musical textures. And yet, the album is best listened to not as individual cuts in isolation, but as an uninterrupted haze of bucolic atmospheres.

— DANIEL J. KUSHNER

“TRAVELIN’ TIME”

BY DIRTY BLANKET

There used to be a time when a bluegrass outfit was predictable…the old favorites about old times, and the band wore, well, outfits — hoodies, beanies or sneakers were not a factor. In these enlightened days of ‘alternative bluegrass,’ Dirty Blanket excels on their release "Travelin' Time," featuring Joel Fedkiw (banjo/vocals), Kevin O'Leary (rhythm guitar/vocals), Ben Haravitch (bass/vocals), Max Flansburg (lead guitar/vocals) and Richie Colf (mandolin/vocals).

"Fast and Troubled" rips the effort open, blending modern bluegrass with a punky sensibility, free of traditional guardrails. Vibrato-edged harmonies ride atop waves from Dirty Blanket's tight-yet-chill sound, seamlessly threading virtuosity persisting through "Scratch the Bear," with some tasty banjo. If one was itching for high-octane/ acoustic-thunder, you can scratch it on tracks 1-2 of "Travelin' Time."

"New Disease" rhythmically shifts from light dub to straight country, anchored by Fedkiw's throaty testimonial. Reflection continues into "Senorita," a love song about the peace we chase as we make our way through the winds of the world.

Turmoil persists on "Torn," featuring O'Leary's sonorous vocal work, which leads to Max Flansburg's sole songwriting/lead vocals on "Waiting All My Days," proof of the guitarist’s utter comprehension of the country love song.

The only waltz on "Travelin' Time" is "The Road That Never Ends," which, lyrically, reckons with two deciding to be friends or lovers. Emotionally the tone is now set for the heaviness heard in "Two High," featuring an artful guitar solo toward the end of this meditation on intoxicating love.

Shifting from upright bass to clawhammer banjo, Haravitch adds sweetness on "Maple Grove," a reflection on solitary mornings, regret and wondering if a loss is a shared one. As "Travelin' Time" consoles via the concluding title-track, one can bathe in the driving, yet empathic, altgrass of Dirty Blanket.

—RYAN M. YARMEL

Like a time machine

CULTURE

BY KELLEN BECK

Orbiting just under one million miles from earth is the pinnacle of space imaging: the James Webb Space Telescope. Rochesterians helped create it, and Rochesterians are using it to change the way the human race views the universe.

Between the University of Rochester, the Rochester Institute of Technology, Monroe Community College and companies such as L3Harris, hundreds of people who studied and worked around Rochester have been an integral part of the Webb Telescope’s success. Since its launch in 2021, NASA’s one-ofa-kind follow-up to the Hubble Space Telescope has peered deeper into space than anything before it, capturing breathtaking, illuminating images of some of the earliest galaxies in our universe.

Dr. Becky Borrelli, principal fellow at L3Harris and metrology engineer on the Webb Telescope, moved to Rochester in 2006 for the Institute of Optics at U of R where she earned her PhD. She has worked at L3Harris for nearly 12 years and was integral to the testing of the Webb telescope. Its sophisticated optics required such precision that an error the size of one micron — or one tenthousandth the width of a human hair — would ruin its imaging abilities.

“One thing that I have not seen in a lot of places that I’ve lived is that MCC, RIT and U of R have this really great working relationship,” said Borrelli. “It’s

is the sharpest eye in the sky.

The James Webb Space Telescope

NASA technicians lifted the telescope using a crane and moved it inside a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. PHOTOS PROVIDED

not this competitive thing. We have our specialties and we’re going to build a source of knowledge and intelligence to fulfill this work.”

U of R’s optics and engineering programs, the physics and astronomy sides of RIT, and the strength of MCC as an educator and launchpad for students to enter into either those schools or straight into the workforce makes Rochester a hotbed for innovation in space programs.

Plus, L3Harris Technologies has decades of history working with NASA.

Darin Noel, L3Harris senior manager and project engineer on the Webb Telescope program, said around 1,300 people from Rochester worked on the project beginning as early as 1999. He also moved to Rochester to attend U of R 29 years ago and has decades of experience working on optics for telescopes.

“This is the largest telescope ever produced and put into orbit,”

This group photo of engineers and technicians in the cleanroom at NASA Goddard was captured in the spring of 2017, before the telescope was transported to NASA Johnson for cryogenic testing. PHOTO PROVIDED

Noel said. “When we assembled the telescope down in Johnson Space Center, I likened it to assembling a pair of shoes inside a shoe box.”

CRISP

THURSDAY-SATURDAY 11:30am-10:00pm

SUNDAY & MONDAY 4:00pm-9:00pm

SUNDAY & MONDAY 11:00am-2:45pm

EVENT SPACE AVAILABLE

One of the Webb Telescope’s first major projects is COSMOS-Web, a survey piecing together a map of early galaxies. Dr. Jeyhan Kartaltepe, an associate professor at RIT’s School of Physics and Astronomy, moved to Rochester nine years ag, and is a principal investigator of COSMOSWeb. A group of her undergrad, graduate, and post-doc students are deeply involved in the project.

“ With COSMOS-Web, we’re taking 150 images in total all next to each other and stitching them together so we have a big image covering a significant area,” Kartaltepe said. “We’re going to have hundreds of thousands of galaxies in total.”

A photo captures a moment in time. While light travels quickly (about 186,000 miles per second), stretching out the distance observed means looking at older and older light. The infrared light Webb collects is traveling millions and billions of light years, so the images seen are those galaxies as they existed all those millions and billions of years ago.

“I like to joke that having a telescope is probably the closest thing we’ll ever have to a time machine,” Kartaltepe said.

Scientists like Kar taltepe are already finding new mysteries to solve, thanks to JWST. There are more galaxies in the early era of the universe than previously estimated,

and they’ve found supermassive black holes at some of the centers formed much more rapidly than expected.

The Webb Telescope’s life in space is only just beginning, and as it keeps collecting more images, more questions will arise about the universe for scientists to work out. Meanwhile, in Rochester, work is well underway at L3Harris on the next great space telescope — the Nancy Grace Roman — which will work in tandem with Webb and other telescopes to keep digging further after its planned launch in 2027.

Engineers clean a mirror with carbon dioxide snow. PHOTOS PROVIDED

Amazing view of engineers preparing NASA's gigantic space simulation chamber for massive test. PHOTOS PROVIDED

The final capture

CULTURE

BY RACQUEL STEPHEN RSTEPHEN@WXXI.ORG

When it was time to wrap a casket, Richard Collinge always credited himself as being able to “block things out,” or keep his emotions out of it — until he had to wrap his son’s casket in the summer of 2022.

“I did the top,” he said, “I couldn’t finish the rest.”

Collinge lost his son, Richard Collinge, Jr., to gun violence, and the family decided to include a horse and carriage ride through Clinton Avenue as part of the memorial service. Collinge knew a custom wrapped casket would be a beautiful touch.

“I just wanted everybody to see my son on the side of the casket and on the top of it, his pictures, one last time,” he said.

Casket wrapping, which involves transferring a high-res image to a vinyl plastic material and wrapping it around the exterior of the casket using a heat method, is a fairly new practice. It’s believed to have originated in the Southern part of the United States and is most favorable among communities of color. The technique is like wrapping a vehicle but involves more intricate graphic design and an advanced skillset.

“Black folks have always been really creative in how we deal with pain in order to survive, and I think that this is really kind of a creative and expressive form of grief,” said Desmond Upton Patton, University of Pennsylvania

Casket wrapping gives the grieving one last look at their loved ones.

professor of social policy, communications and psychiatry.

He compared the practice to the grandiosite of a mausoleum by referring to it as another form of loving big out loud.

“It really helps people be able to express that love and depth for a family or friend,” Patton said.

The entire process can take up to three or four days, Collinge said. It includes designing the wrap (which often consists of a portrait of the deceased), acquiring the family’s final approval, printing and laminating the final design and applying the wrap to the casket, which can take up to three hours.

Collinge has been wrapping caskets for three years, a skill he learned from business partner Charles Switzer, who completed the wrap on Collinge’s son’s casket. Together, they have wrapped hundreds of caskets locally and in various cities. During the summer months, when violence tends to peak in the city, Collinge said he can wrap up to five caskets a month. He recalls a time when he did three in one week.

“I’ve literally had people cry as soon as they see it,” Collinge said.

Switzer, who relayed similar experiences, was the first person to wrap a casket in the area.

“Anybody can print, but it’s all about the design,” he said. “It’s all about the application of it.”

What once took him hours to complete he can now do in roughly 45 minutes.

“Seeing their expressions when I’m done gives me pleasure to keep doing what I do,” said Switzer.

A casket wrap is not a small expense; it can cost a family anywhere from $700 to $1300 depending on the complexity of

the design and whether it’s a full casket wrap or just the top.

That said, Collinge and Switzer have done pro bono work, especially if it’s a death that resonates with them and the community. The duo wrapped the casket of one of the women who died during the stampede after the rap concert at Main Street Armory in March 2023. Collinge also volunteered to wrap the casket for the young boy who died after being struck by a vehicle on Thurston Road in June 2023.

“It’s not all about making money (for) me,” Collinge said. “Sometimes, casket wraps can hit close to home.”

However, not every family takes to the practice. Shawn Watson, director of Memories Funeral Home on Hudson Avenue, said some people prefer a more traditional look and can be critical of the idea.

“They’re definitely beautiful, but some people are more conservative, and it may just be too much for them to see,” he said.

Memories Funeral Home is known for its extravagant

memorial services; Watson compares his planning to that of a wedding, where personalization is key.

“If you want your loved one in a blimp, I’ll put them in there,” he said, “and we’ll float them across Rochester.”

Custom casket wrapping has grown in popularity among the younger generation, and Watson said families that lose a loved one to “the streets” often request the service.

“They tend to want to see them in their same element,” he said.

“When the casket is being lowered into the ground, that is the last image of their loved one they would like to see.”

Richard Collinge wraps a casket at Angel Hills Funeral Chapel in Rochester.

PHOTO BY MAX SCHULTE

Richard Collinge wrapped the casket of his son, who was a victim of gun violence.

PHOTO PROVIDED

The millennials’ archivist

CULTURE

BY KATIE EPNER KEPNER@WXXI.ORG

The year is 2109. Human interaction extends as far as a retinal implant. Physical commerce has ceased and AI fulfills any remaining gaps of desire. A tradition of older generations, “nightlife” is culturally obsolete.

Until one day, someone is trawling the depths of great-greatgrandma Ashley’s Facebook and piques at a curious photo album title: PARK AVE FEST 2009. PART ONE.

Pictured are crowds upon crowds of people. Outstretched arms embracing every shoulder they can, as if greedy for the kinship. Fake tans and fedoras. Belly button rings and chin straps. Smiles and poses and candids of a vibrant yet obscure generation.

What this chronologically advanced human has discovered is merely the tip of the seminal iceberg that is ihadagoodnight.com.

In the year 2024, IHAGN is 20 years old. With a reputation more ubiquitous than the website itself, founder Allen Keppen shows no signs of stopping.

“This matters to people. There’s no way I’m gonna ever stop doing this,” Keppen said over a four-top table at Buntsy’s in Webster.

Allen Keppen founded ihadagoodnight.com in 2004. PHOTO BY KATIE EPNER

The table adjacent is scattered with nearly 20 hard drives of photos totaling roughly 10,000 GB. And according to Keppen, they’re all completely full. Despite efforts, there is no way to quantify the size of the archive, but by estimating 10 MB per photo, it can be assumed there were at least a million photos on that table. And those hard drives only date back to 2009.

“I wanted everyone to be involved,” he said. “I didn’t care what race you are, I didn’t care who you were. But if you lived past five o’clock, I was like, ‘that’s how I can bring everyone together.’”

Keppen is known as the “ihadagoodnight guy,” and can always be found at Rochester’s largest events throughout the warmer months. He’s the one armed with a camera and illuminated sign displaying ‘IHADAGOODNIGHT.COM,’ quick to place it in the hands of any photogenic or enthusiastic volunteer. At this point, Keppen’s tenure affords him seamless entry into nearly every venue in the city, capturing nightlife one flash at a time.

Some will remember the giant

Zippo as the first iteration of IHAGN, used to promote the funky folk band Bacci in the early 2000s, giving way to the iconic signs after Keppen himself suffered a burn from the massive flame — though his was the only injury sustained in that era, he is quick to point out.

“It was such an eye-appealing thing that I just kept on going,” he said. “But I had to do something for myself, so I turned it into a website.”

That website is an ever-evolving work in progress, and Keppen is flush with ambition to see it become the cultural gathering point he

envisions. Ever the entrepreneur, he is laser-focused on the future, but the archive’s blinding relevance to the past can’t be ignored.

Fashion shows and festivals, concerts and clubs, parades and parties. Keppen may have covered more ground in Rochester than any other photographer in the city’s history. At his peak, he was capturing the boozefueled millennial heydays: Park Ave. fests, St. Paddy’s Day parades, East End fests and nightclubs (yes, in Rochester) long before a 24/7 connection to the Internet and subsequent paradigm shift in virtually every facet of life. The

archives are fuel for jokes about fashion and lifestyle — while also serving as a somber reminder of a culture since come and gone.

Many have shied away from Keppen’s camera or look back on their memories with a mix of shame and regret. But in this modern era of perpetual scrutiny, the sight of such carefree hedonism, dubious ethics and questionable public behavior is somehow endearing. These are our friends, family, neighbors, teachers, coworkers, elected officials… ihadagoodnight.com is Rochester.

Keppen’s photos captured the potent magic of a time before FOMO, filters and employers checking Facebook. The people in those photos are unburdened by the weight of the world bearing down on them through a 9x16 screen, and it shows.

Anthropologists in 2109 might not wear such a shade of rose-colored glasses, but maybe they’ll use Keppen’s body of work to decipher the strides and missteps of a renaissance. The parties were fleeting but “the pictures will live on forever.” Is 2024 too soon to dive back in?

The film stalwart’s legacy lives on around Rochester, for better or worse.

A Kodak memory card

HISTORY

BY BRIAN SHARP BSHARP@WXXI.ORG

Once the quintessential company town, Rochester branded itself the “World Image Centre” in the mid-90s as a nod to Kodak, Xerox and Baush + Lomb.

That slogan has since been retired, but the legacy of Eastman Kodak Co. lives on, extending well beyond the iconic office tower at the edge of downtown or the George Eastman Museum on East Avenue.

“One of the important origins of the community’s character was the brain of George Eastman,” the late Barber Conable, former congressman and host of WXXI’s now-defunct program “Speaking of Rochester,” said in 1999.

The number of businesses sustained and spun off are too many to count, and Kodak’s impact isn’t all positive — they have spent millions of dollars to address and help clean up the pollution it spewed into local air, water and soil, for one. Redlining, gentrification and racism were rampant among Eastman’s personal and professional endeavors as well.

The company and people that revolutionized photography are behind many of the backdrops to our “Kodak moments” still around today. Here are a few examples:

HOUSES

The mansion on East Avenue isn’t the only place Eastman called home. He was a child when his family moved here in 1860 from Waterville, Oneida County, and lived at seven different addresses before building the house most famously known today. While living in the Edgerton Neighborhood (1874-84) at what is now 99 Jones Ave., Eastman made his first picture on a photographic dry plate. It showed two girls and a woman in front of a house that still stands at 32 Jones Ave., on the corner of North Plymouth Ave. across from Jones Square. He also lived for 10 years at 1050 East Ave., the Wilson Soule House, now owned by Asbury First Methodist Church, before moving into his East Avenue mansion in 1905.

PHOTO BY LAUREN PETRACCA

WHAM 1180

Rochester’s oldest radio station got its start thanks to Eastman (and Gannett founder Frank Gannett) in 1922, and initially broadcast from Eastman Theatre.

NEIGHBORHOODS

Founded by Eastman in the 1920s, Kodak Employees Realty Corp. built the Koda Vista neighborhood in Greece and the Meadowbrook in Brighton, where it attached racial covenants to the properties, restricting ownership to a particular “class of people.” The company also founded Eastman Savings & Loan Association, the forerunner to ESL Federal Credit Union, to help Kodak employees buy those homes.

KODAK FILM

All of Kodak’s still and motion picture film — from Super 8 to IMAX! — is produced in Rochester at Eastman Business Park. The company has produced film here for more than a century, and now offers paid public tours to see the process.

Still lives

CULTURE

BY PATRICK HOSKEN PATRICK@ROCHESTER-CITYNEWS.COM

California folk singer Jessica Pratt’s music sounds like a memory; warm and glowing, with one eye open to the mysterious. For the cover of her newest release, “Here in the Pitch,” Pratt sought a cameraperson — and a film — that evoked the same energy.

“Jessica wanted the artwork to feel like it was taken by an undetected photographer that had suddenly gained access to an inner sanctum,” Nina Gofur, who snapped the artwork, wrote on Instagram in May. “For this reason, CineStill 800T felt it could transmute this suspended reality.”

800Tungsten, or 800T for short, is the flagship product of Los Angeles-based film company CineStill, which launched in 2012. Its unmistakable warm tone renders neon night scenes and cozy interiors with a look the CineStill founders call “magical.”

And it’s processed right here in Rochester.

“If you go into a lowly lit restaurant and you’re still wearing your sunglasses, that’s how all other color film will capture indoor photography — yelloworange colors and really dark,” CineStill co-founder Brandon Wright said. “800T is like, if you took your glasses off tonight, you can see everything.”

Wright would know. With his twin brother Brian, he developed a process for converting Kodak 35-millimeter motion-picture

film into ready-to-use, portable camera film intended specifically for still photography. The resulting innovation of the Brothers Wright, as they’re known — not to be confused with that other pioneering Wright duo — is 800T, and it can turn ordinary snaps into cinematic moments.

Though they r un CineStill out of a Hollywood-based office, every roll of 800T fittingly begins its journey at the Eastman Business

Park. Brandon and Brian make the trek east four or five times per year with Daniel McDonald, CineStill’s head of production scheduling, to prep the next batches. Brandon calls the process more artisanal than automated.

“It requires a little bit of expertise, a little bit of whispering to it,” he said.

As they started up CineStill in L.A., the Wrights used leftover Kodak film, then eventually bought factory-sealed 35-millimeter rolls from the company in large volumes. When they expanded to include higher-resolution 120 film, they came to a crossroads: build a new processing machine and pay heaps in shipping costs or find an existing space that had the equipment they needed.

One such space? Eastman Business Park.

“They basically sold us on it,” Brandon said. “We could either pay 10 times the rent in Los Angeles and not have the facilities

we need or have a small space for an absolute bargain.”

When the brothers first came here in 2015, they stayed in Greece. They kept hearing good things about South Wedge, so on return trips, they rented Airbnbs near, and frequented, the nowshuttered institution Tap and Mallet. “The week that they closed [in 2021], we were coming out here. We got an Airbnb right across the street,” Brandon said.

“We show up, and it’s closed.”

These days, when they’re back in their “second home,” the twins can be found near Park Ave., at Good Luck and around the Public Market.

“Cure is our Sunday night spot,” Brandon said. “If we’re in town and you pop by Cure around 8 p.m., we’ll probably be there.”

CineStill’s bicoastal process — film produced here, business headquartered out west — is loaded with meaning given the

CONTINUED ON PAGE 60

The Brothers Wright, founders of CineStill.

PHOTO BY STEVE CARTER

A photograph shot on CineStill 800T film shows a red spark of halation down the middle.

PHOTO BY ROBERTO FELIPE

Jessica Pratt’s “Here in the pitch“ album cover.

ongoing marriage between the Photo City and Tinseltown.

“We enjoy the history of Rochester,” Brian said, referencing the film boom of the early 20th century as powered by Kodak. “Rochester and Hollywood have been intertwined from the beginning.”

His brother took it further.

“Hollywood wouldn’t exist without Rochester and Kodak.” To that end, their jetsetting feels intentionally symbolic, even if it also makes smart business sense.

The CineStill production process is proprietary, but it involves shedding the motion-picture film’s protective layer, called Remjet. The chemicals prevent instances of light spreading, or ‘halation,’ beyond its boundaries. But those chemicals won’t work with standard still-image processing, so they’re removed for a simpler experience for the photographer. As a result, 800T gains its distinctive look.

A quick Instagram search of #CineStill800T yields hundreds of images; red tail lights, glowing signs and overhead bulbs radiate and pop due to halation. Local photographer and videographer Roberto Felipe began shooting with 800T three or four years ago due to its versatility in different lighting situations.

“It’s one of the few films that can handle warm tones and cool tones in the same scene and render them accurately and correctly but still with its own kind of unique character to it,” he said. “Those always end up looking kind of like scenes from a movie.”

O ne scene from Felipe finds newlyweds driving off in a vintage pale-blue Ford on a warm San Diego street. A red spark of halation cuts through the middle of the frame like a finish-line ribbon turned vertical. “It’s a nice little cherry on top,” he said.

In photo shoots, 800T has likewise made musicians look like incandescent stars. When Paramore returned with their first album in six years, 800T captured the trio in eerie summer-storm lighting on the cover of 2023’s “This Is Why.”

Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers and countryish performer Medium Build have also been highlighted.

This par tnership between photo and music harkens back to the Wrights’ origins as concert

photographers and music documentarians.

“ We also did weddings out here in Los Angeles, 100 percent on film,” Brandon said. “That actually paid most of the bills because there’s not a lot of money in music photography.” They both laughed. “Hit or miss,” Brian said.

Running a film company in 2024 fits into a larger “analog renaissance” that Brian mentioned in interviews from a decade ago. After all, vinyl records are now a $1.4 billion industry annually. “Digital is no longer the latest and greatest. It just is,” he told PetaPixel in 2014. “In 10 years, technology will make [analog] options even more accessible and result in even higher quality than we already have.”

In 2024, digital’s latest innovation — artificial intelligence — makes users crave reality even more. And CineStill uses digital, of course, but as a tool to have analog experiences.

“ We use Instagram to show people digitally what analog film looks like,” Brian said, “shot by a real person and not manipulated.”

Jessica Pratt’s “Here in the Pitch” cover portrait, for example, remains captivating in part because it hasn’t been altered. The singer opts for a cinematic metaphor about an evolving relationship on the album’s final track: “The storyline goes on forever.” The photo may, too.

Brandon Wright during film production. PHOTO COURTESY CINESTILL

Exploring Rochester

A local Instagram account marks 10 years of (almost) weekly contributors.

BY JON HEATH

There’s something picturesque around every corner in Rochester, from the sleepy canal towns and the breathtaking roar of High Falls to the café-dotted streets of Park Avenue and the blooming lilacs of Highland Park. Being an artist is easy when the canvas provides a head start.

Since the rise of the Instagram platform in 2010, sharing holiday pics and brunch plates has become an addictive pursuit for two billion monthly users. But for local photographer Steve Carter and designer Justin Dusett, the early days of Instagram were an opportunity for more — a chance to connect with those passionate about photography, to create community and showcase work.

They launched Explore Rochester in 2015, a dedicated Instagram account with an accompanying hashtag anyone could use. The premise was simple: let a new contributor take over each week to post their photos and share a fresh perspective on Rochester.

Carter and Dusett booked a gallery to commemorate their first year and invited all 52 contributors.

“We had over 500 people there for the opening night,” Carter said. “It was wild.”

They knew then they were on to something big.

As the account approaches week 500 next month, Explore Rochester has amassed more than 4,000 posts and 50,000 followers during its first nine years and continues to surprise and inspire its creators.

“Not everybody needs to love living here, but I’ve learned I do,” said Dusett. “And it’s partially because of the perspectives I’ve gathered and the people I’ve met through this project.”

Dusett, a Greece native and Monroe Community College alumni, discovered Rochester’s unique side early.

“I started coming downtown as a

teenager,” he said. “I would ask that my birthday dinner be at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que solely so I could explore the abandoned subway. That was my first glimpse into how cool this city is.”

As a transplant to Rochester, Carter views the city through a different lens. Originally from Saratoga Springs, he studied business at Roberts Wesleyan University. Rochester was fertile new ground.

“I wanted to create an account and feature different people out there exploring Rochester like I was,” he said. Explore Rochester is both crowdsourced art and tourism at its best. But those benefiting the most are the Rochesterians who call this city home. Contributors aren’t just photographers; they are artists, musicians, business owners, bartenders, community organizers and more. Everyone has

something in common: a shared love for the nooks and crannies of this city and an appreciation for the hardworking people who hold it together.

Carter and Dusett also love the stories that bring a personal connection.

“Some photos might look the same,” Dusett said, “but one person had their first date there, or someone’s dad worked here, and another person just likes to go there to read a book. How we experience these things personally, is really cool to see.”

Carter agreed. ““The caption adds that layer of substance,” he said. “I think that’s the magic of it—images and stories paired together.”

Explore Rochester remains their altruistic side hustle, their gift to Rochester. Early on, Carter considered options to monetize the page but decided against it.

“This needs to be a resource for the community and it needs to stay that way,” he said.

That decision opened other doors instead. Both founders credit Explore Rochester with connecting them to new people and creating deeper relationships within their community. Carter now leads marketing at the photographic film company CineStill, while Dusett is creative director for Neon Wave in Victor.

What Carter and Dusett have created has become the city’s unofficial family album, highlighting myriad diverse voices and viewpoints. Like any good photo album acquiring dust, it will always be there to flip through. They jokingly refer to each other as “the intern,” but their contribution to Rochester’s history and visual identity is much more significant.

“We’re inherently a very creative city that shows its face every week on Explore Rochester,” said Dusett. “We’re proving to everybody here that something can be built, and that’s a really important belief to have.”

As the tenth anniversary approaches later this year, Carter and Dusett are considering a second exhibition featuring all 500 contributors.

“Maybe we’ll need a stadium.”

Explore Rochester's first-ever meetup in 2014. PHOTO PROVIDED

Steve Carter. PHOTO BY ROBERTO FELIPE

Justin Dusett. PHOTO BY MIKE MARTINEZ

The Dish

BITE-SIZED NEWS

Mother-son duo Dean DeSain and Toni Lese opened Papito’s Burritos in Lyons two years ago before relocating to the former James Brown’s Place at 1356 Culver Road this past March. Previously, DeSain spent 10 years in the Los Angeles hospitality scene, and bases his cuisine on the fresh flavors of SoCal street food. The extensive menu features tortas, tacos and a beer batter fish fry. Papito’s Burritos is open six days a week (closed Wednesdays).

In opening and closing news, John’s Tex Mex announced it would serve its last burrito on Saturday, June 8 with

a goodbye party on Sunday, June 9 (check their social media for updates); and a new club and event space, BITOA, has opened at 295 Alexander Street (in the former Mex location). In the Neighborhood of Play, a sign is up for new coffee joint Medorahouse, which is also supposed to include the cereal-based concept JAM (short for ‘Just Add Milk’). And Cheshire, which relocated from the building at 647 South Ave. that now houses Martine, will have a re-opening party at their new digs around the corner, 695 S. Clinton Ave. on May 31 from 6 - 11 p.m.

WHET YOUR PALATE

A new downtown offshoot of westside caterer Farmhouse Table Food, bite rochester, will open soon at 90 S. Clinton Ave. The popular catering company retains the name and space formerly operated by Jessica Randle, owner of The Acorn Exchange at nearby 75 S. Clinton Ave. The building, once a skyway connecting Midtown Plaza to other downtown buildings, has undergone

FOOD AND BEV NEWS, GOSSIP, AND GATHERINGS CURATED BY

LEAH STACY

several hospitality iterations in the past six years, including Café Sol, SKYWAY ROC, and VOLO Osteria and Enoteca. When it reopens, bite rochester will focus on easy, grab-andgo foods for nearby office workers. biteroc.com

FOR THE LOCAVORES

Local startup Home Chow Founder Gabriel Ankamafio’s vision began in Ghana, where he set out to simplify busy lives by providing ready-to-eat meals. Today, more than 50 businesses in Monroe County and beyond rely on Home Chow to feed thousands of employees, and with 5,000 kiosks projected to be deployed by 2025, the company’s impact is rapidly growing. From June 21 - 29, Home Chow will be set up at Rochester International Jazz Festival, showcasing 10 self-service hot food kiosks where festival goers can enjoy gourmet meals from nine different cuisines, curated by professional chefs. Each kiosk will be stocked with anywhere from 24 to 120 ready-to-eat, restockedhourly meals to ensure guests receive the freshest quality. homechow.co

FOOD FÊTES

Through October 8, Market Days take place each Sunday from 1 - 5 p.m. at The International Plaza, 828 N. Clinton Ave., featuring Latinx vendors, music and more. Several holidays will also be celebrated during Market Days in June: Pride (June 2) and Father’s Day (June 16). A Juneteenth celebration will take place on Wednesday, June 19.

Rochester Cocktail Revival takes place June 3 - 9, with 82 ticketed and free events at more than 30 venues downtown. From late night bar parties and a cocktail garden soiree at the George Eastman Museum to five-course spirit pairing dinners and the climactic Bar Room Battle Royale showdown between local barkeeps, there’s something for all ages and interests during New York’s only weeklong spirits festival. A portion of proceeds raised benefit Cancer Support Community at Gilda’s Club Rochester. rochestercocktailrevival.com

SWAN FAMILY OF RESTAURANTS INTRODUCES

restaurant

Our restaurant is open Wednesday through Saturday, [5-11p]

New American menu and classic cocktails.

Brunch on Sundays. [11-3p]

social club

The hospitality space can host private events ranging from celebrations to supper clubs, pop-ups, weddings, and one-of-a-kind evenings. events@swanfamilyofrestaurants.com

Groan

PUZZLE

BY S.J. AUSTIN & J. REYNOLDS

ACROSS

1. Art medium made from powdered pigment

7. Russian novelist Dostoevsky

13. Univ. whose alumni include the founders of HuffPost and Buzzfeed

16. Gas station convenience

19. “Fifty Shades of Grey” protagonist Anastasia

20. Innermost layer of eye tissue

21. Baseball bat wood

22. “Unstoppable” singer

23. ** “Why didn’t the bicycle stand up by itself?”

25. Golfer’s target

26. Bond, for one

27. Backtalk

28. Foundation

29. What you might put on before going to a snooty party

31. Madonna title role

33. Upright

35. Ingredient in many skin care products

36. Add cumin, e.g.

37. Lange’s “Cape Fear” co-star

40. Remembrances often hosted on funeral home websites, for short

43. ** “What did the janitor yell when he jumped out of the closet?”

45. Salad dressing made with anchovies

47. Principles

50. “Je t’_____” (French expression of love)

51. Consumed

52. Post-_____

54. Warning signal

56. With 111-across, the puzzle’s theme

59. Inquires

61. Fifth word of the US national anthem

62. Basketballer’s revolution

64. Largest desert in the world

67. Very: Fr.

69. _____-Mo

70. Used to be

72. Many a summertime TV episode

73. ** “Why shouldn’t you give Elsa a balloon?”

79. App customers

80. One of three on a sloth’s rear leg

81. Even one

82. Chemical suffixes

83. Most reasonable

85. Sportscaster Musburger

87. Collection of scenes

88. Weak, as an excuse

92. FDR’s successor

93. Sheds tears

95. Sounded a horn

98. Poetic tribute

99. Does, e.g.

101. Etta James hit often used as a first wedding dance

103. Form anew

105. ** “What do you call using the bathroom in Italy?”

109. Pin holders

111. See 56-across

112. Essence

113. Apple tablet

116. Pie nut

118. Chowder morsels

119. Farm out building

120. Like day-old bakery bread

122. Hook’s first mate

126. Letters in many a baby boomer’s email address

127. Singer Yoko

129. ** “What do you call a manufacturing facility that makes products that are just okay?”

132. Light touch

133. Mafia boss

134. Dishearten

135. Sarcastic baby on “Family Guy”

136. Toyko, once

137. Mother sheep

138. Largest US state

139. Brought in DOWN

1. Pitchfork-shaped letters

2. Lead-in to boy or girl

3. Stitches

4. Groups of cups and saucers

5. Chicago trains

6. Leave alone

7. ** “What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire?”

8. Brand of insulated drinkware

9. Soul singer Redding

10. NNE or SSW

11. 7’1” four-time N.B.A. champion

12. The “R” of NPR

13. Rand McNally items

14. “This ___ test”

15. End of a school day, often

16. St. Francis of ___

17. Walk quietly

18. Central American pyramid builders

24. Texas site of a 1993 siege

30. Hi-___

32. Low-lying region

34. Set of sheets?

35. Free ___ bird

36. Barbecue rods

37. Final Four org.

38. Common ingredient in cereal bars

39. Onion relative used in soups

41. Suffix with glycer-

42. Philadelphia university

44. Former Mideast org.

46. Mother’s Day delivery

48. Washroom, in Worcester

49. At a snail’s pace

53. Put back to zero

55. List-ending abbr.

56. What tiny fish do

57. Cut ___ (dance)

58. Paul of “There Will Be Blood”

60. Gawk

63. Hawkeye State native

65. Museo contents

66. Bank job

68. N.B.A.’s Westbrook, to fans

69. Everest guide

71. Smooth-talking

73. President George or George W.

74. Those: Sp.

75. Penny

76. Drink brand with a lizard logo

77. Seeing as

78. Button on 16-across

84. Twitter post (What are we even supposed to call it now?)

86. Guinness book suffix

87. ** “What do you call spaghetti that won’t stick to anything?”

89. Catchy part of a song

90. Not doing anything

91. Stark and Flanders, for two

94. Big Band _____

96. Buckeyes’ sch.

97. ___ vu

99. Campus room

100. One of nine in “Star Wars”

102. High efficiency bulb tech

104. Godzilla, for example

105. Houdini feat

106. Send to the cloud, say

107. Classic theater name

108. Actress Vardalos

110. Word with care or aware

114. “The Devil Wears ___”

115. Photographer Adams

117. Stop

119. Shade of white

120. Fr. holy women

121. Clock sound

123. Like fairways

124. The “E” of HOMES

125. Sized up

128. This very second

130. 1977 Steely Dan album

131. Windy City transportation org.

Gentles Farm Market

Selling local fresh fruits and vegetables for over 100 years.

1080 Penfield Rd Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm Sunday 9am-5pm Open May-October gentlesfarm.com