The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival will feature the great Bonnie Raitt on June 27th at the Festival’s 20th-anniversary edition. More than just a best-selling artist, expressive singer, and accomplished songwriter, Bonnie Raitt will bring her “Just Like That…Tour” on Tuesday, June 27th, 2023. The festival will be held from June 23rd to July 1st, 2023, in downtown Rochester.
The infamous Raitt has become an institution in American music. Born to a musical family, the ten-time Grammy winner is the daughter of celebrated Broadway singer John Raitt and accomplished pianist/singer Marge Goddard. Raitt was raised in Los Angeles where she grew up to have a respect for the arts and a commitment to social activism.
Bonnie is as known for her lifelong commitment to social activism as she is for her music. She has long been involved with the environmental movement, doing concerts around oil, nuclear power, mining, water and forest protection since the mid 70’s.
She even stated, “I’ve always wanted to make a record here, and once vaccinations made traveling safe again, we were thrilled to get everyone back together.” The mix of sounds and approaches on Just Like That…reveals how, 50 years after the release of her debut album, Bonnie Raitt continues to personify what it means to stay creative, adventurous, and daring over the course of a life’s work. “I think the absolute joy and relief of reuniting to play live music is really palpable on this record.”
With Just Like That…, this is her twenty-first album and first new release in more than six years. Rolling Stone even named her as both one of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” and one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.” Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bonnie Raitt continues to draw on the range of influences that have shaped her legendary career.
Tickets for Bonnie Raitt at CGI Rochester International Jazz Fest range in price from: Boxes $140, Orchestra $125, Loge/Mezzanine $105, Balcony $85. Tickets go on sale Friday, December 16th at 10am. To purchase, click the link here or call (585) 454-2060.
On Friday, February 17, 2023, rock-trio King Buffalo, will be performing at Empire Underground on their just announced tour, along with an appearance by special guests, Swell the Fellas. The group is returning from their tour with Clutch, and more recently with Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, from their spring tour in North America.
King Buffalo
Members of the Rochester-based group are vocalist and guitarist, Sean McVay, bassist Dan Reynolds, and drummer Scott Donaldson. The band has released a total of four full-length EPs, “Acheron”, “The Burden of Restlessness”, “Dead Star”, “Longing to Be the Mountain” and “Orion”, since their formation in 2013 and most recently had their fifth full-length EP called “Regenerator” released on Sept. 2, 2022.
Empire Underground Performance of King Buffalo Poster
The album “Regenerator” is a pinnacle piece demonstrating a modern psychedelic sound production, while containing elements which stretch the stylistic boundaries of the underground rock genre. The band’s self release in North America and through the Europe-based company, Stickman Records, serves as a leading thematical counterpart to their prior projects, such as the 2016’s “Orion” debut, 2018’s “Longing to Be the Mountain”, as well as other EPs.
Drummer Scott Donaldson, discussed with NYS Music about King Buffalo and their most recently released album, Regenerator.
Heather Occhino: How did your band come together and what made you decide to be drummer?
Scott Donaldson: We formed from 2 bands from the Rochester area. As my band was breaking, so was Sean’s and Dan’s. I approached them about doing some stuff together and we had a natural chemistry, and have been rolling since then.
HO: How do you manage all the aspects of being in a band and still find time to make music?
SD: Being a musician and managing the day to day is a full time job. Fortunately, I’m able to handle the business side of things. When it comes to making music, we all jam together and form new some ideas. At this point, Sean will take the recordings and rearrange the ideas to form a more cohesive structure. Then we work through those ideas together until the song is complete.
HO: How you would you describe your music?
SD: We’re basically a new age classic rock band. We can be grouped into sub genres like psychedelic rock, stoner, metal, prog and so forth but we don’t really tie ourselves to any specific category.
HO: How were prior tour performances both in and outside of the U.S? Have you seen a growth in your listening base since then?
SD: We have seen significant growth since the pandemic in both Europe and North America. It’s nice to have some recognition since next year will be ten years as a band, but there is plenty more still to accomplish.
HO: Are there any artists who influence your sound or inspire you creatively?
SD: I think each of us are inspired daily by numerous influences. It’s impossible to pick any because anything can have a placebo that you might not even realize.
Tickets for the performance at Empire Underground can be bought here.
The Kodak Center in Rochester on Friday, November 4th hosted the legendary Steve Vai. Playing this small city for the first time since he played at the same venue on the “Generation Axe” tour in 2018, this show was in support of his 2022 Inviolate album.
Steve Vai- Photo credit- Mike Miller
The band behind the sixty two year old Steve Vai hasn’t changed at all within the last nine years or so. Jeremy Colson on drums, Dave Weiner on guitar/sitar/acoustic has now added keys to his arsenal on the side of the stage, and rounded up by Philip Bynoe on six string bass guitar.
The beautiful venue had some tickets for sale at the door many fans were seen purchasing last minute. The lights dimmed down at the scheduled start time of 8pm, with a little call and response part while Steve was standing off to the side of the stage. He was getting the crowd to howl and sing along to the noises he was making with his trusty Ibanez Jem guitar, much like the start of the David Lee Roth classic “Yankee Rose” with the talking guitar or like his mentor Joe Satriani’s crowd chant.
Jeremy Colson
Steve finally walks onto the stage and after a little improv jam with the band then they immediately launch into a track called “Avalancha” from his new album. This is an upbeat number to kick off the show, lots of double bass drumming in this one with Jeremy attacking his Tama Starclassic drum set on this very melody driven song despite the rhythm shifts.
During the show Steve explained to the crowd he had to reschedule his tour due to an accident. He told the crowd he was making pizza in his pizza oven and injured his shoulder in the process. He thanked the crowd many times for attending as this venue was different than the originally scheduled one.
Dave Weiner
In total Steve played twenty songs for about a two hour set time. Each band member was given a solo spot thought the show. Drummer Jeremy started his drum solo with a didgeridoo which the crowd did not expect, but welcomed.
During the song, “Teeth of the Hydra”, Vai played a three-necked Ibanez guitar. Which is a twelve string neck, a seven string neck, and a bass neck. During “For the Love of God” Vai brought out his audio monitor engineer Danny G who sang opera for the first verse and chorus. Vai is currently on tour for another month.
Setlist: Avalanche, Giant Balls of Gold, Little Pretty, Tender Surrender, Lights Are On, Candlepower, Bass solo, Building the Church, Guitar solo, Greenish Blues, Bad Horsie, I’m Becoming, Whisper a Prayer, Dyin’ Day, Drum solo, Teeth of the Hydra, Zeus in Chains, Liberty, For the Love of God Encore: Fire Garden Suite I- Bull Whip
From Rochester, Max Doud is making major strides in his career by releasing his first single of the year titled “Spin In Place” at just 17 years old. The professionalism and polish that went into this new release is just the beginning of hearing and seeing Doud’s truest capabilities.
Max Doud is a 17 year old musician (singer/songwriter/guitarist) and a student of Elvio Fernandes’ Roc Academy in Rochester, NY. Max performs all over the city as a solo act, as a duo with drummer Brennan Dornberger (5 Second Rule), and with his Roc Academy band Own the Night.
“Spin In Place” is a contemporary rock song, driven by commanding instrumentals and showcases Doud’s vocal ability. The track is the first to be co-written with Steve Sopcheck, helping compliment and fine tune Doud’s musical prowess as a young, evolving musician.
Not only is this new release Doud’s first on record musical entry for the year, but it’s also his first single to be released in conjunction with Sin Eater Entertainment. On his new endeavor with Sin Eater Entertainment, he comments: “I am also super exited for my journey to begin with Sin Eater and getting to see the more technical side of creating music and I can’t wait to see where it goes!”
Max Doud describes the meaning of his newest single by saying, “The song is about the journey that one would take to reach a goal in life that they have, while everything is still happening all around them whether it’s troubles or triumphs. You still want to reach that goal no matter what and that’s how life is for me right now. I want people to keep chasing their dreams no matter what and continue down their paths in life. This song helps me feel motivated in that sense.”
“Yes, he likes to sleep until noon. Yes, he has to be reminded to clean his room. But this kid has been playing solo gigs in bars since he was 12 years old. And did you know he co-wrote his first original song at only 13 years old? He puts 110% into everything he’s passionate about…further proven by the fact he earned a black belt in karate at the young age of 10! Every weekend you can bet you’ll find Max playing somewhere in Rochester, NY…whether it is a solo gig, or with his duo 5 Second Rule with drummer Brennan Dornberger, or his Roc Academy band, Own the Night you can be certain you’ll be entertained!”
Wren Cove released its debut EP entitled Trees by Basement Factory Music on Aug. 1. Wren Cove is an instrumental band consists of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Cloninger,a former member of Daniel Bennett Group, and cellist Melissa Davies of the band Cottage Street.
Wren Cove “Trees”
They met in a record studio when Cloninger was recording his first EP in 10 years while Davies came to record the cello parts. This session was the beginning of an interesting musical journey. They hope to bring one-of-a-kind instrumental performances to the Rochester and Finger Lakes region.
Melissa Davies lives in Rochester, NY, with her husband and two children. She is the cellist in the indie rock group Cottage Street Band and enjoys creating art installations and murals. Andrew Cloninger resides in Canandaigua, NY, with his wife and son. He was the primary singer/songwriter in various Americana roots bands as well as the founding guitarist in the Daniel Bennett Group. Over the years Andrew has shared the stage with such acts as Father John Misty, Unwed Sailor, Joy Electric, and jazz great Charlie Hunter.
Opening with cello solo, then transitioned to the combination of cello and drums through a series of electronic static, synth, and guitar melody, the first song of the EP “Wheeler” brought out a powerful energy.
The next song “Douglas” is more tender. Davies’s cello flew out like a continuous running river, and Cloninger’s guitar is adding drops on the river like rain.
Overall, the pieces in the EP conveys a sence of nature. Referring back to its name Trees, the cello is the steady main stream while the guitar and other instruments injected modern enegery into the songs. Their further performances on Sept. 10 at Pollot Gallery in NYC and Oct. 9 at Big aLICe Brewery in Geneva worth expectations.
On Aug. 19, Anthrax was set to play their 40th-anniversary tour at the Armory in Rochester. With support from the Black Label Society and Hatebreed, but that did not fully happen. Only Hatebreed got to play a part of their set before ending early. They were supposed to play 17 songs but only played 13 of them. Then almost an hour later, it was announced to the fans there was an issue and the rest of the show would be canceled.
Due to unforeseen production issues, the show tonight at the Main Street Armory in Rochester had to be canceled by both ANTHRAX and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY as it was unsafe for the bands to perform. ANTHRAX and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY do not cancel shows lightly but we could not put the health and safety of the bands and crew at risk. All of the bands tonight apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment. We will be back to Rochester to rock another time. Refunds are available at the point of purchase starting Tuesday, August 23.
Statement from the band
ANTHRAX’s guitarist Scott Ian also took to his personal Twitter to write: “Rochester we didn’t want to cancel, we had to. The stage was broken, the venue did not fix it and it was not safe to continue the show. It’s shitty for you, it’s shitty for us. We’ll be back my friends, on a real stage.”
Hatebreed
Drummer Matt Byrne. Photo credit- Mike Miller
Hatebreed is an American metalcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album Satisfaction is the Death of Desire in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universal Records and released Perseverance in 2002, which hit the Billboard 200. Combining elements of hardcore and heavy metal, the band is often described as metalcore, hardcore punk, and beatdown hardcore band. They have played a major role in the Connecticut hardcore scene.
On July 19th, August Burns Red graced Rochester with their presence at Anthology during the Through The Thorns tour. On this tour, they were accompanied by Void of Vision, HollowFront, and We Came As Romans. Void of Vision kicked things off with their very enthusiastic front man Jack Bergin. Following them was Hollow Front who formed only a few short years ago.
Hollow Front
And to step up to the stage after them was We Came As Romans, a band that has been around since 2005 and has been through many member changes. As their set went on, the front man, Dave Stephens was definitely not one to stay still as he went from one side of the stage to other and at one point, stepped off the stage to the barrier in front of the crowd.Â
August Burns Red
Then finally we have the heavy hitter, August Burns Red. As everyone was waiting for them to take the stage, a very popular song was playing, “Chop Suey” by System Of A Down, which isn’t uncommon since they play a variety of songs in between bands but this was in fact, August Burns Red intro song as not long ago they released it as a cover. From the first song, to the last, their performance seemed flawless and on top of that, everyone was treated to a light show. To close out the night, one song they typically save for last is “White Washed,” which is one heck of a banger and is a perfect one to end the show.
Blues and soul singer Ali McGuirk has announced upcoming shows in promotion of her new album, Til It’s Gone, which is set for release on September 16 via Signature Sounds. The songwriter shared her single, “All Back,” on July 20 ahead of the album.
McGuirk grew up outside of Boston before calling Burlington, Vermont, home. The singer-songwriter always knew she wanted to become an artist and her inspirations include Lauryn Hill, Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan, and Abbey Lincoln. McGuirk’s music has explored multiple genres, but the upcoming album leans into its blues foundation.
Celebrated folk-blues songwriter Jonah Tolchin helped produce Til It’s Gone alongside McGuirk, allowing for emotional tracks, guitar interludes, and delicate moments in the album. “All Back,” the first single off of the record, is an easy groove. McGuirk wrote the track about the end of the pandemic, and the track combines a vintage sound and a recent event into one.
Surviving the pandemic as an artist required some faith and this song felt like a little prayer of hope and resilience … we are faced with pandemics, climate chaos, ever-deepening inequality, and so much ignorance, but we learned a lot in March 2020 about our ability to adapt and I need to believe that it’s going to be alright, but we’ve got to do something right now.
– Ali McGuirk on “All Back”
McGuirk recorded much of the upcoming record in Los Angeles and included collaborations with an impressive lineup of artists. Legendary guitarist Fred Tackett of Little Feat, organist Larry Goldings, singer Valerie Pinkston, percussionist Lenny Castro, and more helped finalize the complete sounds of the album.
The nine-track album, with intimate introspections, and thoughts on oppression and justice, would not be the same without McGuirk’s signature, hypnotic vocals. Take a listen to the first track, “All Back,” and see the full list of tour dates for the upcoming record, below.
Ali McGuirk On Tour:
Sept. 16 – Nashville, TN – Five Spot (AMERICANAFEST)
Sept. 17 – Easthampton, MA – Arcadia Music Festival
Oct. 1 – Albany, NY – The Linda
Oct. 2 – Portsmouth, NH – The Press Room
Oct. 5 – Lancaster, PA – Tellus360
Oct. 6 – Brooklyn, NY – The Bell House
Oct. 7 – Somerville, MA – The Crystal Ballroom at the Somerville
On November 18, Ice Nine Kills, Black Veil Brides, and Motionless In White, will come to MVP Arena as a part of their Trinity of Terror fall tour with additional stops in NY.
The fall tour will be the third leg of the massively popular tour and will see the three bands travel all over North America with more than 30 stops and more dates to be announced. The new Trinity of Terror dates will begin on October 31 in Texas with NY stops including MVP Arena, The Armory, and Madison Square Garden.
The triple co-headline tour brings together some of the best talents in modern hard rock. Motionless In White, originally from Scranton, PA, has earned acclaim with its releases including Reincarnate (2014), Graveyard Shift (2017), and most recently, Scoring The End of the World (2022).
Black Veil Brides, a postmodern heavy metal act brings a powerhouse of sound with the thematic and imaginative The Phamton Tomorrow album release. Ice Nine Kills, with theatrical shows, intense multi-media, and immense creativity will also be a must-see on this tour.
During Trinity of Terror, Ice Nine Kills, Black Veil Brides, and Motionless In White will alternate closing sets each night and special guest Atreyu is also set to join them. Tickets are available to purchase for the general public on August 5, 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of newly announced tour dates, see below.
2022 “TRINITY OF TERROR” TOUR DATES:
^Newly Added Leg 3 Date | #Radio Show | *Festival Date | + Not A Live Nation Date | (October 7 – No Black Veil Brides)
August 30 – Denver, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre#
September 3 – Omaha, NE – Liberty First Credit Union Arena
September 4 – Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma*
September 6 – Fort Wayne, IN – Allen County War Memorial Expo Center
September 7 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
September 9 – Scranton, PA – Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
September 10 – Alton, VA – Blue Ridge Rock Fest*
September 11 – Asheville, NC – Exploreasheville.com Arena
September 13 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
September 14 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
September 16 – Bonner Springs, MO – Azura Amphitheater
September 17 – Saint Charles, MO – The Family Arena
September 18 – Cincinnati, OH – ICON at The Andrew J Brady Music Center
October 7 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock*
October 22 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young*
October 23 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young*
October 29 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young*
October 31 – El Paso, TX – El Paso County Coliseum^
November 1 – Lubbock, TX – Lonestar Events Center^+
November 05 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Civic Center Coliseum^
November 07 – Biloxi, MS – Mississippi Coast Coliseum^
November 08 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center^
November 10 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Arena^
November 12 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory^
November 13 – Gary, IN – Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana^
November 15 – Baltimore, MD – Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena^
November 17 – Lowell, MA – Tsongas Arena^+
November 18 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena^+
November 19 – Toronto, ON – Coca Cola Coliseum^
November 21 – Laval, QC – Place Bell^
November 22 – Rochester, NY – The Armory^+
November 23 – New York, NY – HULU Theater at Madison Square Garden^
November 26 – Orlando, FL – Orlando Amphitheater^
November 27 – Boca Raton, FL – Sunset Cove Ampitheater^+
November 29 – Corbin, KY – Corbin Arena^+
December 11 – Portland, OR – Theater of the Clouds at Moda Center^
San Diego band Mrs. Henry annouced their Chest Fever tour dates to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the release of legendary rock group The Band‘s Rock of Ages album. The last two stops of this tour will be at Photo City Music Hall in Rochester on August 14th and The Sultan Room in Brooklyn on August 15.
Mrs. Henry is led by Dan Cervantes (Howlin Rain guitarist + Blind Owl label owner), and is rounded out by Jody Bagley (Vocals and Keyboards), Blake Dean (Vocals and Bass), and Chad Lee (Vocals and Drums). After West Coast tour in 2015, the group spent the last five years on the road building a reputation for their brand. In turn, they established individual credits including Howlin’ Rain, The Schizophonics, The Silent Comedy.
Chest Fever by Stacey Webb
The idea of Chest Fever started in 2017 when Mrs. Henry set their sights on recreating the historic 1976 night where The Band documented their legendary final performance The Last Waltz. The stress in the one-year planning and rehearsing nearly broke up the band. However, they entirely performed the Last Waltz on November 26, 2017.
The group performed The Last Waltz again in November 2021 at Solana Beach. After the sold out performance, the group set out to continue their sights on honoring The Band and their impact on rock and roll.
Now, with the official approval from The Band itself, the group is back to recreate The Band’s Rock of Ages live album to mark the 50th anniversary of it. Rock of Ages, a collection of live recordings from The Band’s four night 1971 residency at the Academy of Music in New York City featured Howard Johnson, Snooky Young, Joe Farrell, J.D. Parron, Earl McIntyre and suprised guest Bob Dylan, underscored The Band’s ambitious on-stage vision, and further cemented their place in rock music history.
Each night Chest Fever will be performing songs from Rock of Ages, including “Caledonia Mission,” “The Unfaithful Servant,” “Get Up Jake,” and of course “Chest Fever.” They will additionally be cycling in a number of deeper cuts from The Band’s oeuvre, including “Rockin’ Chair,” “Time To Kill,” as well as classics originally left out Rock of Ages including “Up on Cripple Creek,” “I Shall Be Released,” and more.
“The first time I heard The Band was when I was a young kid seeing The Last Waltz over Thanksgiving. My Dad played the video or rented from Blockbuster at the time, that just lit a fire.
Mrs. Henry member Dan Cervantes
The group will be performing alongside local horn sections from each city to recreate the iconic contributions from Johnson, Young, Farrel, McIntyre, and Parron, while additionally featuring a special guest in select towns to perform the 4 song Bob Dylan set from the original residency. Each concert will feature slight variations to give audiences a unique experience.
The band will feature an all-star group of accomplished and celebrated players at the final tour stop at Brooklyn’s Sultan Room on August 15th, including trumpeter Eric Biondo, sousaphone and tuba player John Altieri, saxophonist Stuart Bogie, and trombonist Dave ‘Smoota’ Smith.
Chest Fever Tour Dates
7/20 – Costa Mesa, CA @ Wayfarer 7/21 – Chico, CA @ Argus Bar 7/22 – Sunnyvale, CA @ Quarter Note Bar 7/23 – Red Bluff, CA @ Rock Of Red Bluff Festival 7/24 – San Francisco, CA @ The Park Side 7/29 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah San Diego 8/4 – Woodstock, GA @ Madlife Stage & Studios 8/5 – Louisville, KY @ Whirling Tiger 8/6 – Cleveland, OH @ The Winchester Bar 8/7- Columbus, OH @ The Summit Music Hall 8/8 – Columbus, OH @ The Summit Music Hall 8/10 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ El Mocambo 8/11- Pittsburgh, PA @t Thunderbird Music Hall 8/12 – Burlington, VT @ Nectar’s 8/13 – Brattleboro, VT @ Stone Church 8/14 – Rochester, NY @ Photo City Music Hall 8/15 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Sultan Room
