Hochstein at High Falls Concert Series

Noontime Summer Concert Series Begins Downtown

 

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For the third consecutive summer, the city’s High Falls District will be filled with the sounds of local music talent during the lunchtime hour.

The High Falls Business Association has once again teamed up with the Hochstein School of Music & Dance and WXXI to present Hochstein at High Falls, a noontime summer concert series. The concerts are sponsored by Ardent Learning Center, M5 Networks Inc., Entercom Communications, SEI Group, HUNT Engineers, Stantec, LaBella Associates, The Mills at High Falls, Norry Management Corporation, Phoenix Graphics, Roberts Communications, Partners + Napier, and Ward Greenberg law firm.

The series features 10 outdoor concerts on Thursday afternoons, beginning at 12:15 p.m., during June, July (except July 7) and August. Weather permitting, each show will take place in the Granite Mills Park, located near the Pont de Rennes Bridge and Caribbean Chateau. If it should rain the concerts will be held inside the High Falls Center. The concerts will feature a wide range of musical artists and instructors. Food and beverage vendors will be on location. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own seating. Each performance will run approximately 30 minutes.

The featured musical talent will vary each week, including light classical, reggae, jazz, blues, brass funk, Latin, folk, country, and dance music.

Ten performances have been confirmed:
June 9

THUNDER BODY

www.thunderbody.com

This five-member group with roots in reggae and experimental dub features founder Matthew O’Brian on vocals and drums; Rachel Orke on rhodes, clavinet, melodic and space sounds; Jeremiah Pacheco on bass guitar; Dennis Mariano on guitar and vocals; and Brian Blatt on space sounds.

  

June 16                                    

The Dady Brothers

www.dadybros.com/index.html

John and Joe Dady perform a wide range of musical styles, including country, bluegrass, folk and Irish. The versatile duo plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, bodhran, banjo, uilleann pipes, harmonica, and even pennywhistle.

 

June 23

Katie Ernst

www.katieernst.com/

A jazz vocalist and bass player, Katie Ernst has performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival; Chicago Cultural Center; and the Naperville Jazz Festival as well as jazz clubs throughout the east coast and midwest. She also will perform for the second time at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival June 11. Ernst is currently studying jazz and double bass as a Rogers Scholar at the Eastman School of Music. 

 

June 30

Windsor Folk Family

www.facebook.com/windsorfolkfamily

www.myspace.com/windsorfolkfamily

The Windsor Folk Family, an old-time string band from Rochester, features Geoff Saunders on banjo; Michelle Younger on guitar; Zach Piper on fiddle; and Joy Adams on cello. This show will mark the bluegrass and folk group’s first appearance at the Hochstein at High Falls Summer Concert Series.

 

July 14            

Po’ Boys Brass                                   

www.poboysbrassband.com/index.html

Po’ Boys Brass is a seven-piece brass, funk and rock band featuring a four-trombone front line backed up by guitar, drums and sousaphone. The band’s current lineup of musicians features Eastman School of Music alumni and current students, including a radio announcer, country singer, doctoral candidate and even a dean.

 

July 21

Fred Vine and Brian Williams

www.fredvine.com

Fred Vine, a singer and finger-style guitar player from Rochester, will be accompanied by Brian Williams on the stand-up bass during a performance of blues, acoustic and folk music. Their flexible style incorporates arrangements that encompass everything from the sounds of rootsy blues to swinging jazz. 

 

July 28           

Mambo Kings

www.mambokingdom.com/index.html

Together since 1995, Rochester’s Mambo Kings have earned a national reputation for their explosive blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. Since their orchestral debut with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 1997, Mambo Kings have appeared in Pops concerts with orchestras in Baltimore, Vancouver, Detroit, Dallas, Naples, Fla., and Portland, Ore., among others, performing original compositions and arrangements by pianist Richard DeLaney.

 

August 4

The Moho Collective

www.themohocollective.com/ 

The Moho Collective combines creativity, music and visual art, with influences in jazz, soul, funk, rock, and folk. Featuring Kurt Johnson on guitar and pedal steel, Justin Rister on bass and effects, and Ryan Barclay on percussion, this Rochester-based trio strives to use their music to create community art and innovation.

 

August 11

CASH Back

www.facebook.com/pages/CASH-Back

Inspired by the great Johnny Cash, CASH Back performs country and folk music from artists such as Bob Marley, Soundgarden, Neil Young and Willie Nelson. The group includes T. J. Ricer on vocals and bass; Allan Ward on drums; and Eric Carlin on guitar.

 

August 18

Walri

www.walriloverock.com

Known to their fans as “Love Rock,” Walri integrates 1960s retro pop, jazz, 1970s funk, and modern rock-and-roll music. The University of Rochester’s 2007 Battle of the Bands winner, Walri is comprised of Amos Rose, Chris Coon, Benny Oyama and Danny Rose. The band has shared the stage with a number of famous acts, including Dr. Dog, Ben Lee, Reel Big Fish, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Elf Power and other members of the Elephant Six Collective. Walri has performed in such cities as Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Boston, New York and Chicago.

For more information about Hochstein at High Falls, visit  www.wxxi.org and www.hochstein.org, or contact Cheri Trimble Miller at 585-454-4403 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The concert series also can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter.

About High Falls Business Association

The High Falls Business Association is a diverse group of businesses located in downtown Rochester's vibrant High Falls District. Members are proud to support business development in the historic environment and spectacular natural surroundings that make High Falls unique. For High Falls news, events and a business directory, please visit the new Facebook page.

About Hochstein School of Music & Dance

Since 1920, Hochstein School of Music & Dance has served as Rochester’s Community School of the Arts—welcoming, nurturing, and challenging students of all ages and levels of skill, regardless of ability to pay. Thanks to the school’s exceptional 140-member faculty, Hochstein annually serves as many as 4,000 students in the school’s Music & Dance and Music Therapy Programs, located at the central Rochester campus (which boasts the elegant Performance Hall) and now at Hochstein at Canandaigua, an extension program serving the Finger Lakes region. Find out more by visiting www.hochstein.org.

About WXXI

WXXI is the essential, life-long educational media resource for the Greater Rochester area. WXXI puts the community first with programming that stimulates and expands thought, inspires the spirit, opens cultural horizons and promotes understanding of diverse community issues. Log on to www.wxxi.org for more information about services and programs.