Five Can’t Miss Shows in Rochester This August

Although the summer is ending soon, the live music scene in Rochester is still as rockin’ as ever. Here are five eclectic picks to keep it going and close out your month in high style.

8/17 Alla Boara @ Lovin Cup

Providing modern arrangements of old, forgotten, perhaps nearly extinct Italian folk music, Alla Boara will likely sound like nothing you have heard before. Certainly it won’t be what you’re getting at the local Italian eateries! Put on by the good people at the Bop Shop, you know this show is going to be good.

Tickets are $20, and the show starts at 8 p.m.

8/18 Glyders @ Abilene

This Chicago trio roll out some fuzzed up psychedelic rock with a minimalist aesthetic. Their new album was released back in the earliest days of 2023 and they’re blowing through town to give you chance to see those tunes live. Local boys Leus Zeus will give a rare and anticipated performance in the opening slot.

Tickets are $10/$15dos and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.

8/25-8/26 Fairport Music Festival

The Annual Fairport Music Festival takes place across six stages for two days smack dab in the middle of the village of Fairport, bringing together incredible local talent with some national acts. They also raise a ton of money for the Golisano’s Children’s Hospital. Highlights of this year’s lineup are Magnolia Boulevard, The Campbell Brothers, Miller and the Other Sinners, and the John Payton Project.

Tickets are $20/$25dos and the music gets started at 4 p.m. Friday and 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

8/29 Mauskovic Dance Band @ Bug Jar

What you need is some berserk groovy dance punk from Amsterdam. The Mauskovic’s in the Mauskovic Dance Band aren’t actually related, but this music is highly relatable, and highly infectious. Local rockers Triglactogon open the show at Bug Jar.

Tickets are $15/$18dos and music starts around 9 p.m.


8/30 The Bad Plus @ The Little Theater

Alumni of the Rochester International Jazz Fest, The Bad Plus reinvented what it means to be a piano trio, and now they’ve reinvented themselves for the second time. Gone is Ethan Iverson on piano, gone is his replacement Orrin Evans, and in are Ben Monder on guitar and Chris Speed on saxophone. The core of bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King remains as does the band’s ethos and songbook.

Tickets are $35 and the show starts at 8 p.m.

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