The "Riverside Concerts Presents" 2019-20 Concert Series. Season Tickets and Member Pre-Sale tickets on sale Monday, Au

Steven J. Schmidt - Recipient of the 2016 Sally Irvine Ordway award for Commitment, recognizing lifetime achievement, contribution and leadership in the arts and/or culture.

Welcome to the new Riverside Concerts Presents! season.  I think you will find that our 2019/20 offerings will continue to build on the excitement that Riverside Concerts, your City of Rochester Music Department, generated during the Summer of Purple.  As I write this, we are looking forward to a stellar performance by PRINCE’s former band, THE REVOLUTION, which will close the 2019 Think Bank Down by the Riverside concert series. 

What a summer it has already been!  We initiated our new forWARD concert series, our Down by the Riverside “lite” programming that will eventually bring events to parks in each municipal ward.  We also programmed a Salsa Dance Party featuring SALSA DEL SOUL during Rochesterfest and presented PETTY FEVER as part of Salute to the Forth.  Looking ahead, we will soon host a World Music residency by the “must see” Celtic band CONNLA.  Audiences from across the region have been and will continue to be delighted by our programming during the "Summer of Purple".

As we move indoors, Riverside Concerts Presents! will feature several Minnesota-based artists.  World Music will also take “center stage” as we host residencies and concerts featuring Latina, Tuvan and Celtic artists.  And, just for fun, we’ve booked a return engagement by THE FAB FOUR:  The Ultimate Beatles Tribute. 

Through these offerings, the Music Department intends to help the city to become more alive and vibrant and enhance the “quality of life” of Rochester residents and visitors.  I hope that you might appreciate how diverse these concerts will be.  While some of the artists will certainly be recognizable, I hope that you will take the opportunity to discover music that might be unfamiliar to you this season.  What a special thing it is for the City of Rochester to create opportunities for you to experience music from other cultures and soundscapes created by rising stars with alternative artistic views!

As I have written in the past, music really does have the power to bring people together and show us how essential creativity is to the human condition.  These 2019/20 Riverside Concerts Presents! events are designed to help the City of Rochester Music Department meet its mission -- to offer a comprehensive and accessible music program.  Please join us on the musical journey we have charted for you this season.  I hope to see you at several of our upcoming concerts.

Musically yours,

Steven J. Schmidt, General Manager
City of Rochester Music Department/Riverside Concerts

GAELIC STORM – Thu Sept 19, 7:30 PM

Mayo Civic Center - Presentation Hall

Their appearance in the blockbuster film Titanic (where they performed “Irish Party in Third Class”) laid the groundwork for a career that would eventually find them topping the Billboard World Chart six times, making appearances at mainstream music festivals, and regularly headlining the largest Irish Festivals across the country, all the while gaining a reputation as a genre-bending Irish rock band, whose songs mix Celtic traditions with something uniquely creative. $32 (Public), $29 (Members)

LOW – Fri Oct 4, 7:30 PM

Mayo Civic Center - Presentation Hall

Built on the harmonic sensibilities of Alan Sparhawk (guitar and vocals) and Mimi Parker (percussion and vocals), Low has quietly produced one of the more challenging catalogues in indie music. Since forming in 1993, the Duluth, Minnesota–based band has refined its subtle and hypnotic sound over the course of 13 albums, launching a subgenre (“slowcore”) and becoming a dynamic force onstage. Low has crafted its most radical-sounding release to date with their latest album Double Negative (2018) which appeared on best-of-2018 lists by National Public Radio, Pitchfork, Stereogum, and Wire, among others. $32 (Public), $29 (Members)

SOUL ASYLUM – Sat Nov 2, 7:30 PM
Mayo Civic Center - Presentation Hall

Minneapolis-based pop/punk/rock band who helped shape the newly emerging contours of college radio alt-rock in the 80s before becoming Grammy-winning multi-platinum superstars in the 90s with indie anthems like “Misery”, “Somebody to Shove”, “Black Gold” and “Runaway Train” which won a 1994 Grammy as Best Rock Song. $37 (Public), $33.50 (Members)

LADAMA – Thu Nov 21, 7:00 PM

The Black Box at Rochester Civic Theatre

Ladama is a group of four women, virtuosic musicians, and educators -- Lara Klaus, Daniela Serna, Mafer Bandola and Sara Lucas—each from a different country and culture of the Americas, who are sisters in song, rhythm and spirit. Harnessing music from their respective countries of origin --Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the United States, the group utilizes traditional and non-traditional instruments from across the Americas, but with a modern twist, to produce Latin Alternative music. $17 (Public), $15.50 (Members)

Brought to you by the Friends of Riverside Concerts with additional support by the Mayo Clinic. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support Grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund

THE FAB FOUR – Fri Jan 17, 7:30 PM

Mayo Civic Center - Presentation Hall

Emmy Award Winning Fab Four is elevated far above every other Beatles Tribute due to their precise attention to detail. With uncanny, note-for-note live renditions of Beatles' classics such as "Can't Buy Me Love," "Yesterday," "A Day In The Life," "Twist And Shout," "Here Comes The Sun," and "Hey Jude", the Fab Four will make you think you are watching the real thing. Their incredible stage performances include three costume changes representing every era of the Beatles ever-changing career, and this loving tribute to the Beatles has amazed audiences in countries around the world! PRICES: $47 (Public), $42.50 (Members)

ALASH - Sat Mar 7, 7:30 PM

The Black Box at Rochester Civic Theatre

Alash are masters of Tuvan throat singing, a remarkable technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time. Masters of traditional Tuvan instruments as well as the art of throat singing, Alash are deeply committed to traditional Tuvan music and culture. Believing that traditional music must constantly evolve, the musicians subtly infuse their songs with western elements, creating their own unique style that is fresh and new, yet true to their Tuvan musical heritage. $17 (Public), $15.50 (Members)
 

This presentation is supported by the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from Minnesota State Arts Board and the Crane Group.