This week we start with Ringo Starr and close with drag queens. So we have it all, although the Rochester Roast may have something to say about that. You’ll find the complete CITY calendar here.
Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band
7 p.m.
Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center
For this Memorial Day show, Starr’s band includes a lot of familiar names, if you’re familiar with the 1980s. That’s Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Men at Work vocalist Colin Hay, Kansas and Toto singer and saxophonist Warren Ham, Average White Band guitarist Hamish Stuart, singer and multi-instrumentalist Edgar Winter and drummer Gregg Bissonette, who’s played with an extensive roster of rockers and jazz musicians, including David Lee Roth, Toto, Starr and Maynard Ferguson.
— JEFF SPEVAK
Poets for Ukraine Benefit Reading
6:30 p.m.
Virtual, and Writers & Books, 740 University Ave
Local poets read from “Words for War: New Poems from Ukraine,” a new collection of works by Ukrainian writers. Sonya Bilocerkowycz, author of “On Our Way Home from the Revolution: Reflections on Ukraine,” delivers the introductory remarks. Tickets are $10, $15 and $20, with the proceeds going to RocMaidan, a non-profit group working on behalf of Ukraine through the Ukrainian Cultural Center of Rochester. View the war from a safe distance, through a Zoom call; attend in person, and masks are required.
— JEFF SPEVAK
Happy Hour with Old Souls and Froth Brewing
6:30 p.m.
Record Archive, 33 1/3 Rockwood St.
The Old Souls are exactly that in name, spirit, and influence only. This quartet of musicians cites influences from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, despite each of its members being under the age of 18. Their blend of funk, blues, jazz, and rock with a serious sound resonates across generations. Froth Brewing from Buffalo will be in attendance offering up a tasting of their heavily fruited smoothie sours.
— RYAN WILLIAMSON
Nitrate Picture Show
7:30 p.m.
George Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theatre
Where was The Nitrate Picture Show when it was so rudely interrupted by the pandemic in 2020? Yes, ready to open with the 1948 film “Portrait of Jennie.” And that’s where this year’s sixth edition picks up. “Portrait of Jennie” stars Joseph Cotton as a struggling artists and Jennifer Jones, who buys one of his paintings. The rest of the titles won’t be revealed until 10 a.m. Thursday, when the Dryden clears the schedule for four days of the sharp, dynamic images as they were initially presented on nitrate film stock.
— JEFF SPEVAK
Roast Of Rochester II
8 p.m.
Comedy @ the Carlson.
The art of “roasting” is a subtle one, and a solid roast can take all sorts of different forms. Maybe it’s taking playful jabs at an old friend. Maybe it’s a handful of celebrities getting on cable television and ripping on Alec Baldwin for an hour. The Roast of Rochester is kind of a combo of both. Our little city on the Genesee has plenty of quirks that are ripe for roasting; let’s just hope we can all take a joke. If the name Maureen Callahan rings a bell to you, we might be in trouble. This show has a two chill pill minimum for staunch Rochester defenders.
— JACOB WALSH
RoCo’s 6x6 exhibition
4 p.m.
Rochester Contemporary Arts Center, East Ave.
Now in its 15th year, this is opening day for patrons to inspect in person the 5,000 or so pieces of art, each a square 6 inches by 6 inches, all collected from around the world. The event, a fundraiser for RoCo, offers each anonymous artwork for sale for $20. A special emphasis this year is on art collected from Puerto Rico, “Square the Love: Puerto Rico.” These will sell for $40, with half of each sale benefiting Fundación de Culebra, which protects the history, environment, and culture of the Puerto Rican islands of Culebra & Vieques.
— JEFF SPEVAK
Drag Me to Brunch
Noon
Bar Bantam, 1 S. Clinton Ave.
Dinner and a show is old news. These days the cool kids are having their entertaining munch much earlier in the day with popular brunch and drag show events. But you don’t have to be the earliest riser to catch a midday meal with friends at Bar Bantam while being dazzled by the sky-high wigs and wit of Rochester drag royalty Mrs. Kasha Davis, Aggy Dune, Ambrosia Salad, and Darien Lake. Doors open at 11 a.m., and the show begins at noon. Plenty of time to sleep in and get gussied. But seating is first come, first serve, so don’t dally. Tickets are $60 and include admission to the show and a brunch buffet. Drinks are sold separately.
— REBECCA RAFFERTY
7 p.m.
Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center
For this Memorial Day show, Starr’s band includes a lot of familiar names, if you’re familiar with the 1980s. That’s Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Men at Work vocalist Colin Hay, Kansas and Toto singer and saxophonist Warren Ham, Average White Band guitarist Hamish Stuart, singer and multi-instrumentalist Edgar Winter and drummer Gregg Bissonette, who’s played with an extensive roster of rockers and jazz musicians, including David Lee Roth, Toto, Starr and Maynard Ferguson.
— JEFF SPEVAK
6:30 p.m.
Virtual, and Writers & Books, 740 University Ave
Local poets read from “Words for War: New Poems from Ukraine,” a new collection of works by Ukrainian writers. Sonya Bilocerkowycz, author of “On Our Way Home from the Revolution: Reflections on Ukraine,” delivers the introductory remarks. Tickets are $10, $15 and $20, with the proceeds going to RocMaidan, a non-profit group working on behalf of Ukraine through the Ukrainian Cultural Center of Rochester. View the war from a safe distance, through a Zoom call; attend in person, and masks are required.
— JEFF SPEVAK
6:30 p.m.
Record Archive, 33 1/3 Rockwood St.
The Old Souls are exactly that in name, spirit, and influence only. This quartet of musicians cites influences from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, despite each of its members being under the age of 18. Their blend of funk, blues, jazz, and rock with a serious sound resonates across generations. Froth Brewing from Buffalo will be in attendance offering up a tasting of their heavily fruited smoothie sours.
— RYAN WILLIAMSON
7:30 p.m.
George Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theatre
Where was The Nitrate Picture Show when it was so rudely interrupted by the pandemic in 2020? Yes, ready to open with the 1948 film “Portrait of Jennie.” And that’s where this year’s sixth edition picks up. “Portrait of Jennie” stars Joseph Cotton as a struggling artists and Jennifer Jones, who buys one of his paintings. The rest of the titles won’t be revealed until 10 a.m. Thursday, when the Dryden clears the schedule for four days of the sharp, dynamic images as they were initially presented on nitrate film stock.
— JEFF SPEVAK
8 p.m.
Comedy @ the Carlson.
The art of “roasting” is a subtle one, and a solid roast can take all sorts of different forms. Maybe it’s taking playful jabs at an old friend. Maybe it’s a handful of celebrities getting on cable television and ripping on Alec Baldwin for an hour. The Roast of Rochester is kind of a combo of both. Our little city on the Genesee has plenty of quirks that are ripe for roasting; let’s just hope we can all take a joke. If the name Maureen Callahan rings a bell to you, we might be in trouble. This show has a two chill pill minimum for staunch Rochester defenders.
— JACOB WALSH
4 p.m.
Rochester Contemporary Arts Center, East Ave.
Now in its 15th year, this is opening day for patrons to inspect in person the 5,000 or so pieces of art, each a square 6 inches by 6 inches, all collected from around the world. The event, a fundraiser for RoCo, offers each anonymous artwork for sale for $20. A special emphasis this year is on art collected from Puerto Rico, “Square the Love: Puerto Rico.” These will sell for $40, with half of each sale benefiting Fundación de Culebra, which protects the history, environment, and culture of the Puerto Rican islands of Culebra & Vieques.
— JEFF SPEVAK
Noon
Bar Bantam, 1 S. Clinton Ave.
Dinner and a show is old news. These days the cool kids are having their entertaining munch much earlier in the day with popular brunch and drag show events. But you don’t have to be the earliest riser to catch a midday meal with friends at Bar Bantam while being dazzled by the sky-high wigs and wit of Rochester drag royalty Mrs. Kasha Davis, Aggy Dune, Ambrosia Salad, and Darien Lake. Doors open at 11 a.m., and the show begins at noon. Plenty of time to sleep in and get gussied. But seating is first come, first serve, so don’t dally. Tickets are $60 and include admission to the show and a brunch buffet. Drinks are sold separately.
— REBECCA RAFFERTY
