More Than Meets the Eye

More Than Meets the Eye: There Are Things to Do in Rochester

One of the main points I’ve stressed regarding My Town My Music is about creating a more vibrant music scene. I guess what I had envisioned was on more of a regional/national talent level. But, within the past year, I have learned that Rochester’s live music community is indeed vibrant, and that vibrancy comes from its local musicians. From the inception of our project, we have been committed to serving our local talent, too, but I greatly underestimated what I would discover. Rochester’s local talent is abundant, diverse, and full of real, genuine people doing what they love.

Apparently, I hadn’t been looking hard enough.

Sure, I was familiar with a fair number of local artists and bands. But, as I started purposefully researching for this venture, it became clear that what was familiar to me was only a sliver of what our town has to offer. The realization has been amazing and, honestly, a little mind-bending. It has infused me with new energy.

It also got me thinking, “Well, if I was a tad oblivious, is it presumptuous to assume that other people might be, too?” I don’t think it is. So often I hear, “There’s nothing to do in this town.” Admittedly, it is a little less simple than “just open your eyes.”

We feel that marketing for local music is less than stellar in our community. There hasn’t been a place you can go online to find listings of local bands or artists. Marketing for the majority of local music events are commonly limited to Facebook, and even then it is with little to no advance notice. Unless a person knows band/artist names or specific places that host events, finding this information is a daunting task. For those who are new to the Rochester area or just the music community in general, it can be very difficult to know where to start.

So, our aim at My Town My Music will be to lift up the hometown music, to give it face time, to show it off. It’s going to be a bigger job than I thought, but I think it will benefit us all, musicians and fans alike.

Musician Blue Book

The first way we are addressing the issue is by creating a Local Artist Directory on our website. We are compiling a roster of bands and musicians in the area so that people are able to see Rochester’s musical offerings with a simple click. We already have many awesome musicians listed, but we know that there is so much more out there. If you are a musician or band and want to be listed in our directory, get the details and sign up here.

The Friendly Competition

Another way we are honing the hometown culture involves our next event. Back when My Town My Music was a budding idea in our brains, we had the thought that it might be fun to host an event with a battle of the bands format. After several tweaks, reboots, and iterations, Rochester’s Local Music Showdown is now on the horizon! It’s a way for us to direct attention to the diversity of Rochester’s music scene while giving people in the community a say in the music they want. We invited local musicians/bands to enter to be in the competition. Then, via an online vote, we had MTMM members tell us who they wanted to see in the show. The top five bands will perform on September 9th at the fairgrounds!

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Rochester’s Local Music Showdown Lineup
The Bando Bunch
Embrace The Ending
Second Story
Under The Pavilion
ZOOTBOYS

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Let’s Grow!

It seems as though Rochester is experiencing a sort of resurgence, creatively speaking. New artists are making appearances, established groups have new projects, an increasing number of businesses are eager to have live music, and more people than ever are seeing the city’s potential to grow artistically. Not only that, but we are seeing more shows and events being put on by local promoters. These folks are ready to act. We at MTMM are of that lot. If we as musicians, promoters, and fans put our collective energy together, our work can cultivate a viable, tangible, beautiful musical landscape for our city.