It was a night of relaxed vibes, dreamy red lights, and a sense of community that filled the air. It all happened at “The Castle” last night.

To me, there simply was no better way to kickoff the first weekend of 2019. Rochester was treated to performances from the best musicians in town last night. If you missed it, you missed out.

To begin, we knew that Loud Mouth Brass would bring the fun and start the night off in a light mood – and that’s exactly what happened. My personal favorite moment from their set ended up having nothing to do with the music at all (though it was awesome!), it had everything to do with the outpouring of love for trombone legend John Sievers’ new tattoo.

Oh yeah – there were definitely some hecklers who wanted to see it, including yours truly. John politely said, “no one needs to see the fuzzy hair around it” and went back to the music.

Local Sports also did what they do best. They took us back to our love of emo/punk days. They even got a pit going!

I’d never heard Author live until last night, and I was impressed! Their sweet melodic and atmospheric tones definitely fit the atmosphere that “The Castle” is trying to provide. Their production and tone totally calmed and mesmerized everyone watching.

Greentop I had yet to hear live as well. I saw it as a giant love letter to Young The Giant and Ben Folds. Some very talented musicians make up this group! Their set (paired with Loud Mouth Brass for the first part of their performance) really showed me that Rochester has so much more to offer than a rock scene.

This whole night proved that, in fact. We’re lucky to have musicians who play a variety of music in our city. We’re so lucky to have our choice of musical genre to watch and see live on a given weekend.

I see “The Castle” as a new hub for Rochester’s music scene. It truly welcomes everyone, and that’s what Rochester is all about. All ages, genders, and races were represented last night. A metal kid like me, and parents of the musicians performing mixed together for a change. I’m looking forward to seeing more of that from Castle Community in 2019 and beyond.