Anthology, the live music venue at 336 East Avenue, will reopen in December with a pair of Joywave concerts, organizers announced today (Nov. 12).
The local band will perform on Friday, Dec. 20 and Saturday, Dec. 21 in a two-night stand it's calling "JOY 2 THE WORLD."
"We're thrilled that Anthology is reopening," Joywave vocalist Daniel Armbruster told CITY. "It's one of the best sounding rooms Rochester has ever had, and I think it will be on a lot of agent lists for national acts now that it will be officially back early next year. We missed it."
Anthology, which boasts a capacity of just under 1,000, last staged concerts in the summer of 2022.
The Joywave shows are presented by Buffalo-based concert promotion company After Dark Presents, which is also behind the upcoming Nov. 16 show by former Joywave tour mates I Dont Know How But They Found Me at Water Street Music Hall.
Armbruster mentioned how the band's latest album, "Permanent Pleasure," begins with a recording of former mayor Tom Ryan speaking about Rochester's "unique and varied cultural history," and how that informed the band's live plans.
"We really wanted to include our hometown on the fall tour. Unfortunately there wasn’t a stage in town that could accommodate the tour’s full production," Armbruster said via text from the band's current tour leg in the UK.
So, Armbruster said, he ran into Anthology's owner and operator Phil Fitzsimmons at Melo Coffee & Kitchen and floated him an idea.
"I said, 'hey, how about you reopen Anthology? We need it,'" Armbruster said. "He listened. Horrible lesson for me. I'll be walking around town making suggestions forever now. The Irondequoit Bay Bridge should be open year round. Please tell the county executive for me."
Joywave last performed in Rochester in November 2023 at Essex. Drummer Paul Brenner told CITY earlier this year that the group hoped to have something special in mind for the next hometown gig.
"It's kind of us wanting to do something cool and unique instead of just another show," he said.
The band finished a North American tour in Buffalo on Oct. 18 and is currently on a run of shows in Europe through Nov. 14.
Patrick Hosken is an arts reporter at CITY. He can be reached at patrick@rochester-citynews.com.