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“The idea for the solar eclipse thing was you know, it's a cosmic event, it’s deep…it was fucking night night time for three minutes during the day,” says Iggy Marino, the frontman for the band Public Water Supply (PWS). “To connect your art with kind of a cosmic event just felt like it added power to it and meaningfulness to it for me.”
As a first-year RIT student enrolled in the solar eclipse class, I had to find and cover an event surrounding the eclipse. I wanted to find something that captured the eclipse in an art and social context that connected me to the Rochester community. The sun Festival, put on by PWS and hosted by Essex, caught my attention.
I had no past experience with cameras or journalism, so this was far away from my comfort zone. I had to learn how to take cameras on an older digital camera, interview people and think about how to write an article.
PWS is a local alternative rock/indie Americana band made up of members Marino, Karis Gregory, Jr, lead guitar, Alex Brophy, bass and Spencer Kornrich, drums. The band hosted the Sun Festival at Essex, a music venue in the northeast quadrant of Rochester, where they released their second album “General Strike.”
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This wasn’t the only event capitalizing on Rochester’s place in the path of totality. Three local breweries, Rohrbach Brewing, Three Heads Brewing, and Strangebird Brewing collaborated and created a total of three eclipsed inspired beers. Each represents one of three phases of a total eclipse: The Lighter Side, The Darker Side, and Totality. For four days in March, a large crowd waited in line outside of Lake Ontario Press as owner Matt Saxon printed path of totality t-shirts for the solar eclipse. Wegmans, a grocery store chain founded in Rochester, sold ROC solar eclipse t-shirts, glasses and themed party supplies like plates and napkins.
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Over 300 tickets were sold for the event, which was held ten days before the solar eclipse on . According to a press release by the band, attendees would dress up in “esoteric outfits with a mythological flair” and there would be solar eclipse merch and pop up shops.
I was too nervous to walk into the venue before the doors opened, so I waited with the few people lined up outside. They were enthusiastic with anticipation for the night ahead of them.
The Sun Festival doors opened at seven, and people slowly trickled in until eight, when the crowd started to pick up. Festival attendees gathered into the middle area of the black-walled venue. Four support pillars boxed in the crowd, which ranged in age from early twenties to late fifties. There was equal creativity between the age groups, with people wearing clothes ranging from solar eclipse t-shirts to ethereal costumes. These included white flowing gowns, crowns, and lots of sparkles.
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As I went around, there was a sense of something larger than oneself, a community coming together to celebrate an upcoming eclipse and showing love for Public Water Supply.
“I invited my friends from the aerial arts show to open the show as a circus,” said Natalie Marino, operations manager and creative director for PWS. “We are really excited to welcome the solar eclipse to Rochester.” The different acts had themes of celestial bodies. Four aerialist performers did a total of eight acts before the band came on. Hullahoops, chairs and aerial dance poles were used for props. The costumes ranged from white bloomers and dresses to bodysuits with gems. As the acts started the audience was instantly captivated and crowded by the front stage. Cameras were out recording and cheering of endearment was heard throughout the crowd.
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The band came on at nine and played a mix of previous songs with their new album. Although the new songs were unfamiliar to the audience, it seemed like they already knew the lyrics by heart.
Towards the end of the show, PWS took a break from the music set and announced the winners of the solar costume competition. Carrie and James Mcculloch came from Buffalo, NY to see the show and won a bottle of tequila and a t-shirt in the contest. “We know the band, we’ve seen them a bunch up at Jackrabbit and we also had them play on our porch for porchfest a couple years ago,” James said.
James wore a black sequined suit that shimmered as he danced with a homemade paper sun and moon mask. Carrie wore a pink skirt with a loose gold top and a gold crown with the moon phases. “They said they wanted sun centric esoteric mythical costumes so we made these this week,” Carrie said. When I asked where the couple will watch the eclipse, she shared, “We will be at the botanical gardens for a wedding.”
As the night ended, the venue floors were sticky with spilled drinks and the air was filled with fruit-flavored smoke from vapes. There wasn’t one person without a smile on their face including, the bartenders. PWS ended their set by playing the last song from their album, “Public Water Supply (the song).” The music captivated the audience and the energy that was created made you a part of a big community coming to celebrate love for the band and excitement for the solar eclipse.
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