P.O. Box 92398
Rochester, NY 14692
www.goldenlink.org
Media contact (not for publication): Dave Townsend, (585) 467-8690
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 23, 2025
Golden Link presents a New Voices Showcase: Tyler Westcott and A Girl Named Genny Duo
Rochester, NY – Join us for a special concert featuring regional musicians who are new to our monthly concert series. Tyler Westcott is a poet, singer/songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Buffalo. A Girl Named Jenny – with Ray Mahar on vocals and guitar and Allegra Whiting on cello – have always sought to push the norm of what is expected from an Americana band. They will perform on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at 7:30 pm at the Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Rd., Rochester, NY.
Tyler Westcott is a poet, singer/songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based out of Buffalo, NY. Westcott breathes new life into roots music spanning multiple genres and decades, creating new music inspired by the old. He specializes in storytelling, songwriting, folk, country blues, traditional jazz, bluegrass, old-time, western swing, and more. Armed with his trusty guitar, banjo, harmonica, and the gift of gab, he has a knack for describing the human condition with humor and joy.
Westcott founded the popular Western New York-based nationally touring eclectic roots group Folkfaces and the Folkfaces Fest. He has shared the stage with Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Peter Rowan, Tony Trischka, Willie Watson, Sierra Ferrell, Tab Benoit, Dom Flemons, Sam Grisman Project, Richie Stearns, and many others.
Since 2016, A Girl Named Genny has graced many bars and living rooms in Rochester, NY. What started as a music hang-out among friends transformed into a band with three self-produced albums and several extensive tours that have sent the band from coast to coast of the United States.
The band’s influences draw from jazz-roots music to bluegrass-folk genres, and even rock and roll. Instrumental solos, vocal harmonies, meaningful lyrics, and high-energy jams are just some of the ingredients of what makes their shows work. This concert will feature the duo version of the band, with Ray Mahar on vocals and guitar and Allegra Whiting on cello.
“Singing hearty melodies with occasional falsetto leaps that evoke heartache, Westcott really embodies the blues, as his feelings seem to pour outward into every listener’s soul. Quick-moving lyrics tell stories of love and heartbreak, perseverance and letting loose.” – Rochester City Newspaper
Online ticket sales end at midnight on January 9.
General Admission: $20 ($22 at the door)
Golden Link Members: $15 ($20 at the door)
Students: $10
Children under 12: $5
See below for calendar listings for this and other upcoming concerts.
Photos of the performers are available at:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1itUdQ1VH1dNEzcbkvGIhjdS6kc9BfsQK?usp=sharing
Phone or email interviews with the performer(s) can be arranged.
Founded in 1971, the Golden Link Folk Singing Society is dedicated to presenting, promoting, and preserving folk music in the Rochester area. Golden Link is a volunteer-operated and member-supported 501(c)3 not-for-profit arts, cultural, and educational organization.
CALENDAR LISTINGS
New Voices Showcase: Tyler Westcott and A Girl Named Genny Duo
Saturday, January 10, 2026, 7:30 pm
Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Rd, Rochester NY 14626
Join us for a special concert featuring regional musicians who are new to our monthly concert series. Tyler Westcott is a poet, singer/songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Buffalo who specializes in storytelling, songwriting, and styles from folk and country blues to western swing. Armed with his trusty guitar, banjo, harmonica, and the gift of gab, he has a knack for describing the human condition with humor and joy. A Girl Named Genny has always sought to push the norm of what is expected from an Americana band, with influences ranging from jazz-roots music to bluegrass-folk genres, and even rock and roll. This concert will feature the duo version of the band, with Ray Mahar on vocals and guitar and Allegra Whiting on cello.
Tickets: General Admission: $20 ($22 at the door), Golden Link Members: $15 ($20 at the door), Students: $10, Children under 12: $5. For more information, visit www.goldenlink.org.
Pepper and Sassafras
with Tim Burns and John Dancks
Saturday, February 21, 2026, 7:30 pm
Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Rd, Rochester NY 14626
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, grand prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, teams up with multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Wendy Sassafras Ramsay in the dynamic acoustic duo Pepper and Sassafras. Rodgers, also the founding editor of Acoustic Guitar magazine, delivers masterful band-in-a-box guitar work while Ramsay, harmonizer extraordinaire, adds flute, clarinet, guitar, accordion, and her quirky originals to the mix. For this Golden Link concert, the duo will be joined by long-time collaborators Tim Burns (guitar, mandolin, vocals) and John Dancks (upright bass).
Tickets: General Admission: $25 ($27 at the door), Golden Link Members: $20 ($22 at the door), Students: $10, Children under 12: $5. For more information, visit www.goldenlink.org.
Low Lily
Saturday, March 21, 2026, 7:30 pm
Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Rd, Rochester NY 14626
With the energy of fiddle music, the introspective quality of contemporary folk, the precision of bluegrass, and the drive of Americana, the Vermont-based trio Low Lily (Liz Simmons, Flynn Cohen, and Natalie Padilla) combine their individual talents into one stunning soundscape. Low Lily has shared their signature sound with enthusiastic audiences throughout North America and the UK, garnering two #1 songs on international folk radio and two Independent Music Awards.
Tickets: General Admission: $25 ($27 at the door), Golden Link Members: $20 ($22 at the door), Students: $10, Children under 12: $5. For more information, visit www.goldenlink.org.
The Clements Brothers
Saturday, April 18, 2026, 7:30 pm
Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Rd, Rochester NY 14626
The Clements Brothers are George (guitar) and Charles (upright bass), identical twins from the heart of New England. The two have been playing and writing music together for as long as they can remember, first entering the Americana music scene in 2012 as part of the internationally touring grassroots group The Lonely Heartstring Band, with whom they put out two albums on Rounder Records. This marks their first original project together, focused on capturing their singer-songwriter sensibilities in a unique blend, with harmonies only achievable by their identical voices, at once enthralling and intimate, groovy and serene.
Tickets: General Admission: $25 ($27 at the door), Golden Link Members: $20 ($22 at the door), Students: $10, Children under 12: $5. For more information, visit www.goldenlink.org.
Kray Van Kirk
Saturday, May 2, 2026, 7:30 pm
Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Rd, Rochester NY 14626
A fine finger-style guitarist with a precise baritone, Kray Van Kirk has a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska, but he set science aside to write songs, tell stories, and summon heroes. “We are driven by myth and the seasons of the heart,” he says. “The quest is to journey inside, find whatever it is that burns at the core of your soul, and bring it back into the light.” A charming, Quixotic, and decidedly eclectic performer, Van Kirk has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and toured the U.S. and Canada.
Tickets: General Admission: $25 ($27 at the door), Golden Link Members: $20 ($22 at the door), Students: $10, Children under 12: $5. For more information, visit www.goldenlink.org.
Garnet Rogers
Saturday, May 16, 2026, 7:30 pm
Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Rd, Rochester NY 14626
Born in Hamilton, Ontario to parents of Nova Scotian descent, Garnet Rogers spent many hours listening to Grand Ol’ Opry radio broadcasts and harmonizing with his brother, the late folk legend Stan Rogers. At 18, he was on the road as a full-time working musician with brother Stan, forming one of the most influential duos in the history of North American folk music. Since then, Garnet has courageously established himself as a formidable solo artist, performing across North America, everywhere from small town folk clubs to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Tickets: General Admission: $30 ($32 at the door), Golden Link Members: $25 ($27 at the door), Students: $10, Children under 12: $5. For more information, visit www.goldenlink.org.