Annual Rochester Lilac Festival

Celebrating 127 years in 2025! Featuring stunning gardens in an Olmstead-designed park, with hundreds of varieties of LILACS AND OTHER FLORA. This 10-day event features live music all day, everyday from 10:30am-8:30pm with local and national musicians.SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: 12:00 pm: Submarine School of Music Choir 01:00 pm: Womba Africa Dance and Drumming Womba Africa is a traditional music and dance group formed in the town of Nungua, the southern part of Ghana. The members are part of the Ga-Adangbe People in greater Accra, a tribe with a very rich history and culture quite distinct from other major ethnic groups. The word ‘Womba' means ‘we are coming'. We say that we are coming with something new. We are coming with something exciting. 2:30 pm: Divine Nature Divine Nature is a contemporary gospel quartet group from Rochester, New York. This group of anointed musicians, song writers and singers have been in the gospel business for more than two decades. Their musical sound is a combination of urban, contemporary and at times they can seamlessly throw in a splash or two of traditional quartet with great ease. Divine Nature has the uncanny ability to satisfy audiences across the gospel landscape. They have shared national stages with such gospel greats like Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Dietrich Hadden, Mary Mary, Israel Houghton, Rance Allen, and Tye Tribbett. Inspiring, uplifting and life-changing, their worship is authentic and the praise is real. They pen lyrics that reflect the triumphs and tragedies of the Christian experience. Divine Nature is changing the world with the music that transcends the four walls of the church and reaches beyond denominations to touch the heart of the people. 4:00 pm: River Lynch and The Spiritmakers "River Lynch and The Spiritmakers are an original rock and roll band hailing from Rochester, NY. Blending the grit of blues, the storytelling of folk, and the energy of rock, their sound perfectly complements River's hook-driven songwriting. A recurring theme in River's lyrics is the empowering message: ‘Be whoever you wish to be.'  Whether performing solo or with The Spiritmakers, River has shared the stage with renowned acts such as Three Dog Night, Dave Mason, The SteelDrivers, Rusted Root, The Blue Stones, and Jesse Dayton" 5:30 pm: The Crooked North The Crooked North has brought bluegrass and acoustic Americana to Western New York for more than a decade. Featuring banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, dobro, and bass, they have performed at festivals, listening rooms, and concert halls across the region, sharing bills with major artists including Billy Strings, Sierra Hull, and Tony Trischka. Regionally known as masters of their craft, The Crooked North brings compelling songwriting, outstanding vocal harmonies, and high-energy instrumental chops to every performance. 7:00 pm: Chayce Beckham Three years after becoming the only artist to win American Idol singing his own songs, 19 Recordings/BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville country artist Chayce Beckham is living proof of his belief that "You can't tell someone how to write a song." Scoring nominations at this year's People's Choice Country Awards for New Artist of 2024 and CMT Music Awards for his PLATINUM #1 hit single "23," the fiery singer-songwriter laid out a course only he could follow, and today remains even more dedicated to his unique creative compass. A California native schooled on tough times and a mix of country, rock, hip hop and beyond, Beckham started a habit of heart-on-his-sleeve songwriting after some hard times when he felt he had nothing left - and when combined with his warm vocal rasp on "23," that drive helped him charm the nation on Idol's 19th season in 2021. With more than 406 million streams and counting, the bluesy and brutally honest anthem debuted at #1 on both iTunes' Country and All Genre singles charts, and now leads Beckham's first album, Bad for Me - available now - as the emerging star finds his stride. Co-writing nine of 13 songs (three solo), the project shows Beckham opening his soul like most would never dare and embracing a timeless country-rock sound defined by fiddles, steel guitar, and plenty of against-the-grain attitude. With dusky shades of heroes like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson, the set aims to reinforce next-big-thing and "artist to watch" predictions from CMT, Amazon Music, MusicRow and more. Headlining his own "Bad For Me" tour along with opening for Parker McCollum this fall, Beckham delivers his next Wheelhouse Records single with the effervescent, feel-good track "Everything I Need," climbing the country radio charts now.