Massaoke Will Take Fringe Song Requests

One of the highlights of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival (Wednesday, Sept. 12 - Saturday, Sept. 22) is sure to be its free, outdoor performances of Massaoke at Parcel 5 for Friday & Saturday on the Fringe, September 14 & 15.

What started in a London pub in 2011 has exploded into a global phenomenon that's making its North American debut at Fringe. Massaoke is a live band that plays the best-loved "hairbrush" anthems (i.e. the ones you sing into your hairbrush) from the 60s to today while the crowd sings along, guided by big-screen lyrics. There's no dreaded karaoke spotlight - just a euphoric celebration in which everyone sings and dances their hearts out in a communal experience that sells out at the Edinburgh and Adelaide (Australia) Fringes, the Glastonbury Festival, and many more. Massaoke is currently touring the major U.K. festival circuit.

"Part of our mission is to bring exciting, different, renowned outdoor experiences to Rochester, and we think Massaoke is exactly that," explains Fringe Producer Erica Fee. "We're expecting Parcel 5 to feel like one last, great, summer party!"

Adding to the fun will be the free Massaoke app (available to download at the Google Play and Apple App Stores), which allows the public to make song requests. To do so, access the FEED option and post using #rocfringe18. During the actual event, the LIVE VOTE tab will offer a poll for audiences to choose between two songs.

"We want to make the show as interactive as possible," says Massaoke keyboardist and front man, Mark Nilsson. "It will be interesting to see what requests come in from a U.S. audience. We'll try and accommodate as many as we can. And the live poll on the night should be fun - we won't find out which song will end the show until the last second!"

Massaoke's performances are just two of more than 150 free events and performances at this year's Fringe. For a complete list, visit rochesterfringe.com, click on "Find a Show," and choose "Free Shows."

ALSO: Ticket prices for Spiegeltent shows Cirque du Fringe: SideShow, Shotspeare, Other People's Shows, and Silent Disco will increase on September 1. Tickets are available online at rochesterfringe.com (no additional fees), by phone at (585) 957-9887 (additional fees), in person at the Fringe Box Office at One Fringe Place (corner of Main and Gibbs Streets) once it opens on September 9 (hours/dates at https://rochesterfringe.com/tickets-and-shows/box-office, no additional fees) and - if still available - at venues starting one hour prior to curtain.

Rochester Fringe Festival connects and empowers artists, audiences, venues, educational institutions, and the community to celebrate, explore, and inspire creativity via an annual, multi-genre arts festival. The not-for-profit, 501©(3) corporation was pioneered by several of Rochester's esteemed cultural institutions including Geva Theatre Center, the George Eastman House and Garth Fagan Dance; up-and-coming arts groups like PUSH Physical Theatre and Method Machine; and higher-education partners such as the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology. >From its five-day debut in 2012 to its 10-days in 2017 that attracted more than 78,000 attendees, the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival has become one of the fastest-growing and most-attended fringe festivals in the U.S. It is also the largest multi-genre arts festival in New York State as well. More than 150 of the Fringe's 500+ performances in over 20 downtown Rochester venues are free. Renowned among the world's 200+ fringe festivals for its large-scale, outdoor, free-to-the-public performances - including the U.S. premiere of France's Plasticiens Volants in 2017 and this year's North American debut of Massaoke - Rochester's Fringe was also the first fringe festival in North America to feature a Spiegeltent, which is now an annual attraction. From comedy to theatre, from music to dance, from visual art and film to spoken word, and from children's entertainment to multi-disciplinary collaborations, the festival's diversity also extends to venues that span the gamut from parked cars to grand theatres. Fringe's overarching mission is to make arts readily accessible to audiences, as well as to provide a platform for artists to share their ideas and develop their skills, while stimulating downtown Rochester both culturally and economically.

About KeyCorp: KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $137.8 billion at June 30, 2018. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,200 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

2018 Fringe sponsors include: KeyBank; University of Rochester; RIT; Rochester Area Community Foundation; Waldron Rise Foundation; Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust; New York State Council on the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; City of Rochester; Imagine Monroe; Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation; Nocon & Associates; Konar Properties; SUNY Geneseo; Richard U. & Elaine P. Wilson Foundation; Ron Fielding; Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation; Fred & Floy Willmott Foundation; Louis S. & Molly B. Wolk Foundation; Hyatt Regency Rochester; The Pike Company; Bond, Schoeneck & King LLP; Boylan Code LLP; Mengel, Metzger, Barr & Co. LLP; 13WHAM TV; CITY Newspaper, D&C Digital; Broccolo Tree & Lawncare; McCarthy Tents & Events; Hamilton A/V; Nazareth College; St. John Fisher College; The College at Brockport; East Avenue Inn & Suites; The Rubens Family Foundation; Genesee Beer; Wegmans; Gouvernet Arts Fund at the Rochester Area Community Foundation; Visit Rochester; Wilson Foundation; Rochester Regional Health; Scott Miller; House of Guitars, Inc.; City Blue; Yelp!; WXXI; KidsOutandAbout.com; Midtown Athletic Club; Mary Cariola Children's Center; ESL Charitable Foundation; YMCA of Greater Rochester; BOLD Technologies; Java's; and North Eastern Pool & Spa.

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