Radio is all about connection. When listeners wake up and turn it on every day, they’re inviting a personality into their home, their car, their workplace and their life. There are no visual judgments to get in the way. It’s left to the listener’s imagination and to the personality’s voice. Listeners become familiar with that personality’s beliefs, family, life and attitudes and learn about the world through their words. The listener trusts him or her.

The Flashcubes were together for a relatively short period, from 1977 to 1980, yet the power pop-punk group endures with its pulsating legacy, almost as big and loud as their sound. They’ve p

It’s been nearly 16 years since the Salt City trio of singer, songwriter and guitarist Jamie Notarthomas, bassist Scott Schimpf and drummer Tony Carbone shared a stage.

Songwriters draw inspiration from all parts of life: the mundane and the spectacular, love and hate, pain and forgiveness, life and death. For Bryan Weinsztok, the singer, songwriter and guitarist for Soul Risin’, those latter themes supplied him the motivation to write the 11 songs on the band’s new independent album Rise & Fall. The CD was released on Tuesday, Oct. 16, a day connected to those inspirational ideas of life and death: Oct. 16 also marked the one-year anniversary that Weinsztok lost his father, Alejandro (Alex) Gabriel Weinsztok, to cancer.

The One World Concert held at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday, Oct. 9, had musical highlights and lowlights that jumped among styles and artists of different generations. There were golden moments, like when Iranian singer Andy Maladian and Isreali singer Liel Kolet shared the stage for a duet, a first in history; odd moments, when a glacial Engelbert Humperdinck lulled a pumped-up audience; and empty moments, when hip-hopper Nas failed to show up. The message emphasizing the importance of peace hit home hard as artists like Emmanuel Jal reminded audiences of the war and violence in countries like his home of Sudan, and he and Swizz Beatz asked listeners to show their peace signs. An audience of 24,000 responded to the request.

Storer Auditorium at Onondaga Community College lit up once again with Pat Metheny and the Unity Band, the opening act of the 2012-2013 Arts Across Campus Legends of Jazz Series on Wednesday, Oct. 10. With the soulful bass of Ben Williams, the deft drumming of Antonio Sanchez and the unbelievable precision of wind player Chris Potter, legendary guitarist Metheny fit in comfortably with the spotless lineup. The winner of 18 Grammy Awards gave a rare master class to students from area high schools and OCC before two concerts, one for students at 7 p.m. and another for the public at 9.

Think about “opera.” Now, take the image of the fat lady with long blonde braids letting out a massive wail and replace it with a beautiful 26-year-old woman, singing powerfully, but sweetly, to her lover. Take the idea of non-relatable story lines in unfamiliar times and replace them with timeless tales of love, hate, betrayal, murder, jealousy and passion. Take the fear of something new and replace it with excitement.

Behind the curtains of any great production, there’s a group of people that help to make the magic happen when the lights go down. One of those unsung heroes at Syracuse Opera is Michael Shannon, from London, Ontario. As the resident coach for much of the 2012-2013 season, Shannon will be responsible for ironing out the kinks with the performers. He combs through the most difficult parts with them: the tough pronunciations, the style, the feeling and all the nuances that give opera its deeply layered power. It’s a job that Shannon, 26, never thought of before it was specifically suggested to him by friends and mentors. Today, he couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

There’s something supernatural that lingers around local blues singer Carolyn Kelly. It’s not just in her voice, which can cause a chain of chills to tingle spines, but in her demeanor and her language. It’s in the way she admires her longtime musical partner and friend, the legendary Roosevelt Dean. It’s the way you can feel his presence when you’re in hers.

Falling temperatures and shorter days are among the indications that the Central New York summer is coming to a close. But before the music moves indoors for fall and winter, Sterling Stage Kampitheater’s annual Last Daze of Summer festival will satisfy that sun-soaking itch one last time.