Ctrl Alt Reality was described as The Glitch Mob’s love letter to rave culture — a return to the breakbeats, biting distortion, and underground scene energy that shaped them when they first emerged around 2006. Four albums in, Ed Ma and Josh Mayer still sound like people who mean it. They play Photo City Music Hall in Rochester on Thursday, October 1.
About the Show
The Glitch Mob — Ed Ma (edIT) and Josh Mayer (Ooah), out of Los Angeles — headlines with support from Basha and n3wttron. Ctrl Alt Reality, their fourth studio album on Glass Air Records (November 2022), is purely instrumental, built around a passion for the cultural roots of dance music rather than the clean-cut electronic production of their earlier records. Opener “All The People” runs cascading synths over breakbeat drums, “Antireal” channels the duo’s biting distortion, and “The Moment” settles into piano-driven melodies drawn from the underground rave scenes of Chicago and Detroit. The record is a deliberate return to the underground — and this tour is where that premise gets tested against a room.
More recently, The Glitch Mob released Invincible VS (Original Game Soundtrack), a 13-track album composed for the Skybound fighting game that launched April 23, 2026. The lead single is “Not Backing Down (VS Main Theme).” On the project: “Our primary goal was to be in service of the Skybound team and help them to tell the story of Invincible VS musically, while topping it off with the flavor of the current Glitch Mob sound.”
The duo also operates All The People, their own label and community platform built around immersive 360-degree experiences connecting sound, dance, and community. That philosophy shapes this tour leg: “From the music to the live experience, this chapter of The Glitch Mob centers on community, authenticity, and immersion.”
Venue & Logistics
Photo City Music Hall is in Rochester’s Beechwood neighborhood on Atlantic Ave. It’s independent and non-corporate, built for the kind of show where the room is part of the experience. The stage is low, the floor plan is open, and the Danley/QSC sound system is professionally engineered. The venue hosts national tours alongside local artists, benefit shows, record releases, and DJ events year-round. Their operating philosophy: “No corporate parent, no algorithm-driven booking.” Part of the western New York live circuit. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. This is an 18+ event.
Tickets
Tickets run $30–$36. Buy tickets. No refunds.