Local Americana musicians Richard March and Tyler Ragle are not afraid to get political. Their new song "Gold Star Café" includes a café conversation about politics, praises for President Obama and criticism of the public for not being involved enough in politics. "Thank God this young man got the vote/But he alone won't save this boat/Gonna take 'all hands' to get her right/So we can sleep at night," March writes. Saturday at Javalounge, the local country-influenced folk duo will play a CD-release concert for their five-song EP Kings and Thieves, their first release as a duo. Davis-based singer-songwriter Nat Lefkoff will open the show. March lived in the Bay Area until age 30, when h

Promoter Jerry Perry confirmed with The Sacramento Press Wednesday that the remaining three shows scheduled for End of Summer Fest have been canceled. According to Perry, the first two shows did not draw nearly enough people, resulting in a loss of money. In fact, the shows were about 2000 people short for the event to even break even, Perry said. "Attendance was about half of what I call 'break even,'" he said. "[During Concerts in the Park] there were times when we had over three times as many people." As a last ditch effort, Perry tried to relocate Friday's show featuring The Secretions to Old Ironsides, but the band declined the offer. The Secretions, a Sammie Lifetime Achievement Aw

"Unfortunately, I'm the idiot [who] came up with the world's worst f***ing band name," said Kai Kln drummer Neil Franklin. "It comes back to haunt me when I have to explain this name and try to pronounce it." Kai Kln (pronounced "kai" as in "kaiser" and "klin, but ignore the vowel," Franklin said) formed in Carmichael and played its first gig in August 1989 at Southside Park. When the four-piece headlines the inaugural End of Summer Fest concert in Cesar Chavez Plaza, it will be the 20-year anniversary of the band's first performance. Friday's concert, which is a continuation of Concerts in the Park, will also feature opening band Prieta, a 2009 Sammie award winner for best rock band. Pr

"People are probably going to give me [s***] about this," said Sol Peligro lead singer Sam Miranda. "Watching John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever [at] eight years old, I thought, 'This guy is cool.'" Though his band Sol Peligro plays reggae-influenced cumbia music -- not disco -- Miranda points to this moment as the first time he knew he wanted to be in a band. Friday night, Sol Peligro will be headlining a Concert in the Park that includes Retrograde Revolution and La Noche Oskura (click links for MySpace). Retrograde Revolution sounds like a Yellowman-influenced reggae/hip hop outfit, while La Noche Oskura combines punk and ska to sound like a Mexican Sublime. Miranda formed Sol Pel

"Country" music means different things to different people. To Rowdy Kate lead singer Keri Carr, it means feeling at home. She recalled that during her childhood, her father was a cowboy who rode horses and bulls and listened to country music. After her parents divorced, Carr and her mother moved away, distancing her from her father. "I missed him a lot when I was growing up," she explained. "It feels like home to me when I sing country music." Friday night, Rowdy Kate will bring the "back home" country spirit to Concerts in the Park. The band will headline a show that also includes Hellbound Glory and Flounder (click links for MySpace). Hellbound Glory members describe themselves as, a

The Brodys bring more than musical instruments to their Concerts in the Park shows: They also bring props. They like to up the entertainment value of their shows by bringing a little something extra. One year, they brought a fake 30-foot shark to go with a beach theme. Another year they brought in a Brodys cover band who played the band's instruments while the group listened from the beer garden. Once, they brought the entire Cal Aggie Marching Band to play a song with them. "Every year we raise the bar for ourselves; we can't just go back to showing up and playing," said The Brodys' lead singer Tony Brusca. "People coming out will get good music and chuckles, too." This year they will

If Baby Grand keeps their current lineup and releases an album this year, it will be a huge first for the band. It will be the first time one of their albums shares the same lineup as their current gigging band. This Friday at Cesar Chavez Plaza, Baby Grand will bring their most solid unit ever: a six-piece playing mellow organic pop. Opening for them will be Dog Party, The Poplollys and Ricky Berger. Dog Party is a duo consisting of 11- and 13-year-old sisters who play original songs and covers on drums and guitar. The Poplollys are a local trio who play Americana style country, while another favorite, multi-instrumentalist Ricky Berger, sings mellow folk music. Baby Grand first formed

Leading a band is like managing a kitchen, according to Jason Boggs. As both executive chef of The Shady Lady and lead singer of The Snobs, Boggs is qualified to make the analogy. "A lot of the same stuff that goes on in a kitchen goes on in a band on tour: drinking, bad tempers and egos to worry about," Boggs said. "You're trying to make a group of guys work together and most of the time they're misfits not [fit] for regular society." In order for the "misfits" to form a cohesive band, The Snobs created rules. Boggs, who played saxophone for local ska/reggae band Filibuster, was banned from playing saxophone. "It was the other guys in the band protecting themselves from me [playing reg

Playing music outside is like playing to the ocean, local musician Kate Gaffney said. "If you're standing near the ocean, anything that's ever bothering you, you can just toss it out into the sea, and the sea will just engulf it and you won't have to worry about it again." On Friday, the Philadelphia-native singer/songwriter will be headlining Concerts in the Park. Opening for Gaffney are Boulevard Park, West of Next and Christopher Fairman & The Stilts (click on links for MySpace). Gaffney first visited California during a college internship, instantly deciding it was the place for her. After earning her bachelor's degree from Penn State, she moved here and took a job at Sacramento Coun

Golden Shoulders is a "breakup-proof" band. That's because it consists of Adam Kline and whatever friends are standing near him at any given time. In the past eight years, there have been 48 part-time collaborators, including former members of local bands Cake and Hella, as well as local singer Joanna Newsom. But one time, it was just Kline. Headlining Concert in the Park Friday night, Golden Shoulders will be a four-piece. The concert also features openers Radio Orangevale, Jeepster and Trainwreck Revival (click links for MySpace pages). Back in 2001, Kline formed Golden Shoulders with his friends from Nevada City. Since then they've recorded three albums and one EP, toured the U.S., a

When thinking of Mumbo Gumbo's gig this Friday, the word "regulars" comes to mind. This year marks the 16th year in a row the band will play at Concerts in the Park. As the name suggests, the New-Orleans-flavored septet blends many genres to create its sound. From soul to Zydeco and from ballad to boogie, the band has covered the gamut in its nearly 20-year history, during which the members have produced eight albums. They have been a big part of the Northern California concert scene. Many of the band members have even formed successful side projects over the years. Guitar player Jon Wood, sax player Reggy Marks and bass player Lynn Michael Palmer recently formed The Nibblers. The seven

"Exhilarating, like running naked through a bee storm," said music magazine NME of Middle Class Rut, or MC Rut for short. The duo headlines Friday's Concert in the Park in which Lite Brite, Consider The Thief and Early States will also play (click links for MySpace pages). MC Rut's style has been compared to Jane's Addiction and Rage Against the Machine, but the duo evokes a simpler feel than the The White Stripes, a band with similar instrumentation. Even so, the two-piece packs a fury of sound that never lets up. They recently released an eight-song EP entitled 25 Years and completed a tour of the United Kingdom. Lite Brite is a rock and roll trio that exudes a punk attitude, but can

This Friday, Shakedown is scheduled to headline a Concert in the Park that includes The Kinetics, a traditional Jamaican Rocksteady group, and Syncro, a "Surf/Dutch pop/Shoegaze" band (click on any band's name to visit its MySpace page). Shakedown has won "Best Sacramento Band of 2007" from former alternative rock radio station KWOD 106.5, and the single "Love to Get Love" has been featured on a GEICO commercial. "We released the last record (New Sound Delivery, 2007) in haste because we had a lineup change, and wanted to show people what we had," said Shakedown lead singer Mark Kinyon. Twelve years, four albums and several lineup changes since their debut, the members of the Sacramento

Friday Night Concerts in the Park have filled Cesar Chavez Park on 10th and J Streets with jammin' bands since the beginning of May and will continue every Friday night from 5-9 p.m. until August 14. In this storyline, The Sacramento Press will preview the concerts and help provide additional information on the artists and their music. Friday, June 5 Bucho will headline the concert, with Righteous Movement and Happy Mayfield opening (click each band's name for a link to their MySpace page with music samples). Bucho consists of singer and guitar player Gerald Pease, bass player Josh Lippi, Ben Schweir on the Hammond B3 and Fender Rhodes keyboards and Derek Taylor on percussion, as well a

Midfest is happening this weekend after organizers won two permits early Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the event is scheduled to begin. But Sacramento city staff notified organizers that city employees will be on the lookout for code violations after neighborhood residents complained that a previous event wasn't adequately managed. The Bloc Concert Series permit was awarded to Paragary Restaurant Group for the festivities being held in Marshall Park, 915 27th St., from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday. A separate permit was issued to the Midtown Business Association (MBA) and T & M Organization for the Arts for Sunday's Midfest Summer Celebration at the park. In the final hours bef