People of all ages are invited to enter the world of jazz during the kick off pre-festival event at Midtown Village Cafe on Friday at 8 p.m. for Sacramento's fifth annual In the Flow Festival. The preview show will give audiences a taste of the types of music they can expect when attending the In the Flow Festival, which will be held May 9 to the 14th. "(The preview show is) not only for the media, but for fans to wet their appetite. We have local and Oakland based bands coming in to get people excited. It's also an opportunity to meet and greet folks who are coming to some or all of the festival," Publicist Mindy Giles said. A $6 cover charge per person at the door will give fans and m

The 2011 In the Flow festival came to an end at Luna’s Café on Monday night after five days of enjoyable music at different venues. Jazz, rock, electronic, noise, poetry, spoken word, blues and other genres were delivered by talented musicians from May 12 to 16. On a rainy Monday evening, several bands came to share the small stage at Luna’s. The intimate setting provided great entertainment and gave it a delightful jazz club ambiance. In the Flow is the brainchild of Ross Hammond and Byron Blackburn. Performers play smaller venues such as La Raza Galeria Posada, Luna’s, Antiquité Maison Privée, Phono Select Records and the Press Club. Hammond’s grassroots approach is creative and provid

 Music flowed from Beatnik Studios on Sunday during the third annual In the Flow Jazz Festival. Musicians from all over the West Coast played, including Nels Cline. The guitarist from band Wilco played Saturday afternoon. “My friend Byron and I, we came up with doing just a festival of jazz to let local and regional artists play,” said Ross Hammond, the event’s co-founder. The festival started at the True Love Coffeehouse three years ago, and moved to its current location at 2421 17th St. last year. Hammond said the celebration has been growing steadily. “The first year was kind of more Sacramento, then we added some Bay Area stuff, and now there’s a lot of other people from up and down

*Note, there is a bias here because I'm directly involved with the Festival's organizaiton, etc. -RH In The Flow 3! The 3rd annual In The Flow Jazz/Improvisational Festival will be at Luna's Cafe, R5 Records and Beatnik Studios this weekend (Friday, 5/14 through Monday, 5/17). The lauded young improvisational music festival will feature musicians from all over the West Coast, including Vinny Golia, Nels Cline, (guitarist from super group Wilco and the Nels Cline Singers), Lovely Builders, Gerry Pineda, Tony Passarell, Henry Robinett and many more. In The Flow 3 Festival, produced by area guitarist Ross Hammond along with a group of volunteers, will post up over thirty music groups at tw

Sacramento jazz fans, get ready. The second annual In the Flow jazz festival starts Friday and will be invading four venues on downtown's Broadway. Last year's festival was held on the patio of True Love Coffeehouse. This weekend, Beatnik Studios, The Comedy Spot, R5 Records and Java Lounge are opening their doors for three days of live jazz performances. "Sacramento has an incredible jazz scene. We have great players with great, original ideas that span all things jazz and beyond," said Ross Hammond, the main coordinator of the festival. The idea for the festival was dreamt up during a coffee outing with Hammond, jazz musician Byron Blackburn and some of their friends. They wanted to h

Summertime is here and Sacramento is stepping up to the plate! Sounds like it's going to be a scorching weekend at upwards of 100 degrees but the music and entertainment events are equally as sizzling! With a nice mix of free and low cost things to do as well as a few splurges, June is going out with a jam packed weekend! Browse this list to find plenty of opportunities to laugh, feast & learn along with local talent & tons of live music. It's sure to keep you and yours entertained all weekend long... Thursday 6.25 Theatre: Hedwig and the Angry Inch -- $25 Where: Artisan Theatre (1901 Del Paso Blvd) When: 8pm (also showing Fri & Sat nights this week) Why: This is the last weekend to see