People came for the music and because Sunday’s musical feast at Folsom’s Powerhouse Pub was a charity event. At $15 per ticket, with six bands lined up to cover a spectrum of blues music, and all ticket proceeds benefiting the 147 year old Sacramento Children's Home, there was no better place to be. The Randy Carey Band opened the show at 1:50 p.m. and their rocking country blues sound had people dancing early on. They opened with “Born Under a Bad Sign,” sung by Carey, who also penned several of the songs, including “Blue Boy Blues,” their next to last song. The band’s rendition of “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues” had feet tapping and bodies swaying in seats and on the dance floor tha

If you equate blues music with Robert Johnson, you’re in for a surprise and a treat Sunday afternoon when Sacramento Blues Revue teams with Folsom’s Powerhouse Pub to host the second annual Blue Christmas for Kids, benefiting the Sacramento Children’s Home. The event kicks off at 1:50 p.m. with the Randy Carey Band, a country blues group, and will finish with Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, a blues/jump band, playing from 6 to 7 p.m. In between, attendees will hear blues/zydeco from GumboStew, blues from Pinkie Rideau & Blind Resistance, rockin’ blues from the Jimmy Pailer Band, and blues/R&B from Sacramento Blues Revue, led by Rick von Geldern. Von Geldern said he began working on this eve

Three bands usually play at the Concerts in the Park series. The scheduled line-up for the Jerry Perry production of the Friday night concerts included the Kings of Sacramento (last minute change), the Freebadge Serenaders and Rick Estrin and the Nightcats headlined the show. The all-ages show, as always, is free to the public and starts at 5 p.m., at Cesar Chavez Plaza. The beer garden was about a third full when the first band was preparing to take the stage. On this evening the Kings of Sacramento were the first band scheduled to perform. I liked the fact that a brass section was on-stage. Accompanying them was a guitar, a keyboard, drummer and a stand up bass. The Kings of Sacramen

The Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP) has released the 2010 schedule for the Friday Night Concerts in the Park. The free, outdoor concert series will rock Cesar Chavez Plaza (10th and J streets) every Friday night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. starting May 7 though August 13. For the latest concert news, visit www.downtownsac.org/concerts. 2010 CONCERT SCHEDULE* May 7 - Kepi Ghoulie The Kelps, Dog Party, Simpl3jack May 14 - Rick Estrin & The Nightcats Low Down Dirty Dogs May 21 - Dance Gavin Dance Phallucy, Con of Man, Desario May 28 - Mike Farrell Aaron King & The Imperials, One Eyed Rhyno June 4 - Method Echo The Nibblers, Live Manikin June 11 - The Nickel Slots Los Blazing Hangovers