From across the pond by popular demand, Oxford University's all-male a cappella group is back in town for a free show with The Spokes at Luigi's Pizza in Downtown Davis this Saturday, March 24th, at 8PM. The Spokes, local all-female a cappella talent from UC Davis, co-hosted a show with Out of the Blue back in 2010 at Davis' own Delta of Venus Cafe. Back in the states for their 2012 U.S. West Coast Tour, Out of the Blue is very excited to perform in Davis once again. Out of the Blue was recently featured as a semi-finalist on Britain's Got Talent, and with the release of their newest CD, "Rush", the men of Out of the Blue are just hitting their musical prime. See their amazing semi-final

The "Sister Swing" trio and their seven piece band starts the holiday season off right this Sunday at the Coloma Center Auditorium. Singing holiday classics from the Andrews Sisters to Frank Sinatra, the event will be family friendly and feature lively dancing in addition to tunes popular to young and old. Tickets are available at the door or online. Join in the fun at 4623 T Streets Sunday at 3 PM. Proceeds benefit community media that "makes a difference, one voice at a time".

El Dorado Musical Theatre held auditions Monday night for the classic Broadway musical, "42nd Street". Set in 1933, "42nd Street" tells the story of a chorus girl, Peggy Sawyer, who gets the chance to become a leading lady after the fading diva, Dorothy Brock, is injured before opening night of her Broadway show. Fresh off their multiple Elly Award wins and their critically acclaimed production of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast", El Dorado Musical Theatre drew a crowd of 53 local actors and actress, all between the ages of 13 and 22. Don't let age fool you. El Dorado Musical Theatre is far from your run-of-the-mill youth theatre group. Many of the performers are seasoned professionals, w

Singers and audience members are invited to a free "Sing-Along Messiah" concert Sunday, December 11, starting 4 p.m. at Bethany Presbyterian Church, 5625-24th Street, Sacramento (off Fruitridge Road between Freeport Boulevard and Highway 99). Ample free parking is available. Choral conductors from area churches and schools will take turns leading the massed volunteer choir, which is expected to consist of more than 100 singers. Participants are encouraged to bring their own Messiah music scores; a limited quantity of Messiah scores will be available for purchase ($10) at the door. "By popular demand, we are repeating last year's very successful event, says Dr. May Tuan Tucker, Bethany Ch

If you’ve ever longed to see a Broadway Musical onstage, with a live 18-piece orchestra, here’s your chance, and in Sacramento! The Runaway Stage is presenting The Drowsy Chaperone through Oct. 2, 2011, with a cast of 19 talented performers. Singing, dancing, acting, they do it all with incredible talent and timing. A campy 1920s musical comedy within a play, the show is narrated by “the man in the chair” - played by Steve Minnow. He shows us how to beat the blues by listening to old musical comedy records. (yes, records). My favorite line is when he drops the needle on his antique record player and says “You hear that static. I love that sound. To me, it’s the sound of a time machine sta

The Asian invasion continued at Thunder Valley Casino Resort this weekend with the Vietnamese Hot Summer Concert. Some of the biggest names in Vietnamese entertainment were present. Some of the entertainers reside in the United States and cater to the Vietnamese population, so there was some English spoken during the show. I don’t speak a lick of Vietnamese, but I do like good music, so I was in luck. The MC’s for the night were Nam Loc Nguyen and Bao Chau. In between artists either Nguyen, Chau or both would come out and introduce the next artist. Every time Chau came back on stage, she had a different dress. They were all long, flowing dresses that were quite colorful. First up was A

May 12 is the deadline for the Sacramento Opera to raise the final $37,000 of its $122,000 goal by that date – or there will not be a 2011-2012 opera season. In all, the opera must raise $175,000 of pledges and gifts for the season. The opera recently reorganized, strategically aligning with the Sacramento Philharmonic as both organizations continue to suffer from funding slumps as a result of the recession. A meeting last week with 123 opera subscribers and donors to discuss the reorganization, and Sacramento Opera officials described it as “just the kind of engagement needed” in a press release this week. If the $37,000 is raised, the opera season will include “Opera at the Cathedral

The Historical Guild Theater in Oak Park was alive with poetry, fashions and music for Ladies Night Out this past Saturday night, April 2, 2011. Award winning local poet and community leader Terry Moore hosted the sold out event as a benefit for the Center for Families and Fathers Sacramento. The Emcee for the evening was Petri Hawkins-Byrd, is best known as the bailiff on the television show Judge Judy. Hawkins-Byrd did a wonderful job keeping the audience laughing and the show moving with jokes, heart-felt commentary on the poetry and light-hearted introductions for the wide variety of local talent recruited by Moore for the occasion. The ladies night theme of the evening started off w

Monday was just like the start of any other work week for CBS Radio Sacramento’s Chris Garcia – until cameras followed four magenta vest-clad women into his office. “We are your singing valentine,” one of the members of the Gemtones Quartet told the confused Garcia. Then they launched into “There I Said it Again,” serenading Garcia, who looked on with a smile. The scene was repeated throughout the day Monday, with six quartets from the Sacramento Valley Chorus making approximately 50 calls on people in the greater Sacramento area, stretching all the way to Placerville, Yuba City and Lodi. The visit was a welcome diversion for Garcia’s co-worker, Joseph Lepe, promotions coordinator

A Sacramento nonprofit group is willing to sing your loved one’s praises on Valentine’s Day. Quartets from the Sacramento Valley Chorus will be touring the greater Sacramento area, dropping in on the unsuspecting to deliver singing valentines. “People love it,” said Bonnie Flint of the Sacramento Valley Chorus. “You have everything from total elation to absolute embarrassment. You have people laugh, you have people cry. It’s usually a very positive response.” Nine quartets will be singing four-part barbershop harmony a capella as they traipse about town. Flint said favorite spots include offices, schools and hospitals. Each singing valentine will include two songs. Song options are “Le

  Child’s Christmas in Wales is a new work, at least on the West Coast.  It was commissioned in 2003 for a mixed choir, soloists, and chamber symphony in New Jersey. Matthew Harris comes to us this Sunday with a composing track record as long as Santas beard, and with the kudos that come from doing much more with his choral scores than anyone ever expects. So I found out by Googling “Matthew Harris Composer”.  I asked two of the Chanteuses, who are also in the Camerata, how they liked the work.  They were excited, and now so am I. went to his website to check things out.  He is quite modest about commissions for choral works. There are plenty of them, and serious choral directors say it

All the world’s a stage at the Sacramento Theatre Company’s 2010 summer camp. STC is currently hosting its eighth annual program for children in first through ninth grades. From improvisation to audition techniques, scene study to puppetry, students are able to learn about theater life from all angles. Jeremy Gray first attended the camp in 2005. “I was a nervous, prepubescent boy,” Gray said, explaining his initial apprehension with the stage. “But the camp really introduces you to theater and focuses on stage presence.” Now Gray is a dedicated actor in STC’s Young Professionals Conservatory, a rigorous theater training program for middle and high school students. Gray is also an inte

Tommy T's Comedy Club, Sacramento Entertainment Agency, and KCRA #3 have teamed up to produce our very own "Sacramento Has Talent" competition. Do you have talent? Come early and sign up for this special event….Loads of fun, and cash for some! Anyone with any talent can sign up and perform with the opportunity to win a part of the $5,000 cash prize. This is a Summer long event in which we start with the first 100 of this areas talented people, give them the opportunity to perform in front of large crowds, offer them a chance to share in the $5,000 cash prize, and maybe even appear on TV! You must be 15 or older (if under 18, bring a parent or guardian), live in the general area, and be w

This Wed night at 8:00, SactoTalent.com produces another Variety Show at harlows Nightclub on 27th & Jst.featuring local acts. This time we hear fromt the band "NewSpace Quartet", bringing their great music to the stage. Throughout the show you will be entertained by several unique music talents...Singer Ava Lemert sings a little R&B, Erika Davis sings while her dance troupe captures the audience with their provocative dance moves, and Jessica Jolia uses her talent to sing some new hits....it will be amazing. That's not all!   We also have some great comedy from  Cheryl "The Soccer Mom'" and some edgier hip comedy from Woody Laughnan. So come on by for a couple drinks, an evening of good

Instead of a dinner reservation this Valentine's Day, why not make a trip to the Crest Theatre to experience a little Bollywood? On Feb. 14, 2009 the Crest will have a Mega Bollywood Show featuring live music, dancing and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa's USA winners, Jeffrey Iqbal and Darshana Menon performing. According to Iqbal, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is similar to American Idol. It has been a popular show in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. Only recently has it expanded to include the U.S. The term Bollywood comes from the city of Mumbai, which was once known as Bombay, combined with the word Hollywood. It describes the majority of films that come out of India and, as Iqbal said, is "feel -good" m

Patrick Grizzell is a local poet and musician. He plays the guitar and sings with three different groups: The Liz Ryder Band, Junkyard Burlesque and Mandolin Avenue. Grizzell is also the one of the founders of The Sacramento Poetry Center, which has been around since 1979. He has published books of poetry, 13 Poems, Chicken Months, Dark Music: Selected Poems and Stories and others. Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen have been major sources of musical inspiration for Grizzell but those who hear him play live can agree that he has a sound of his own. Grizzell will be performing at Luna's cafe with Junkyard Burlesque on Jan. 9. He will be reading poetry at Time Tested Books on Jan. 18 to