Caliente, the Spanish word for hot, was the perfect word to describe Jammin’ in the Park 2. Saturday’s event drew well over 1,000 spectators to Cesar Chavez Park to enjoy the sounds of DJ Nightfly, Esteban Villa, Blanca Sandoval, Los Elegantes and the legendary Latin rockers Malo. Two fathers of the Chicano art movement — RCAF artist and poet activist Jose Montoya and El Teatro Campesino veteran and Chicano film producer Phil Esparza — were honored for their contributions to the Sacramento community. La Raza Galeria Posada presented a family day full of music, dance, poetry, arts and crafts. Many vendors had stations set up inside the beer garden and around other parts of the park. Chi

The new Ace of Spades Music Venue on R Street has been open for a few weeks, and in typical fashion, rumors have been flying around town that they are in trouble already. Sacramento Press reporter Suzanne Hurt went out last week and got the truth of the matter on the record, and I encourage you to read her story here. Aside from some limitations on the liquor license, imposed by a cautious ABC, Ace of Spades is most certainly open for business, and apparently doing well with its chosen audience. But the business angle is only half the story. The other half is: What's it like to go to a show there? How is it different from Empire and Venue, which previously occupied the space? The main b

After a brief snafu with our appointed interview date, I finally reached Kim Wilson, co-founder of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and one of the most accomplished harmonica players in the United States, as he was dragging his bags down the hall to his hotel room. While the Tbirds are in their 'off-season', Wilson doesn't stop, and is off again, on another club tour with his Blues All Stars: Guitarists Billy Flynn and Little Frank, bassist Randy Bermudes and drummer Richard Innes, plus piano player Barrelhouse Chuck.  They also did a string of performances in Sweden and have recently arrived back from the Stockholm Blues Festival. One of the things I have liked about Wilson is his open way of

At the age of 67, with 37 albums under her belt, Maria Muldaur has no fondness for Q-and-A chatter. So, we threw away my notes and dove straight into a conversation about her exclusive area appearance on Dec. 4th at the 24th Street Theater, celebrating the release of album No. 38, “Christmas at the Oasis.” Thirty-six years after the hit song “Midnight at the Oasis,” its holiday sequel came as a surprise to Muldaur who had no plans to release a Christmas album.  She vowed years ago never to contribute to the ‘pile’ of artists who have produced holiday albums whose songs play in the supermarket and the shopping malls until “your eyes are glazed over.” “When I booked the gig, I didn’t even

As I shifted in my chair at the Curtis Park 24th Street Theatre, I thought about when I was 13, back in New York. I’d just put my first order in with Columbia House Records: The Doors, Roadhouse Blues. Now, some 30 years later, I was waiting for the last few stragglers to be seated for an evening performance with slide virtuoso Roy Rogers and Ray Manzarek, known most widely for co-founding and being the keyboardist/bassist for the Doors. I was curious beyond words to hear what Doors stories Manzarek has. After so many books, movies and years have passed, I couldn’t imagine what there was left to tell. Even more so, I was excited to finally hear the new material he and Rogers are now produ

On Sunday September 26 Capital Public Radio hosted a Swell Productions Event; the second annual Blues on the Green. Performers included The Nick Gravenites Band and the Blues Broads with Mick Martin emceeing the event. The Chicago born and Blues Hall of Famer, Nick Gravenites entertained the audience with stories that accompanied each song. I’ve heard other musicians trying to tell a story regarding a song they’re about to play but never before have I heard anybody peak my interest as Nick did. He has a good story about each of his songs making it more interesting and fun to listen to his Blues Ballads. He had wonderful tales to tell that peaked everyone’s interest. Nick sang a couple o

  Capital Public Radio and Swell-Productions presents Blues on the Green 2 on September 26, 2010. Featured performers will be The Blues Broads and The Nick Gravenites Band with emcee Mick Martin. Tickets for the much anticipated event can be purchased at The Beat and Dimple Records locations and if the event is not sold out you can also purchase tickets at the gates. One of the Blues Broads, Angela Strehli, sometimes known as the “First Lady of Texas Blues” took time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions. After a couple of rehearsals, on the morning of the interview, she indicated her voice might be going out. As luck would have it her voice held up and she answered all quest

A double shot of the deepest Chicago and Texas blues--from the some of the biggest living legends of the genre are arriving in town this Sunday to play an afternoon all ages concert in Sacramento.“BLUES ON THE GREEN 2” stars The Blues Broads and the Nick Gravenites Band. Honored emcee is blues radio legend and harp man, Mick Martin. Sunday, Sept. 26 The Green @ Capital Public Radio/ southernmost corner of Sac State University 7055 Folsom Ave./Sacramento    Doors: 1 PM      Showtime: 2 PM  With a wall of soul sound that could tumble Jericho, four powerful women singers stand at the front of the stage and make believers of every audience member. Rocking, scolding, testifying and torching,

 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

The second annual In the Flow jazz festival brought music and art fans out to Broadway's hub with more than 30 bands, poetry readings and live painting. For $20, ticket holders were given wristbands that allowed entrance into all of the weekend's shows, which spanned five different venues along Broadway. For those who weren't wearing wristbands, several free performances were hosted at Records, Java Lounge and Records. The back-to-back schedules at the venues allowed for a constant stream of activity, and if ticket holders didn’t like one performance, they could walk down the street to the next one. The goal of the festival was to "showcase all of the different kinds of jazz you'll find