Making a special appearance this Memorial Day, “Igor the Jazz Cowboy” will return to Sacramento for this one-of-a-kind exclusive performance. A star from decades of concerts at the “Sacramento Music Festival,” this show is not related to the festival and will feature the best of all Igor’s talent. His music includes the roots of Americana, from New Orleans to Arizona’s cowboys and beyond. Igor will team up with local comedy magician John Heinen, and together for the first time they will perform at the gorgeous campus of Sacramento’s Unitarian Universalist Society, located near Fair Oaks Boulevard between Howe Ave and Fulton Ave at 2425 Sierra Blvd. The admission price of $15, children und

     It’s never easy to say goodbye, especially to the legendary band who helped get this country through some of the roughest times it has ever seen. Lou Coppola and the Nor Cal Big Bands Preservation Society will say goodbye to the public on May 19 by holding a farewell ball in Sacramento.       There have been many leaders of the bands in the past, but Coppola, 85 and executive director of the Nor Cal Big Bands Preservation Society, has witnessed his band perform during difficult stages in American history. From the Great Depression to World War II, the vibrant and uplifting tunes of the big bands have helped bring light into the American people and always kept a positive tune in the he

Word from Ace of Spades night club is that the Mothership is due to land Saturday night. On board is George Clinton and his band of extraterrestrial brothers, the Parliament Funkadelics. Show goers are in for a treat as George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelics play their special brand of P- Funk. Doors open at 7 p.m., Saturday at Ace of Spades. Come on out and help Sacramento greet the Architects of P-Funk, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelics. Editor’s note: Every Thursday we deliver a local event guide straight to your inbox, right on time to make your weekend plans. Sign me up.  

Sacramento Women’s Chorus will celebrate its 25th anniversary Saturday, March 9, with gala concert performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Both performances of the group’s Celebrate! 25th Anniversary Concert will take place at the Sacramento Waldorf School, 3750 Bannister Road in Fair Oaks. The concerts will include special guest performances by the highly acclaimed Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus. A commemorative 25th anniversary reception, open to the public, will follow the 2 p.m. performance. Concert tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and groups of 10 or more, and $12 for children ages 5 to 18, available at sacramentowomenschorus.org or at the door. The March 9 concerts will feature an

Don't let the party stop after you've had your fill of beer and fashion this week, Sacramento! How do tattoos, black face paint, and tight, black leather sound? Good? Then check out Hollywood rock band Black Veil Brides at Ace of Spades next Wednesday, March 6. While seemingly more known to some for their visual aesthetics than their music, these wild-haired bad boys in eye shadow are continually refining their musical style and have seen it evolve from screaming heavy metal to a more anthemic rock sound. They're making a play for the big time with their third album, "Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones," an ambitious rock opera à la My Chemical Romance's "The Black Parade.

American Idol winner Kris Allen came to Sacramento on Wednesday, Feb. 13, for a concert performance as part of the Out Alive tour to promote his sophomore album, “Thank You Camellia.” The tour gets its name from the title of the fourth track on the album. His stop in Sacramento was one out of eight stops in California. His previous stops on the West Coast also included one at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas. The season eight champion and his band performed at the Sacramento City College Performance Arts Center, for an intimate audience of about 200 people, curious newcomers as well as longtime fans, including one woman who confessed it was the 30th time she’d seen Allen perform live. Twee

If you didn't make it out to Ace of Spades last night to catch the Hot Water Music tour, you missed some great performances. Critically acclaimed group The Menzingers kicked off the night right with a set of rough, blue-collar punk. Vocalist Greg Barnett mentioned that it was the band's first time in Sacramento. Mission accomplished on making a good first impression. After finishing a set that included fierce songs like "Nice Things" and "Irish Goodbyes," the crowd hoped to hear more, chanting "One more song!" which doesn't happen very often with supporting bands that no one cares about. All signs (my past experience) pointed to second support act La Dispute putting on a passionate, en

If the the music you think of when you hear the words "Brazilian Carnaval" is the traditional samba played during the parades of Rio de Janeiro, you may be in for a surprise if you go to the Carnaval show taking place at the YMCA on 17th Street on Feb. 16. During the show, which was organized by the The Brazilian Center For Cultural Exchange Of Sacramenton, the drums will be a bit heavier, the rhythms funkier, and the dancing, a little more freeform. "People outside of Brazil, they think Brazil is only traditional samba with girls dancing with small bikinis and a lot of feathers", said Ney Rios of BatuAxe, one of the bands scheduled to perform. "But we do it different, we try to show the

Florida's Hot Water Music has been refining a brand of gravel-throated rock somewhere between punk and post-hardcore (or whatever you want to call it) for nearly 20 years now. On Thursday, Feb. 7, they bring it to the best live music venue in Sac, Ace of Spades. Led by guitarist and vocalist Chuck Ragan and featuring a very tight and complex rhythm section, HWM is touring behind 2012's "Exister," their eighth studio album and first album of new material in eight years. A live album, “Live in Chicago,” was also released in late 2012. Joining HWM on the bill are the indisputably excellent Grand Rapids, Mich., band La Dispute and The Menzingers, from Scranton, Pa. The Menzingers' "On the

Muse came to the Sleep Train Amphitheater in Sacramento Tuesday night to an almost sold out crowd. This was one of several stops in California to kick off their North American Tour. Band of Skulls opened for Muse. They were a great compliment to the headliners. The same old school rock and roll music quality that Muse has in some of their songs is mirrored in this band. The songs focused on instrumental solos and well played transitions almost as much as the lyrics. While this is a relatively new band, having only formed in 2009, I don't think it will be long before they are headlining their own show. They have a raw quality and a unity to their music that makes them special. Muse has be

UNIQUE Programs is pleased to present a concert featuring twenty | one | pilots. The concert will be hosted in the Sacramento State University Union Ballroom at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013. In its purest form, music acts as a conduit of self-expression that's free from the conventions of society. That spirit of fearlessness lies at the core of twenty | one | pilots, an Ohio-based group whose musical vision is completely their own. Over the past few years the duo of front man Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun have built a hardcore following that seems primed to reach a fever pitch with the January 8, 2013 release of their Fueled By Ramen debut Vessel. They were recently names one

On Wednesday the holiday season officially began at the UC Davis Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. “An Nollaig in Éirinn,” or “Christmas in Ireland,” was the theme for the evening of entertainment by award-winning Irish ensemble, Danú. The performance was all about sharing Irish Christmas traditions – both those that include music and those that don’t.  Christmas in Ireland must be a whole lot of fun. The six-member group shared the stage throughout the night, each taking the mic on different occasions to introduce a song, story or joke to educate and amuse the Jackson Hall audience. Lead vocalist Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh had a voice that was powerful, smooth and entirely enchanting.

Wiz Khalifa and the Taylor Gang came to the Sacramento Sleep Train Arena, Sunday, Nov. 11. This concert took a turn for the interesting before I had even left the stadium parking lot. Several of its participants were already drunk or smoking the band’s preferred choice: weed. Many car alarms went off as some people stumbled into the arena to watch the artists that made up the Taylor Gang and the headliner Wiz Khalifa. Once inside the arena it became quickly obvious that this was not a family outing. The outfits ranged from interesting in color to scantily clad. But as Wiz said when he first took to the stage, “We are all about creating an environment where you feel free to be yourself. D

Eric Church played at the Sleep Train Arena on Saturday, Nov. 10, with special guests Justin Moore and Kip Moore. While I am personally not a fan of country music, I couldn’t help but be a little charmed by the fans who are. Dressed in cowboy boots and hats, it was nice to have the door held open for me and to hear “Excuse me, ma’am,” as I passed by. Church is a very popular country musician, especially with the ladies, so I saw a lot of jumping up and down as crowd members made their way to their seats. Justin Moore started the night off, playing crowd favorites like “Til My Last Day” and “Small Town USA,” which got the audience amped up. Kip Moore followed. One of his more entertaining

Swedish singer and songwriter Sofia Talvik will be spending the week in the Sacramento area. Talvik’s string of live performances began Tuesday night with a performance at the Coffee Garden in Curtis Park and will continue Friday with a stop at KDVS radio in Davis and another at ZuhG Life Store for a concert Friday night. "What defines you as an artist is that you never give up." This piece of advice was given to Talvik by her father, and she has clearly taken it fully to heart. Achieving success as an artist signifies a life of constantly working to be seen, heard and hopefully remembered. For many, this is a lifelong effort. It takes energy and courage to step out of your shell and in

Tanya Vegvary Plescia, local composer and founder of the Sacramento Piano Conservatory, is giving a piano concert this coming Sunday, October 21st, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park in downtown Sacramento. Plescia also is playing a series of concerts at the National Gallery of Art and at the Washington Arts Club to celebrate the opening of the Kaufmann collection, “Masterpieces of American furniture from 1700-1830”. All concerts feature the music of the era from Mozart to American composers Reinagle and Hewitt. A pianist since age four, Plescia has given concerts in Washington, D.C., Portland, Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as the Crocker Museum of Art Su

Saturday night Power Balance Pavilion hosted country superstar Carrie Underwood and “The Blown Away Tour,” complete with singer and songwriter, Hunter Hayes. The tour is based around Underwood’s fourth album, “Blown Away,” released earlier this year. The mostly-female crowd was dressed and ready for a country night out in Nashville - cowboy hats and boots and all. “Is that the line to the women’s!?” I overheard one woman exclaim, “Mother of pearl!” The merrymaking and revelry was pure entertainment for all involved. Underwood won the hearts of many, waving and chatting throughout the show despite her slightly hoarse-sounding voice. She gave a shout out to “American Idol,” saying that s

!!! (Chk Chk Chk) is back in California for a few days, and they put on a banger of a show last night at Harlow's. I was hoping frontman Nic Offer would be wearing tiny little shorts and I was not disappointed. His pair on Thursday featured The Rolling Stones' “Some Girls” album artwork. Guitarist Mario Andreoni and the rest of the band sounded great. The skinny and lithe Offer thrust his pelvis all over the stage, and came down into the crowd a couple of times to get sweaty with the audience. He smelled awful, and freely admitted as much himself when he got back on stage. If you're wondering about the next !!! album, Offer said they were working on it and it'll be released next y

photographs by Barry Wisdom /   Man comes into this world alone and he exits it alone. So it is only fitting that Elvis Costello is celebrating an anticipated 100th anniversary on Earth sans Attractions, and free from Imposters with his wholly solo "Centenary Show 1954-2054." Costello, who turned 58 last month, acknowledged in remarks to a Mondavi Center audience Friday night that the tour's name could be confusing to some – especially to American audiences who are more familiar with the term "centennial" than the UK version, which might be mistakenly read as the "Cemetery" tour. There was no mistaking how freaking talented, funny, smart and downright personable Costello is as he too

I can't remember the last time there was an all-day music festival in the city limits with some big-name acts, so I was excited to check out the Monster Energy Aftershock 2012 festival at Discovery Park on Sunday. The bill was a mix of "hard rock" bands on two stages. Performers included FallRise, Stepchild, Oleander, Beware of Darkness, Gemini Syndrome, Hell or Highwater, Escape the Fate, Hollywood Undead, Theory of a Deadman, Chevelle, Bush, Deftones, and Stone Temple Pilots. I was especially excited to see Deftones, Bush and STP, since they remind me of being in high school, and they play songs I recognize. Sacramento bands were well-represented (FallRise, Stepchild, Oleander, and De