A delegation of Sacramento business and political leaders returned from a four-day tour of New Orleans with fresh insight into what it takes for a city to recover and thrive after a disaster, including improving transportation methods, sustainable housing and flood protections. “New Orleans had a unique opportunity to reinvent itself because of all the investments made there after Katrina,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. “We need to look at how we can reinvent ourselves here, too.” On Tuesday, Council Members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson shared the lessons learned from the people in New Orleans about methods of recovery the city has u

New Orleans' funk phenomenon Big Sam's Funky Nation rolls into Sacramento Sunday night to play a show at Harlow's. "Big Sam" Williams, a former member of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, has been celebrated as "the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz" by the San Francisco Chronicle.  He also has a recurring role playing himself on the HBO Original Series "Treme."  Jambase describes Big Sam's Funky Nation as "soul food to get us through the week" and touts the band for always "bringing a straight raw party." BSFN is a stalwart on the U.S. festival circuit, having appeared at New Orleans Jazzfest, Bonnaroo, Voodoo Arts and Music Fest , South by Southwest, Gathering of the

Dave Eggers spoke about his book, “Zeitoun,” at the Crest Theatre Wednesday in the feature event of the sixth-annual One Book Sacramento: Connecting Our Communities. In her opening remarks, Sacramento Public Library Director Rivkah Sass mentioned the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (Aug. 29) and the flood threat to the Sacramento region as reasons the library selected “Zeitoun.” Eggers took the stage in hiking boots and a pinstripe jacket. He was joined by interviewer Joseph Palermo, associate professor of American history at Sacramento State. Palermo has written two books on Robert F. Kennedy and blogs at The Huffington Post. “Zeitoun” narrates the story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun,

              I'd been in Harlow's for almost 10 full minutes Tuesday night when a fellow that I'd exchanged brief pleasantries with on the way in approached me at the bar. "Hey man, we're gonna go burn if you're interested."               After a lengthy internal deliberation, I declined his kind offer. It was up to me, you see, to relay the evenings events to you, kind reader, and that's a responsibility I take very seriously. I wouldn't have my perceptions dulled by anything stronger than PBR. At least not until the set break.               Truth & Salvage Co. was opening for San Francisco's Tea Leaf Green, and though I'd never seen either group live before, as the crowd rolled in, I fe

 Trombone Shorty is blowing up.  The onetime child prodigy (he started playing at age three, was a bandleader at age six and was touring the world with Lenny Kravitz at 18) is now 24, and he's everywhere.  Maybe you saw him on stage with The Dave Matthews Band at the "NFL Opening Kickoff 2010."   Or maybe you've seen him on HBO's hit show "Treme."  Perhaps you caught him and his band, Orleans Avenue, on Letterman a few months back. If you have yet to experience Trombone Shorty and his unique brand of "supafunkrock," despair not – you'll have plenty more opportunities, beginning with his show Friday night at Harlow's.  He agreed to take a few minutes out of his very busy schedule to speak

 With the summer heat getting suddenly hotter and the evenings getting just right, Sacramento can always count on one thing for summer: The Sacramento Shakespeare Festival. Celebrating it’s 25th year, the festival is at its peak, and continues to entertain locals and draw travelers with its amalgam of brilliant plays, community atmosphere and local talent. “It’s a little bowl in a park that gets filled up,” actor and student Anthony Person, 25, said. “Families come out and they bring their picnics, and they come and they see a good night of theater.” This year’s roster boasts two of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a tale of fairies, young lovers and

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews is a musician's musician. The prodigy started playing music at age 3 and got his big break at age 4 sharing the stage with Bo Diddley. "It was so long ago I can't remember," said Andrews, now 24. "I remember my mom saying I was playing (trombone) and some people crowd-surfed me to the stage, and they put me on the stage, and that was it." He earned his name because he could play a trombone before even being as tall as the horn. Sunday night, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue will play their high-energy set at Harlow's. Opening will be The Nibblers, a seven-piece rock band led by local singer Hans Eberbach and Mumbo Gumbo members Lynn Michael Palmer, Jon W

August is the month where they separate the men from the boys. The Sacramento River Cats look to be one of the upper-tier teams in the Pacific Coast League. Tickets for the first round of the playoffs went on sale Wednesday at Raley Field. Even though Tony DeFrancesco’s club has a 7.5 game lead over their rival the Fresno Grizzlies in the Pacific South Division, Sacramento still feels they must always look in the rear-view mirror to see which team is creeping up behind them. The River Cats begin an eight-game home stand tonight that will go a long ways in deciding who they might face down the road in the playoffs. Sacramento begins its home stand against the Oklahoma City RedHawks. As of