One thing noticably odd about the absurdly awesome High Sierra Music Festival, held each year in the hills of Quincy, CA, is that it rarely seems to feature Sacramento-based talent - odd in that we are the closest major city. After spending the last couple of years holding commando sets and street performances (as many bands do at HSMF) on top of RVs, local funkmasters the Nibblers scored themselves an official 10 a.m. Saturday morning spot on the Big Meadow stage as the first band of the day, and they absolutely made the most of it, pulling weary campers out of their tents (almost literally) and into the groove. It's called funking your way up. Big Meadow was the Sactown spot on Saturd

What do you get when you combine hip hop, rock, pop, rap, electronica, indie and R&B? You get Idle Warship, the collaboration of veteran underground Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli and Res (pronounced reese), a lesser known but well-seasoned R&B/pop vocalist hailing from Philadelphia, Penn. Touring in support of their recently released album, “Habits of the Heart,” Idle Warship paid a visit to Harlow’s Sunday night and won over the audience of 300 plus members with their unique brand of music that defies categorization due to the influence of so many music genres packaged together in their high energy show. Many members of the audience were unfamiliar with the Idle Warship concept before the

  This year’s Chalk It Up! event appeared to have outgrown its venue at Fremont Park. Thousands of visitors came to enjoy the three day annual event. As usual, the event was held during the Labor Day weekend. Talented and creative artists of all ages participated using just chalk and the sidewalk around Fremont Park to create some magnificent pieces of art. Music has always been a centerpiece of the event and once again Jerry Perry Presents put together a great lineup. Close to three dozen local musicians and bands participated to create another memorable Chalk It Up. Children’s activities, a beer garden, food and numerous vendors shared the grounds at Fremont Park. Chalk It Up! help

Sorry we're a little late this week with the Rundown, y'all! Tax filing procrastinators, unite! My story and interview with Mr. Garrett "G. Love" Dutton will be up later on this weekend, in preparation for his show at Harlow's on Wednesday night. I won't lie, I can't wait to hear some of those new Avett Brothers produced tunes, played by the Sauce! Meantime, there's a chance for you to unleash your inner Diamond this weekend, and a little more fun on tap for Second Saturday weekend. Cheers! Super Diamond - If you're a regular reader of this space, you know our general disdain for cover bands at Rundown headquarters. Sure, we all like to hear our favorite tunes souped up and busted throu

Sac State's Union Ballroom was transformed for Cap City Culture on Thursday night. Some of the highlights of the evening were a DJ scratchfest with some of the top local DJs, a performance by the Beatbox world champion, Butterscotch, sets from the top 3 finalists of "America's Got Talent,"  and a break dance competition.                         

Abstract Rude's name tells a lot about the L.A. emcee. He picked up "Abstract" when interpretive dance duo Tribe Unique witnessed his crazy dance style and put a name to it. The second half of the name was added when Abstract Rude began growing dreadlocks in 1991. Older Rastas told him his locks were going to be "rude." Saturday at The Blue Lamp, Rude will bring his poetic style to live performance, incorporating everything from reggae to soul to interpretive dance. Local emcees C-Plus, Matt Cali, Illicism and Random Abiladeze will open the show, along with DJ Nocturnal. Rude became interested in hip hop at age 9, when he was inspired to break dance after seeing b-boys perform in the 19