Big Sandy (and His Fly-Rite Boys) rock midtown Sacramento's Townhouse (1517 21st Street) on Saturday night, December 1.  No, not the weather that recently deluged the East Coast. This Big Sandy is the recording artist and Rockabilly Hall of Famer from Southern California who has entertained audiences for over 20 years.  Big Sandy and HIs Fly Rite Boys play their own brand of classic rock, seamlessly blending rockabilly, American roots music, western swing and traditional country into a free-wheeling good time sound. Their stellar vocals and musicianship combine for an unforgettable live show. Big Sandy's vocals and material are so authentic that they would easily fit in with the Sun Studi

T-Mo Entertainment’s annual Holiday Jam showcased local talents’ finest this past Saturday, Nov. 24, at the Guild Theatre. For only a $10 admission, the show was affordable to all, with proceeds going to local homeless shelters and T-Mo’s Boy to a Man workshop. The theatre is illuminated starkly in the quaint Oak Park neighborhood - truly a diamond in the rough. Local vendors lined the theatre walls with a vast array of handmade jewelry, music and clothing. Jennifer Bernard, founder of Haute Baubles Jewelry & Accessories, was one of many vendors in attendance. Her handmade glittering jewels sparkled across black velvet fabric, enticing, yet affordable. Bernard, who works full time, explai

It’s the time of the year again when canned food drives get into high gear. Recently, The Conscious of Self and the Love Renaissance Project took a different approach to giving back by holding a canned food drive concert. Conscious of Self is a campus organization at Sacramento State University that promotes student advocacy on campus. The Love Renaissance Project is a collective of local artists, photographers,musicians, writers, and entertainers. All of the performers were local, many of them are students at Sacramento State and part of one of the two organizations. “I chose to perform at this event because it was for a good cause.” says Steffen Hudson, a performer who goes by the stage

Saturday, November 24 was "Small Business Saturday" across the nation. Supporting small business is more important than ever since it has been the main force driving the economic recovery. The idea came from American Express a few years back and was embraced by President Obama on Saturday, as he went Christmas shopping for his family at an independent book store. The question is, did this concept, sandwiched in between "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" have an impact in Sacramento? I decided to take my SacTV.com camera Downtown and to Old Sac to investigate on Saturday between noon and 2pm. Walking around the K Street Mall, which now has the title "The Kay," I did not find much action goi

Sol Collective hosted Grammy-nominee Ana Tijoux and other artists on Monday, Nov. 19. Tijoux was up for Best Urban album at the Latin Grammy Awards that transpired on Nov. 15. International and local talent continues to be showcased at Sol Collective and Monday night provided over five hours of entertainment. Andru Defeye served as host for the evening and kept things moving along. Once onstage, Tijoux, who is currently six months pregnant, thanked the audience for attending and apologized for not being able to perform the last time she was scheduled to appear at Sol Collective, in late August. Tijoux started off with “Obstaculo” (Obstacle) and “Partir de Cero” (Starting From Scratc

In a “Big Bang” of African rhythm, the Royal Drummers and Dancers of Burundi brought their primal cornerstone of music to Folsom Lake College’s Three Stages theater Monday night. Carrying their handmade drums on their heads while playing a solemn march and wearing authentic ceremonial outfits from their east-African country, the 13-man ensemble entered from the lobby single-file before planting their instruments in a half-circle of ten supporting drums around the painted Inkiranya lead drum. Native chants determined a starting point and unified the troupe until they detonated the first note of each cadence with tightly synchronized overhand arm strokes, organizing the players into sectio

Hard work, dedication, and perseverance is no easy ride, but it eventually pays off. A group of local artists who call themselves WhoRide knows first-hand that making it big isn’t something that happens over night. Four friends from Roseville who came together on a series of coincidences are no strangers to late night recording sessions in their garage turned recording studio. With limited budgets, full-time jobs, and other responsibilities, it is truly a testimony to their passion for music that has brought them this far. WhoRide will perform on stage Sunday, December 16 for their fifth time at Ace of Spades in Downtown Sacramento. They will be opening for Snoop Dogg, the famed rapper,

Kicking off a series of SacTV.com videos about the history of Sacramento intersections is "Watt & El Camino," which is an introduction to stories about this legendary intersection. It's hard to believe that this intersection is nothing like what it was in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s when Tower Records and Tower Books were the key hangouts on this block. Even though the bowling alley, Country Club Lanes, still thrives and survives as a busy family fun entertainment center, much of the block has gone through a major facelift. There used to be a hair salon where my friend Dotti worked, next door to Tower Books, which is now a health food grocery store called Fresh & Easy. The Goodwill Donation

It was indie night at Ace of Spades this past Wednesday, Nov. 14. From unique female vocalists to experimental post-hardcore, three bands gave Sacramento a great show. Emotion-stricken vocalist Nina Diaz and her band, Girl in a Coma (Phanie Diaz, drums and Jenn Alva, bass), were first to take the stage. All the way from San Antonio, Texas, Girl in a Coma showed a strong and fun female presence. Nina Diaz has a rockabilly style of vocals that, paired with their indie rock sound, puts Girl in a Coma in their own genre. With four studio albums, Girl in a Coma has a mixture of fast-tempo rock songs like “Say” off their first album “Both Before I'm Gone” and slower and more emotional track

November's Second Saturday event continues to attract visitors to Midtown and other areas to enjoy art, music, food and now holiday shopping. The cold weather kept many art aficionados home this month but some venues continue to bring visitors to their art walk events. I passed by several galleries and made a longer stop at Union Hall Gallery located at 2126 K Street. Some construction work was being done near the front and guests entered from the back entrance. The Union Hall Gallery showcased the work of artist Leonardo Ceballos’ exhibition entitled “Un suspiro por México (A sigh for Mexico).” The art on exhibit showcased things that Ceballos misses from his native Mexico and each

Last week the legendary Sacramento freeform station KZAP returned to the airwaves. Instead of its long remembered 98.5 dial position the freeform staton came back to life at 90.3 KDVS, the UC Davis college station. The event lasted over two days from November 8-10, featuring KZAP jocks from the 60s and 70s, when the station offered a wide eclectic mix where almost anything was possible. SacTV.com was there to get clips and interviews of the historic presentation. One of the program directors at KDVS, Michael Taber, explained in a SacTV.com interview how letting a famous station of the past return on the college station is unique and special to KDVS history.  KDVS has a vast library of mus

KRS-One – often referred to as one of the greatest MCs of all time – will perform at Harlow's Saturday. Born Kris Lawrence Parker, the hip-hop MC has been active in the Sacramento area, spending time supporting local organizations such as the Washington Neighborhood Center in 2009. The show begins at 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, and tickets are $20. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here. Harlow's is located at 2708 J St.

When you walk in the door of Tim’s Music you immediately notice that the space is open, clean, visually appealing and staffed by friendly folks. That’s the impression that owner Scott Mandeville wants people to have. He designed the space to be warmly inviting and wants his staff to understand that kindness and personal interaction are the first step in creating a relationship with each person who enters the door. Mandeville and his wife Melissa bought the business in 2005 from its founder and namesake, Tim Lawrence. Lawrence opened Tim’s Band Instrument Service in 1977 and when nearing retirement, he joked repeatedly with his friend about buying the shop. One day, Mandeville asked, “How

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a day for honoring the life and memory of loved ones was celebrated over the weekend of Oct. 27-28. The event, known as Panteón de Sacramento (Sacramento Cemetery) was celebrated with dance performances, music and family oriented activities. Dozens of altars honoring loved ones who have passed away were set up at the Native American Health Center’s parking lot on J Street. I attended part of Saturday’s event and was captivated by many of the altars I stopped at. Individual and community groups participated in building elaborate altars. The event is hosted by La Raza Galería Posada and many people and organizations that participated last year an

Shannon McCabe’s Vampire Ball made a successful debut at Roseville’s Placer County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Oct. 27. The theme for this year’s event was “The Vampire Chronicles - A tribute to all things Anne Rice." The evening event brought several hundred visitors to a venue full of live music, tribal dancers, carnival food and a beer garden for guests to enjoy. Having outgrown previous venues, the Placer County Fairgrounds hosted the Vampire Ball as well as Callson Manor Haunted House. The Vampire Ball included an area that looked like a graveyard, a plantation, Queen Akasha’s throne room, a VIP cemetery and other scenes inspired by Anne Rice’s Vampire Ball Chronicles, from her book

I have to abandon certain journalistic principles and tell this story in the first person since I am THE source. When I was young, kids made fun of me because my name "Cosper" resembled a popular cartoon character called "Casper the Friendly Ghost." Luckily, the cartoon eventually died and not many people have given me grief about it the past few decades. Yet recently I was confronted with a completely different ghost story, which triggered the ghost of Casper in my mind. SacTV.com is my library of local video interviews in which I continue to learn about regional leaders and what they do for the community. I recently interviewed Jeff Kean, who is the Executive Director of the Woodland Op

Free spirits moving under the night sky while music played in the background entertained a standing-room-only audience, as they watched dancers move in fluid motion while using fire as their vehicle to bring light and warmth to the audience. On Friday-Saturday, Oct. 19-20, Unmata presented the “Blood Moon Regale,” bringing Sacramento 10 magnificent years of Unmata choreographies live on stage. The Friday night, fire show lit up an outside patio of Hot Italian facing Q Street. The packed area saw fire performances by Arexia, SamiTe, Kamille, Pirotechnics, Vulcan Crew, Obsidian Butterfly and Controlled Burn. Fire dance performers delighted the audience with their spectacular, fluid dan

Sacramento's economic recovery has been slow, but one of the things keeping it alive is entertainment and the world of media production. While a series of big companies have been leaving town, the show goes on for creative people who want to perform for the local scene or distribute their media for professional purposes. Local culture had been stung by corporate interference, but the pendulum seems to be swinging back toward Sacramento establishing its own regional identity, especially when it comes to live and recorded entertainment. While no one claims Sacramento is an entertainment capital, it's still a place that provides growing opportunities for people with show business aspirations

Alt-rock godfathers and Lollapalooza festival founders Jane's Addiction brought  their "Theatre of the Escapists" Tour to the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis Saturday night. Thenewno2 ("the new number two") opened. The band played a mix of songs ranging from three off of their most recent album, 2011's The Great Escape Artist, to their classic back catalog that prompted many full-throated audience sing-alongs. Their first studio album, 1988's Nothing's Shocking, was well-represented with "Mountain Song, "Ted, Just Admit It...," "Ocean Size," "Up The Beach," and with "Jane Says" played with Dave Navarro (on acoustic guitar) and bassist Chris Chaney sitting in comforta

photographs by Barry Wisdom / The Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet company offered a preview of its 2012 production of "The Nutcracker," as well as several featured dances from its eclectic repertoire, at Saturday's Midtown Arts Festival, which Midtown Business Association representatives said drew some 4,000 to a variety of performance stages and vendor tables and booths on 20th Street (between J and K streets). Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet will present three performances of "The Nutcracker" on Folsom Lake College's Stage 1 at the Harris Center for the Performing Arts (formerly Three Stages): 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21 and 22; and 2 p.m. Dec. 23. Guest artist Michael Onstad will reprise his role