The Archive
Sac Setlist
Archive
Sacramento’s music history, sourced and cited. A field guide to the venues, artists, events, and institutions that shaped the scene.
Researched by Jason Pierce · Updated continuously
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Institution2000s-2020sAce of Spades / Goldfield / Holy Diver Venue Group
Bret Bair and Eric Rushing have been the most prolific venue operators in Sacramento's modern live-music era, building a portfolio that at its peak included Ace of Spades, Goldfield Trading Post, Holy Diver, The Cabin, 8-Track, B-Side, and
Event2012-presentAftershock Festival
Aftershock Festival is a multi-day rock, metal, and punk festival held annually at Discovery Park in Sacramento, produced by Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP).
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Beth Duncan
Veteran Sacramento jazz vocalist and radio personality. A mainstay of the Sacramento Jazz Cooperative, she performs with a quintet anchored by Joe Gilman and Jacam Manricks — one of the most consistently documented working groups in the contemporary Sacramento jazz scene.
Institution2015-presentBigger Than Us Arts
A 501(c)(3) Sacramento nonprofit founded in 2015 by music educator Benwar Shepard. Brings live arts directly to schools and neighborhoods that don't see regular professional programming — 40+ school performances a year, plus Music on Our Streets and a monthly entrepreneurial workshop for working musicians.
Artist1990s-2020sBrotha Lynch Hung
Brotha Lynch Hung (born Kevin Danell Mann, January 10, 1969) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Sacramento, California, widely recognized as a pioneer of horrorcore rap and the creator of the subgenre he calls "ripg
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Artist1991-presentCake (band)
Cake is an American alternative-rock band formed in Sacramento in August 1991 by singer John McCrea, trumpet/keys player Vince DiFiore, guitarist Greg Brown, drummer Frank French, and bassist Shon Meckfessel (quickly replaced by Gabe Nelson
Venue1980s-2000sThe Cattle Club
The Cattle Club was a 250-capacity all-ages music club at 7042 Folsom Boulevard in Sacramento that, from 1989 through roughly 1995, served as the region's single most important incubator for the 1990s alternative-rock boom.
Event1990s-2020sConcerts in the Park
Concerts in the Park is a free outdoor summer concert series held on Friday evenings at Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Sacramento, organized by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership .
Venue1912-presentCrest Theatre
The Crest Theatre is a restored art deco movie palace and live-performance venue at 1013 K Street in downtown Sacramento. Originally opened in 1912 as the Empress Theatre (a vaudeville house), it was completely rebuilt in 1949 as an art…
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Dante Club
A long-standing Sacramento event hall and banquet space that serves as the primary concert venue for the Sacramento Jazz Cooperative, hosting cabaret-style jazz presentations with local and national artists.
Artist1988-presentDeftones
Deftones is an American alternative-metal band formed in Sacramento in 1988 by vocalist Chino Moreno, guitarist Stephen Carpenter, and drummer Abe Cunningham — three childhood friends from C.K.
Dog Party
Sacramento's punk sister duo — Gwendolyn and Lucy Giles — formed at ages 8 and 10, released their first album at 11 and 13, opened for Green Day, toured Europe, and launched their own label. Seven albums deep and still based in Sacramento.
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Groovie Ghoulies
Sacramento pop-punk institution. Kepi Ghoulie (Jeff Alexander) fronted the band for their entire 24-year run — nine studio albums, Lookout! Records, international touring, and a horror-movie aesthetic that made them one of the most distinctive bands the 916 ever produced.
Venue1910s-2020sGuild Theater
The Guild Theater is a historic 200-seat venue in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood, built in 1915 and operated since 2003 by St. HOPE, the community development nonprofit founded by NBA All-Star and former Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson…
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Harley White Jr.
Sacramento bassist and bandleader. A fixture at Shady Lady Saloon and a consistent presence in the R Street jazz circuit, representing a lineage of working Sacramento jazz musicians who have anchored the city's straight-ahead scene for decades.
Venue1982-presentHarlow's
Harlow's is an independently owned and operated live-music venue and restaurant at 2708 J Street in Midtown Sacramento. Founded in 1982, it has operated continuously for over 40 years and fills the critical mid-cap tier in Sacramento's…
Artist2010s-2020sHobo Johnson & the Lovemakers
Hobo Johnson (born Frank Jorge Lopes Jr., December 22, 1994) is an American rapper, singer, and spoken-word artist from Sacramento, California, and the frontman of Hobo Johnson & the Lovemakers .
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Jacam Manricks
Sacramento saxophonist and composer. Featured horn player in the Beth Duncan/Joe Gilman quintet, leads his own quartet and orchestra, and performs at The Sofia and regional venues.
Joe Gilman
Sacramento pianist and educator, CapRadio-designated "Sacramento jazz master." First-call bandleader for the Sacramento Jazz Cooperative, regular at Twin Lotus Thai, and the pianist behind virtually every significant straight-ahead jazz production in the city.
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InstitutionpresentSacramento Brass Band Collective
An umbrella organizing body for Sacramento's second-line ecosystem, drawing musicians from Element Brass Band, City of Trees Brass Band, Dirty Chops Brass Band, Bigger Than Us Arts Brass Band, and the All-Female Brass Band to present community parades and performances rooted in New Orleans tradition.
Institution2016–presentSacramento Jazz Cooperative
Sacramento's premier jazz nonprofit, founded in 2016 by Carolyne Swayze. Presents concerts, produces the "From the Living Room" YouTube series, and serves as the organizational backbone of the contemporary Sacramento jazz scene — doing the curatorial work a dedicated jazz club would normally do.
Event1970s-2010sSacramento Jazz Jubilee / Sacramento Music Festival
The Sacramento Jazz Jubilee — originally the *Old Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Jubilee* (1974–2010), rebranded the *Sacramento Music Festival & Jubilee* (2011–2017) — was, at its peak, the largest traditional jazz festival in the world and the
Institution1980s-2020sSacramento Music Archive
The Sacramento Music Archive (sacramentomusicarchive.com) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Shayne Stacy that preserves and freely shares primary-source audio, video, photographs, and ephemera documenting Sacramento-area…
Institution1989-presentSacramento News & Review (SN&R)
Sacramento News & Review (SN&R) was — and, in significantly reduced online form, still is — the defining alternative newsweekly of Sacramento from its founding in 1989 through the suspension of its print edition in January 2021.
Venue1980s-2020sSacramento's Lost Venues: Club Minimal, Melarkey's, and The Distillery
Sacramento's live-music infrastructure has always been volatile — venues open, thrive, and vanish, often within a few years. Three now-closed rooms illustrate different eras and audiences in the city's music history: Club Minimal (c.
Shady Lady Saloon
A classic-cocktail speakeasy on R Street that doubles as one of Sacramento's most consistent jazz rooms. Shady Lady books Element Brass Band, Harley White Jr., and a rotating cast of jazz, blues, and neo-soul acts in an intimate, low-volume setting that demands the music do the work.
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Artist1980s-2020sTesla
Tesla is an American hard rock band formed in Sacramento, California, in 1982 . Originally called City Kidd, the group coalesced around bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Frank Hannon before adding vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarist Tommy…
Venue1934-presentThe Torch Club
A 150-capacity blues bar at 904 15th Street, the Torch Club has been Sacramento's most continuous live-music venue since 1934. Founded by the Karavites family, owned by the Texeiras since 1969, it has occupied three downtown addresses across nine decades.
Twin Lotus Thai
A Thai restaurant on Folsom Boulevard that functions as Sacramento's most active jazz room, presenting a dense calendar of tributes, original projects, and student ensembles. The closest thing the city has to a dedicated jazz club.
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