Luna's Cafe is a Sacramento music venue and coffee house located at 1414 16th Street in Midtown.[1] Across Submerge Magazine's coverage it appears as an intimate, multi-genre space hosting solo singer-songwriters, jazz, and experimental/noise performance.[2][3][4] Luna's Cafe was founded on August 5, 1983 by Art Luna and his sister Chris Luna.[5][6]
At a glance
- Address: 1414 16th Street, Midtown Sacramento.[1]
- Founded: August 5, 1983, by Art Luna and his sister Chris Luna.[5][6]
- Functions as a cafe/coffee-house concert space (described as a "coffee house" in NoiseFest coverage).[4]
- Described as "one of this area's original cafe galleries," with walls serving as an exhibition space for Chicano and local artwork.[6][5]
- Strict no-cover-songs policy: a "No Covers" sign hung above the stage; Art Luna wanted performers to share their own original work.[5]
- Recurring host venue (typically the opening night) for NorCal NoiseFest, the city's long-running noise/experimental festival.[1][4][7]
- Suited to solo and acoustic sets; singer-songwriter Christopher Fairman played there solo rather than with his full band.[2]
History and ownership
Luna's Cafe was founded on August 5, 1983 by Art Luna and his sister Chris Luna.[5][6] Art Luna became the sole owner in 2003.[5]
The venue is described as "one of this area's original cafe galleries," according to Sacramento365.[6] Its walls functioned as an exhibition space for Chicano and Mexican artwork; the cafe also hosted meetings of La Raza Galeria Posada and the Royal Chicano Air Force.[5]
Programming and role in the scene
Luna's Cafe functions as a small Midtown room that accommodates a range of acts. Singer-songwriter Christopher Fairman distinguished it from rock-club bookings: when playing Old Ironsides he performed with a full band, but at Luna's Cafe he played solo, accompanied only by guitarist Nick York.[2] This positions Luna's as a venue suited to stripped-down, intimate performance.[2]
The venue also hosts jazz. Guitarist Ross Hammond held the CD release party for his Ross Hammond Quartet album Adored at Luna's Cafe on Feb. 27, 2012.[3] Hammond returned in 2017 for an endurance event: a 12-hour benefit concert (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) on Sept. 1, 2017, raising money for the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, during which he was joined on stage sporadically by other local musicians.[8]
No cover songs
A defining feature of the cafe was Art Luna's strict no-cover-songs policy. A "No Covers" sign hung above the stage. According to Luna, "I want to hear what people have to say in their art whether it's poetry, music, dance, comedy. I want to hear what they've got inside them, not their interpretation of somebody else's work."[5]
Notable early performers
Luna's Cafe served as an early-career launchpad for several Sacramento musicians. Cake performed early shows at the venue, and the band's lead singer John McCrea lived above the cafe for a time.[5] Hobo Johnson is also among the musicians whose careers were launched at Luna's.[5]
Poetry Unplugged
Luna's Cafe hosted the long-running "Poetry Unplugged" series, established by poet Joe Montoya. According to the Sacramento News & Review, the series had been active at the cafe for nearly 30 years.[5]
NorCal NoiseFest host venue
Luna's Cafe is a recurring venue for NorCal NoiseFest, the annual Sacramento noise and experimental sound-art festival that began in 1995.[4][7] In the multi-venue editions Submerge documented, Luna's typically served as a festival site:
- 2012 (16th NoiseFest): Luna's Cafe hosted the Friday, Oct. 5 program, starting at 7 p.m., alongside Sol Collective and Bows and Arrows.[1]
- 2013 (17th NoiseFest): Luna's hosted Friday-night sets, including W00dy (10:30 p.m.), M22 (9:30 p.m.), and Los Angeles act +DOG+ as the venue's closing performance at 11:30 p.m.[4]
- 2014: Luna's Cafe hosted the festival's first day (Oct. 3, 2014) from 7 p.m. to midnight, with a $10 cash cover.[7]
That a coffee house regularly anchors a noise festival is itself noted in the coverage, with one act framed as "sonic brutality unleashed in a coffee house."[4]
Notes and gaps
The Submerge corpus does not state Luna's Cafe's founding year, ownership, or current operating status. Because the entity is a venue (a place, not a performer), the local/touring origin distinction does not apply; its local_status is recorded as na. It is unambiguously a Sacramento (Midtown) venue.[1]