The Sacramento Blues Society (SBS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1979 by Phil Givant, Mick Martin, and Jeff Hughson — the third-oldest blues society in the United States. Its mission is to promote and preserve blues music as the original American art form.
SBS has anchored Sacramento's blues community for nearly five decades. Its Hall of Fame (initiated by longtime officer John Noxon, first class 2008) has honored roughly 79 musicians, organizers, broadcasters, and venues across 16 classes — including Johnny Heartsman, Little Charlie Baty, Rick Estrin, Omar Sharriff, and the Torch Club's Texeira family. A physical Wall of Fame hangs at the Torch Club, and the society's "Gone But Not Forgotten" photo memorial honors more than 74 departed members of the blues community.
Its Blues in the Schools program (est. 2005) has reached over 57,000 students across the Sacramento region and earned The Blues Foundation's Keeping the Blues Alive Award in 2015. SBS publishes the bi-monthly Blue Notes newsletter, runs the Blue Sunday concert series at The Torch, sends local acts to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, and operates memorial funds honoring Gene Chambers, Mick Martin, and Little Charlie Baty. The society counts roughly 51 member bands as of 2026.