Sound Check · Navigate
venueFeatured
The Torch Club
1934-present
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.
Researched by Jason Pierce·April 2026·31 sources cited
Deep & Cited
Most Complete
The fullest entries — longest, best-sourced, with images. Start here.
Fresh
Recently Updated
Newest to publish or get revised across the archive.
Growing
Recently Expanded
Entries that got a major addition after first publishing.
By Scene
Sacramento by Sound
The Record grouped by the scenes that make the city — each a short history and the people and places inside it. Grouped by entry genre tags; buckets are a starting point.
Indie & Rock
51 entriesMidtown clubs, college radio, and the guitar bands that fill them — Sacramento's indie and rock backbone.
The people
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
Sister Crayon
Sister Crayon is a Sacramento indie/electronic project led by vocalist and songwriter Terra Lopez, built around downtempo, atmospheric music that blends live drums, programmed beats, synths and dramatic female vocals. Submerge consistently identified the act as local — "our beloved Sister Crayon," "hometown heroes,"…
Life in 24 Frames
Life in 24 Frames is a Sacramento indie rock band founded in 2008 by frontman Kris Adams, known for its experimental, atmospheric songcraft and a consistently rotating lineup anchored to Adams' songwriting. Submerge repeatedly identifies the group as "Sacramento's own," and the band describes itself as staying "true…
ZuhG
ZuhG is a Sacramento jam band, active since 2007, known for a hard-to-categorize blend of funk, reggae, jazz, rock, blues, psychedelia and hip-hop, fronted throughout its existence by guitarist/vocalist Bryan Nichols. Beyond music, the band became a fixture of the local scene by operating the ZuhG Life Store, a…
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.
Little Guilt Shrine
Sacramento alt-rock trio active 1991–1998. Dana Gumbiner on bass and vocals, brothers Matt and Britton Holland on guitar and drums. Five albums, KWOD airplay, and enough of a reputation that fans drove in from out of town a decade later just to catch the reunion.
Middle Class Rut
Middle Class Rut (often shortened to "MC Rut") is a Sacramento rock band built around the duo of Zack Lopez (guitar/vocals) and Sean Stockham (drums/vocals), known for a heavy, raw, beat-driven sound and the breakout single "New Low." Submerge repeatedly frames them as a hometown act and "Sacramento's Dynamic Duo."
Two Sheds
Two Sheds is a Sacramento indie/folk-rock act built around the husband-and-wife duo of singer/guitarist Caitlin Gutenberger and bassist/backing-vocalist Johnny (John) Gutenberger, active since 2006. Long described as Sacramento "darlings," they remained a fixture of the greater Sacramento music scene before relocating…
Punk & Hardcore
48 entriesAll-ages basements, the warehouse circuit, and the bands that made Sacramento a West Coast punk stronghold.
The people
Kurt Travis
Kurt Travis is a Sacramento-based vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who became one of the most prolific figures in the city's post-hardcore scene, fronting (at various points) Dance Gavin Dance and A Lot Like Birds, releasing solo records, and running his own indie label. Over roughly a decade he passed…
Dance Gavin Dance
Dance Gavin Dance (frequently abbreviated DGD) is a Sacramento post-hardcore band, formed in 2005, known for a genre-defying sound that blends post-hardcore, progressive rock and screamo with R&B and funk inflections, and for a turbulent lineup history. Submerge repeatedly identifies them as a hometown act, calling…
A Lot Like Birds
A Lot Like Birds is a Sacramento-based progressive/post-hardcore band founded by guitarist, composer and original vocalist Michael Franzino, repeatedly identified in Submerge coverage as a Sacramento band and described in 2013 as "locally based." Known for technically dense, genre-crossing compositions and a frenetic…
Ganglians
Ganglians were a Sacramento psychedelic/lo-fi garage-pop band, repeatedly described in Submerge as one of the city's "beloved" hometown acts and a hallmark of the late-2000s Sacramento garage scene. The group is consistently identified as local — "Sacramento's psychedelic acid pop act" and "Sacramento's own" — making…
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.
Kevin Seconds
Kevin Seconds is a Sacramento-based singer-songwriter best known as the frontman of the seminal California hardcore punk band 7 Seconds, who in his later career became a prolific solo acoustic artist, a coffeehouse operator, and a connective figure across the Sacramento music community.
The Secretions
The Secretions are a long-running Sacramento punk rock band, formed in 1991 by Mickie Rat and Danny Secretion, widely described in Submerge coverage as "Sacramento punk legends" and a foundational, mentoring presence in the local scene. The band was active from 1991 to 2016.
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.
Roots & Folk
29 entriesSongwriters, string bands, and Americana — the acoustic, roots-leaning corner of the city's music.
The people
Musical Charis
Musical Charis is a Sacramento indie-pop/folk group built around the vocal duo of Blake Abbey and Jessie Brune (later Jessie Abbey), known for harmony-rich songwriting, an open collaborative live format, and for founding a community music school in Oak Park. The group is best understood not as a conventional band but…
ZuhG
ZuhG is a Sacramento jam band, active since 2007, known for a hard-to-categorize blend of funk, reggae, jazz, rock, blues, psychedelia and hip-hop, fronted throughout its existence by guitarist/vocalist Bryan Nichols. Beyond music, the band became a fixture of the local scene by operating the ZuhG Life Store, a…
Arden Park Roots
Arden Park Roots (APR) are a Sacramento reggae/rock band, repeatedly described in Submerge as a "local" and "hometown" act, known for relentless DIY touring and a party-oriented live show that mixes originals with a Sublime tribute set.
Chelsea Wolfe
Chelsea Wolfe is a singer-songwriter raised in Roseville and Sacramento whose darkly atmospheric music—variously tagged "goth folk," "doom folk" and "doom-metal"—made her one of the Sacramento scene's best-known exports before she relocated to Los Angeles and later back to Northern California. Submerge repeatedly…
Ross Hammond
Ross Hammond is a Sacramento-based guitarist, bandleader, festival organizer and music educator, repeatedly described in the local press as a "local guitar player" and a "prolific Sacramento musician" central to the city's improvised-jazz and creative-music scene. Originally from Lexington, Kentucky and raised in the…
Kevin Seconds
Kevin Seconds is a Sacramento-based singer-songwriter best known as the frontman of the seminal California hardcore punk band 7 Seconds, who in his later career became a prolific solo acoustic artist, a coffeehouse operator, and a connective figure across the Sacramento music community.
James Cavern
James Cavern is a singer-songwriter who built his career in Sacramento, working in soul, neo-soul and soul-tinged pop, and is regarded as an established fixture of the local scene. Born James Nguyen in Manchester, England, to Vietnamese refugee parents who fled by boat and were eventually resettled in London, he later…
Autumn Sky
Autumn Sky is a Sacramento-area singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who emerged from the local coffee-shop and open-mic circuit in the mid-2000s and later fronted a full band under her own name. Her music is described as eclectic folk/pop centered lyrically on love in its many forms.
Jazz, Soul & Funk
27 entriesFrom the Jazz Jubilee era to today's brass bands — the city's deep bench of horns, grooves, and vocalists.
The people
Artist2016-presentThe Philharmonik
Sacramento multi-instrumentalist Christian Gates — the "one-man orchestra" — won NPR's 2024 Tiny Desk Contest from a field of nearly 7,000 entrants. Three studio albums, international touring, and a return-to-Sacramento story.
Artist2011-presentElement Brass Band
Sacramento's premier New Orleans second-line brass band, founded in 2011 by trumpeter Ryan Robertson, now led by baritone saxophonist Byron Colborn. Two-time Sacramento Music Awards "Best in Jazz" winner; founders of the city's annual Mardi Gras parade.
ZuhG
ZuhG is a Sacramento jam band, active since 2007, known for a hard-to-categorize blend of funk, reggae, jazz, rock, blues, psychedelia and hip-hop, fronted throughout its existence by guitarist/vocalist Bryan Nichols. Beyond music, the band became a fixture of the local scene by operating the ZuhG Life Store, a…
Jonny Craig
Jonny Craig is a vocalist associated with the Sacramento post-hardcore scene, known as an original co-vocalist of hometown band Dance Gavin Dance, later frontman of Emarosa, a solo artist, and founder of the Sacramento-based band Slaves. He is also a recurring figure in the scene's controversies, both for his…
James Cavern
James Cavern is a singer-songwriter who built his career in Sacramento, working in soul, neo-soul and soul-tinged pop, and is regarded as an established fixture of the local scene. Born James Nguyen in Manchester, England, to Vietnamese refugee parents who fled by boat and were eventually resettled in London, he later…
!!! (Chk Chk Chk)
!!! is a dance-punk band that grew out of the mid-1990s Sacramento music scene, formed when members of local bands Black Licorice and Popesmashers joined forces after a mid-'90s tour. The band was founded in the fall of 1996 through the merger of members of the groups Black Liquorice and Pope Smashers while on tour.…
Agent Ribbons
Agent Ribbons was a Sacramento indie band built around vocalist/guitarist Natalie Gordon (later known as Natalie Ribbons) and drummer Lauren Hess, blending blues and "baroque" indie-pop with character-driven, story-style lyrics. Explicitly identified by Submerge as "Sacramento locals," the group emerged from the…
Mick Martin
Sacramento blues legend, harmonica player, and co-founder of the Sacramento Blues Society. Active from the 1960s through 2025 across 20+ albums. Performed at Carnegie Hall. Died July 13, 2025 at age 76.
Electronic & DJ
23 entriesBeatmakers, selectors, and the bass nights — the electronic and DJ culture threading through the scene.
The people
Sister Crayon
Sister Crayon is a Sacramento indie/electronic project led by vocalist and songwriter Terra Lopez, built around downtempo, atmospheric music that blends live drums, programmed beats, synths and dramatic female vocals. Submerge consistently identified the act as local — "our beloved Sister Crayon," "hometown heroes,"…
Young Aundee
Young Aundee is the stage name of Andrew James Southard, a Sacramento electronic, hip-hop and trip-hop musician, beat-maker, vocalist and DJ whose falsetto vocals, melodica playing and production work tie together a wide swath of the city's music scene. He is a long-running collaborator with electronic producer Dusty…
DJ Whores
DJ Whores was the stage name of Daniel "Dan" Osterhoff, a Sacramento DJ, club-night organizer and bass-music selector described by Submerge as one of the city's most elite turntablists, best known for running the long-running Midtown dubstep-and-bass night Grimey. Submerge reported his death on April 8, 2017, noting…
DLRN
DLRN is a Sacramento hip-hop group built around MC 5th Ave (born Sean LaMarr) and producer Jon Reyes, known for an eclectic sound that sits between conscious rap and club rap and for a strong, repeatedly stated dedication to the local Sacramento scene. The duo describe their output as "'80s synth-fueled,…
Death Grips
Death Grips is an experimental hip-hop / rap-punk group originating in Oak Park, Sacramento, built around vocalist Stefan Burnett (MC Ride), drummer Zach Hill, and producer Andy Morin (Flatlander). The band officially formed on December 21, 2010 in Sacramento, California. Submerge consistently frames the group as a…
Shaun Slaughter
Shaun Slaughter is a Sacramento DJ, club-night promoter, producer, and flyer designer who became one of the most prominent figures in the city's indie-dance and electronic nightlife scene, best known as co-founder of the long-running dance night Lipstick. Over more than a decade he ran or co-ran a string of Sacramento…
Lee Bannon
Lee Bannon is a producer and DJ from the Sacramento area who came up in the local hip-hop scene before relocating to New York and shifting toward experimental electronic music. He worked as an in-demand beatmaker and collaborator across the Sacramento rap community in the early 2010s, then released drum 'n' bass and…
Raleigh Moncrief
Raleigh Moncrief is a Sacramento-based music producer and solo recording artist, known both as a "behind-the-boards" producer for local bands and for his own genre-blurring electronic/glitch-hop work. Submerge characterized him as a "renown Sacramento producer" who stepped out from behind the boards with his solo…
Hip-Hop
22 entriesMCs, producers, and crews — the rap lineage that runs from the Bay's shadow into a sound all Sacramento's own.
The people
Artist2016-presentThe Philharmonik
Sacramento multi-instrumentalist Christian Gates — the "one-man orchestra" — won NPR's 2024 Tiny Desk Contest from a field of nearly 7,000 entrants. Three studio albums, international touring, and a return-to-Sacramento story.
Artist2011-presentElement Brass Band
Sacramento's premier New Orleans second-line brass band, founded in 2011 by trumpeter Ryan Robertson, now led by baritone saxophonist Byron Colborn. Two-time Sacramento Music Awards "Best in Jazz" winner; founders of the city's annual Mardi Gras parade.
ZuhG
ZuhG is a Sacramento jam band, active since 2007, known for a hard-to-categorize blend of funk, reggae, jazz, rock, blues, psychedelia and hip-hop, fronted throughout its existence by guitarist/vocalist Bryan Nichols. Beyond music, the band became a fixture of the local scene by operating the ZuhG Life Store, a…
Who Cares
Who Cares was a Sacramento hip-hop group founded in 2002, known for a backpack-rap sound that grew into a full live band and for being, in its own framing, the perpetual opening act of the local rap scene. Despite a name suggesting apathy, the group treated its music as a survival mechanism for "latchkey kids" and…
Young Aundee
Young Aundee is the stage name of Andrew James Southard, a Sacramento electronic, hip-hop and trip-hop musician, beat-maker, vocalist and DJ whose falsetto vocals, melodica playing and production work tie together a wide swath of the city's music scene. He is a long-running collaborator with electronic producer Dusty…
DLRN
DLRN is a Sacramento hip-hop group built around MC 5th Ave (born Sean LaMarr) and producer Jon Reyes, known for an eclectic sound that sits between conscious rap and club rap and for a strong, repeatedly stated dedication to the local Sacramento scene. The duo describe their output as "'80s synth-fueled,…
Zach Hill
Zach Hill is a Sacramento-based drummer, composer, and producer known for an unrelenting, fluid percussive style and an enormous catalog of collaborations, anchoring the local bands Hella and Death Grips. Submerge repeatedly identifies him as a "Sacramento drummer" and "Sacramento-based drummer," placing his origin…
Random Abiladeze
Random Abiladeze (born Randy Murray; later known as Rasar, then Rasar Amani) is a Sacramento-region hip-hop MC and award-winning spoken-word poet known for socially and politically conscious lyrics. A fixture of Sacramento's underground hip-hop and spoken-word circuits in the late 2000s and early 2010s, he relocated…
The Full Archive
Everything in The Record
#
!!! (Chk Chk Chk)
!!! is a dance-punk band that grew out of the mid-1990s Sacramento music scene, formed when members of local bands Black Licorice and Popesmashers joined forces after a mid-'90s tour. The band was founded in the fall of 1996 through the merger of members of the groups Black Liquorice and Pope Smashers while on tour.…
7 Seconds
7 Seconds is a hardcore punk band fronted by Sacramento musician Kevin Seconds, described in Submerge coverage as one of California's most seminal hardcore punk bands and a pioneer of the original West Coast hardcore movement. The band is consistently presented as a Sacramento-based act, with Kevin Seconds repeatedly…
A
Agent Ribbons
Agent Ribbons was a Sacramento indie band built around vocalist/guitarist Natalie Gordon (later known as Natalie Ribbons) and drummer Lauren Hess, blending blues and "baroque" indie-pop with character-driven, story-style lyrics. Explicitly identified by Submerge as "Sacramento locals," the group emerged from the…
Appetite
Appetite is the solo recording project of Sacramento-area musician Teddy Briggs, who is also the drummer of the band What's Up? Appetite's music has been described as hard-to-define "weird pop-folk" and experimental pop drawing on tropicalia and indie-stomp textures. Briggs grew up in Los Angeles — making Appetite a…
Arden Park Roots
Arden Park Roots (APR) are a Sacramento reggae/rock band, repeatedly described in Submerge as a "local" and "hometown" act, known for relentless DIY touring and a party-oriented live show that mixes originals with a Sublime tribute set.
Autumn Sky
Autumn Sky is a Sacramento-area singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who emerged from the local coffee-shop and open-mic circuit in the mid-2000s and later fronted a full band under her own name. Her music is described as eclectic folk/pop centered lyrically on love in its many forms.
B
Bastards of Young
Bastards of Young are a Sacramento punk band described by Submerge as one of the city's "punk mainstays," formed by members who came up through the local punk scene. They are explicitly identified as local — "Sacramento's Bastards of Young."
Be Brave Bold Robot
Be Brave Bold Robot (often abbreviated BBBR) is a Sacramento-area indie/folk-rock project led by frontman and songwriter Dean Haakenson, known for an open, ever-rotating cast of musicians and one of the most recognizable band names in the local scene. By 2012 it was described as "a staple in the folk scene" with…
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.
Blake Abbey
Blake Abbey is a Sacramento-scene singer, guitarist, and songwriter best known as a co-founder and lead vocalist of the local indie-pop group Musical Charis. Beyond the band, he co-founded a community music school in Oak Park, hosted scene events, and played in several side projects, making him a recurring fixture in…
Bright Light Fever
Bright Light Fever (BLF) was a Sacramento blues-injected garage rock quartet with an approximately six-year run that ended in 2009. Centered on guitarist Matt Ferro and his brother Evan Ferro, the band cycled through a major-label-affiliated deal, repeated touring misfortune, and self-released recordings before…
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
Bru Lei
Bru Lei (born Bruce Burnett) is a rapper, muralist and activist who has been a fixture of the Sacramento hip-hop and arts scene since relocating to the city in 2006. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, he resists fixed labels but says the term that fits him best is "magician."
C
Caitlin Gutenberger
Caitlin Gutenberger is the singer, guitarist and principal songwriter of the Sacramento indie/folk-rock band Two Sheds, which she co-leads with her husband, bassist Johnny Gutenberger. Active in the Sacramento scene from the mid-2000s, the duo were described by Submerge as "a major portion of the greater…
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
Century Got Bars
Century Got Bars is a Sacramento-based hip-hop MC who, despite originating from Detroit, became a recurring fixture of the local rap scene, described by Submerge as "Sacramento's Century Got Bars." She is a solo rapper known for an eclectic, genre-blending approach and was a frequent collaborator and festival…
Chelsea Wolfe
Chelsea Wolfe is a singer-songwriter raised in Roseville and Sacramento whose darkly atmospheric music—variously tagged "goth folk," "doom folk" and "doom-metal"—made her one of the Sacramento scene's best-known exports before she relocated to Los Angeles and later back to Northern California. Submerge repeatedly…
Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno — full birth name Camillo "Chino" Wong Moreno, born June 20, 1973, in Sacramento, California — is the vocalist of Deftones, Sacramento's marquis rock band, and a prolific collaborator whose side projects include Team Sleep, Crosses and Palms. Submerge frames him and his frequent collaborator Shaun Lopez…
Chuuwee
Chuuwee (legal name Dionte Hunter, born September 7, 1990, in Sacramento, California) is a Sacramento-based hip-hop MC, characterized in Submerge coverage as a prolific local rapper who bridges 1990s boom-bap traditions with newer trap-influenced styles. He was repeatedly identified as Sacramento's own, an…
City of Vain
City of Vain is a Sacramento punk rock band, formed from members of various local groups, known for high-energy, melodic punk shaped by influences such as The Clash, The Specials, Rancid and Bouncing Souls. By 2013 it was described as one of the must-see bands in Sacramento. According to their Bandcamp page, the band…
D
Dance Gavin Dance
Dance Gavin Dance (frequently abbreviated DGD) is a Sacramento post-hardcore band, formed in 2005, known for a genre-defying sound that blends post-hardcore, progressive rock and screamo with R&B and funk inflections, and for a turbulent lineup history. Submerge repeatedly identifies them as a hometown act, calling…
Dani Fernandez
Dani Fernandez is a Sacramento-scene musician and producer best known as one half of the band Sister Crayon, where she handles the project's electronic production, programming drum machine and synthesizer. Her arrival turned what had been Terra Lopez's quiet solo singer/songwriter material into the fuller, beat-driven…
Death Grips
Death Grips is an experimental hip-hop / rap-punk group originating in Oak Park, Sacramento, built around vocalist Stefan Burnett (MC Ride), drummer Zach Hill, and producer Andy Morin (Flatlander). The band officially formed on December 21, 2010 in Sacramento, California. Submerge consistently frames the group as a…
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.
DLRN
DLRN is a Sacramento hip-hop group built around MC 5th Ave (born Sean LaMarr) and producer Jon Reyes, known for an eclectic sound that sits between conscious rap and club rap and for a strong, repeatedly stated dedication to the local Sacramento scene. The duo describe their output as "'80s synth-fueled,…
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.
Doom Bird
Doom Bird is a Sacramento-based band fronted by Kris Anaya, working in an atmospheric vein that blends alternative and classical-leaning textures. The project is closely tied to a broader network of Sacramento musicians who collaborate across one another's bands and recordings. Doombird emerged from the disbanded…
Dusty Brown
Dusty Brown is a Sacramento electronica project led by producer-musician Dusty Brown, built around a family core of his sister Jessica Brown on vocals and cousin Zac Brown on guitar. Across more than a decade of Submerge coverage, Dusty Brown emerges as one of the most decorated and influential figures of the…
E
Early States
Early States was a Sacramento-area pop-rock band that emerged in the late 2000s with an arena-scaled, hook-driven sound, distinguishing itself from the region's dominant hardcore and metal scenes. The group later shifted toward a more keyboard- and synth-heavy "electro-pop" direction.
Artist2011-presentElement Brass Band
Sacramento's premier New Orleans second-line brass band, founded in 2011 by trumpeter Ryan Robertson, now led by baritone saxophonist Byron Colborn. Two-time Sacramento Music Awards "Best in Jazz" winner; founders of the city's annual Mardi Gras parade.
Element of Soul
Element of Soul (often abbreviated EOS) is a six-member reggae-folk-pop-rock band from Placerville in the Greater Sacramento region, known for blending reggae and acoustic "jam rock" with DJ turntablism. The band was a recurring fixture of Sacramento's local live circuit in the first half of the 2010s.
Exquisite Corps
Exquisite Corps is a Sacramento band led by singer/guitarist (and visual artist) Bryan Valenzuela that began as a chamber-rock project pairing rock songwriting with cello and violin, and later evolved into a more stripped-down, psychedelic rock 'n' roll outfit. The band is repeatedly identified by Submerge as a local…
F
Artist1990s-2010sFar
Far was an American post-hardcore band from Sacramento, California, formed in 1991 by vocalist Jonah Matranga, guitarist Shaun Lopez, bassist John Gutenberger, and drummer Chris Robyn .
Fine Steps
Fine Steps was a Sacramento-area band, described by Submerge as a "new project by Julian Elorduy," who had previously drummed for the Sacramento group Mayyors. The band emerged from the same late-2000s/early-2010s Sacramento garage and lo-fi milieu as Ganglians and G. Green, and was counted among the city's "local…
G
G. Green
G. Green (also styled "G.Green") is a Sacramento post-punk/indie rock band that grew out of Andrew Henderson's solo bedroom-recording project into a full band, becoming a fixture of the city's DIY and Midtown scene. The band describes themselves as "Literate rockers from Northern California," with Sacramento,…
Ganglians
Ganglians were a Sacramento psychedelic/lo-fi garage-pop band, repeatedly described in Submerge as one of the city's "beloved" hometown acts and a hallmark of the late-2000s Sacramento garage scene. The group is consistently identified as local — "Sacramento's psychedelic acid pop act" and "Sacramento's own" — making…
Gentleman Surfer
Gentleman Surfer is a Sacramento experimental/progressive rock band, repeatedly described as a local act, known for a largely instrumental, technically intricate sound spanning math rock, jazz fusion and prog. By 2016 the group was a four-piece that had been "touring and playing locally for many years." According to…
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.
Gwendolyn Giles
Gwendolyn Giles is a Sacramento guitarist and co-vocalist, the elder of the two sisters who make up the punk/garage rock duo Dog Party. She and her younger sister Lucy Giles have been performing together since childhood, becoming one of the most-documented young acts of the Sacramento all-ages scene.
H
Hanover Saints
The Hanover Saints are a Sacramento street punk band fronted by vocalist/guitarist Brian Hanover (real name Brian Faucett), best known as one of the longest-running acts in the city's underground punk scene. Across roughly a decade of activity they completed seven U.S. tours and released two full-length records and…
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.
Hella
Hella is a Sacramento experimental rock act built around the core duo of drummer Zach Hill and guitarist Spencer Seim, known for breakneck time signatures, technically demanding guitar-and-drum interplay and explosive live shows. Sacramento press repeatedly identifies the band and its members as locals — "Sacramento's…
Hero's Last Mission
Hero's Last Mission (HLM) was a Sacramento-based five-piece rock and pop band, active from the late 2000s into 2016, often noted for looking like a metal band while actually playing pop-leaning rock. The group is explicitly described as a "local five-piece" and one of "Sacramento's own" rock acts. According to Apple…
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 .
Hoods
Hoods is a Sacramento hardcore band, repeatedly described by Submerge as a hometown institution and "Sacto hardcore legends." Fronted by singer/guitarist Mikey Hood, the group is rooted in the Sacramento scene and dates back at least to the 1990s. The band was founded in 1994 in Sacramento, California, by Mike "Mikey…
Horseneck
Horseneck is a Sacramento heavy-rock band — variously described as sludge metal, stoner metal and post-hardcore — founded by guitarist/vocalist Anthony Paganelli as a blues-based, classic-rock-leaning counterpoint to the scream-o and metalcore acts dominating the local scene. The band is explicitly identified as a…
J
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.
James Cavern
James Cavern is a singer-songwriter who built his career in Sacramento, working in soul, neo-soul and soul-tinged pop, and is regarded as an established fixture of the local scene. Born James Nguyen in Manchester, England, to Vietnamese refugee parents who fled by boat and were eventually resettled in London, he later…
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.
Joe Kye
Joe Kye is a violinist, vocalist, and looper whose Sacramento-based solo project Joseph in the Well brought him regional recognition before he relocated to Portland, Oregon. Working as a one-person orchestra with violin, voice, and a looping pedal, he wove together jazz, classical, and hip-hop elements, and was…
Jon Mess
Jon Mess is a Sacramento co-vocalist and screamer best known as a founding-era member of the Sacramento post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance, where he shares vocal duties as the band's screaming/rapping voice opposite a clean singer. Submerge consistently frames Dance Gavin Dance as a hometown Sacramento act, making…
Jonah Matranga
Jonah Matranga is a Sacramento-rooted vocalist, guitarist and singer-songwriter best known as the frontman of the post-hardcore band Far and for his solo project Onelinedrawing. He has been described in the Sacramento press as a "local legend" who developed his career in the city before relocating to the Bay Area.
Jonny Craig
Jonny Craig is a vocalist associated with the Sacramento post-hardcore scene, known as an original co-vocalist of hometown band Dance Gavin Dance, later frontman of Emarosa, a solo artist, and founder of the Sacramento-based band Slaves. He is also a recurring figure in the scene's controversies, both for his…
JR Halliday
JR Halliday is a Sacramento multi-instrumentalist best known as a longtime member of the local jam-based reggae/funk/rock band ZuhG, where he contributes guitar, bass, and vocals alongside frontman Bryan Nichols. Beyond ZuhG he is a recurring figure in the Sacramento scene as a solo performer and an in-demand…
Justin Cox
Justin Cox is a Winters-based singer-songwriter and guitarist — and also a keyboards player — best known as a founding member, vocalist and principal songwriter of the indie/folk trio The Polyorchids. He and his bandmates grew up listening to punk music and plugged into the scene in neighboring Sacramento, while…
K
Kepi Ghoulie
Kepi Ghoulie (real name Jeff Alexander) is a Sacramento pop-punk songwriter and visual artist, best known as the former frontman of the Groovie Ghoulies, who has pursued a prolific solo career since that band split. Submerge describes him as a "local pop-punk impresario" whose relentless touring and recording pace…
Kevin Seconds
Kevin Seconds is a Sacramento-based singer-songwriter best known as the frontman of the seminal California hardcore punk band 7 Seconds, who in his later career became a prolific solo acoustic artist, a coffeehouse operator, and a connective figure across the Sacramento music community.
Kill the Precedent
Kill the Precedent (often abbreviated KTP) is a Sacramento industrial metal band built around thundering live-and-electronic beats, thrashing guitar riffs, and a two-vocalist attack. The band draws heavily on the lineage of industrial acts like Ministry and KMFDM while folding in punk-style melody.
Kris Anaya
Kris Anaya is a Sacramento musician, producer and multi-instrumentalist best known as the frontman of the local band Doom Bird, and a recurring fixture of the Sacramento indie scene as a sideman, session player and producer across many other local acts. Before Doom Bird, he served as vocalist and guitarist for the…
Kurt Travis
Kurt Travis is a Sacramento-based vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who became one of the most prolific figures in the city's post-hardcore scene, fronting (at various points) Dance Gavin Dance and A Lot Like Birds, releasing solo records, and running his own indie label. Over roughly a decade he passed…
L
Lee Bannon
Lee Bannon is a producer and DJ from the Sacramento area who came up in the local hip-hop scene before relocating to New York and shifting toward experimental electronic music. He worked as an in-demand beatmaker and collaborator across the Sacramento rap community in the early 2010s, then released drum 'n' bass and…
Life in 24 Frames
Life in 24 Frames is a Sacramento indie rock band founded in 2008 by frontman Kris Adams, known for its experimental, atmospheric songcraft and a consistently rotating lineup anchored to Adams' songwriting. Submerge repeatedly identifies the group as "Sacramento's own," and the band describes itself as staying "true…
Lite Brite
Lite Brite is a Sacramento rock trio fronted by brothers Eddie and Matt Underwood, known for a high-energy, distortion-heavy live show that was a recurring fixture of the late-2000s/early-2010s Sacramento scene. Submerge repeatedly identifies them as a local Sacramento band. The band later continued under the name…
Little Foxes
Little Foxes is a Sacramento-area electronic project, described as a side project of local producer Dusty Brown, made in collaboration with folk singer-songwriter Jacob Golden. Its sound has been characterized as downtempo, psychedelic, and trip-hop oriented.
Little Guilt Shrine
Sacramento alt-rock trio active 1991–1998. Dana Gumbiner on bass and vocals, brothers Matt and Britton Holland on guitar and drums. Five albums, KWOD airplay, and enough of a reputation that fans drove in from out of town a decade later just to catch the reunion.
A Lot Like Birds
A Lot Like Birds is a Sacramento-based progressive/post-hardcore band founded by guitarist, composer and original vocalist Michael Franzino, repeatedly identified in Submerge coverage as a Sacramento band and described in 2013 as "locally based." Known for technically dense, genre-crossing compositions and a frenetic…
M
Mahtie Bush
Mahtie Bush is a Sacramento rapper, producer, MC and B-boy regarded by Submerge as "something of a Sacramento legend" for his work ethic and his role paving the way for a generation of Northern California MCs. He is best known locally for founding the "Sac Hates Hip-Hop" movement, a public protest against Sacramento…
Mick Martin
Sacramento blues legend, harmonica player, and co-founder of the Sacramento Blues Society. Active from the 1960s through 2025 across 20+ albums. Performed at Carnegie Hall. Died July 13, 2025 at age 76.
Middle Class Rut
Middle Class Rut (often shortened to "MC Rut") is a Sacramento rock band built around the duo of Zack Lopez (guitar/vocals) and Sean Stockham (drums/vocals), known for a heavy, raw, beat-driven sound and the breakout single "New Low." Submerge repeatedly frames them as a hometown act and "Sacramento's Dynamic Duo."
The Mother Hips
The Mother Hips are a psychedelic-tinged rock band that formed in Chico, California, and later became San Francisco-based, co-founded and co-fronted by singer/songwriters Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono. Though not from the Greater Sacramento region, the band has been a recurring presence in the Sacramento scene,…
Musical Charis
Musical Charis is a Sacramento indie-pop/folk group built around the vocal duo of Blake Abbey and Jessie Brune (later Jessie Abbey), known for harmony-rich songwriting, an open collaborative live format, and for founding a community music school in Oak Park. The group is best understood not as a conventional band but…
N
P
Paper Pistols
Paper Pistols is a Sacramento electronic/indie act founded by drummer, programmer and recording engineer Ira Skinner that began as his solo project and grew into a duo with vocalist Julie (Juliana) Lydell. The act pairs live drums with programmed, electronically-produced music, building songs that the members perform…
Pets
Pets is a Sacramento rock band formed in the summer of 2003 by the couple Allison Jones and Derek Fieth, both guitarists and vocalists. The duo built a "straight rock 'n' roll" sound and won a Sacramento Area Music Award (a "Sammie") for Outstanding Pop in 2010. As of December 2025 the band remains active, describing…
Artist2016-presentThe Philharmonik
Sacramento multi-instrumentalist Christian Gates — the "one-man orchestra" — won NPR's 2024 Tiny Desk Contest from a field of nearly 7,000 entrants. Three studio albums, international touring, and a return-to-Sacramento story.
Prieta
Prieta was a Sacramento rock 'n' roll band active in the late 2000s and early 2010s, repeatedly described by Submerge as one of the city's best straight-up rock acts. The band drew on blues, classic, psychedelic, punk and metal influences and was frequently (to the members' own bemusement) compared to grunge and…
R
Rainbow City Park
Northern California/Sacramento indie alt-rock band behind the 2025 EP Fruitless; formed in 2022 and active across Sacramento stages including Farm-to-Fork, Concerts in the Park, Goldfield, and The Red Museum.
Raleigh Moncrief
Raleigh Moncrief is a Sacramento-based music producer and solo recording artist, known both as a "behind-the-boards" producer for local bands and for his own genre-blurring electronic/glitch-hop work. Submerge characterized him as a "renown Sacramento producer" who stepped out from behind the boards with his solo…
Random Abiladeze
Random Abiladeze (born Randy Murray; later known as Rasar, then Rasar Amani) is a Sacramento-region hip-hop MC and award-winning spoken-word poet known for socially and politically conscious lyrics. A fixture of Sacramento's underground hip-hop and spoken-word circuits in the late 2000s and early 2010s, he relocated…
Robin Bacior
Robin Bacior is a singer-songwriter, originally from Chico, California, whose music is built around her voice and the cello, and whose career has tracked a geographic "migration" from Chico to New York to Portland. Although her byline appears on numerous Submerge features about other artists, she is herself the…
Ross Hammond
Ross Hammond is a Sacramento-based guitarist, bandleader, festival organizer and music educator, repeatedly described in the local press as a "local guitar player" and a "prolific Sacramento musician" central to the city's improvised-jazz and creative-music scene. Originally from Lexington, Kentucky and raised in the…
S
The Secretions
The Secretions are a long-running Sacramento punk rock band, formed in 1991 by Mickie Rat and Danny Secretion, widely described in Submerge coverage as "Sacramento punk legends" and a foundational, mentoring presence in the local scene. The band was active from 1991 to 2016.
Shaun Lopez
Shaun Lopez is a Sacramento guitarist, producer and mixing engineer best known as the guitarist for the Sacramento post-hardcore band Far, and later as a co-founder of the side project Crosses (âœâœâœ) with Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno. Submerge describes him and Moreno as having "left an indelible mark on the…
A Single Second
A Single Second is a Sacramento post-punk band, formed around 2002, known for a relentless touring schedule and a fluid lineup anchored by founding vocalist/guitarist Shawn Peter.
Sister Crayon
Sister Crayon is a Sacramento indie/electronic project led by vocalist and songwriter Terra Lopez, built around downtempo, atmospheric music that blends live drums, programmed beats, synths and dramatic female vocals. Submerge consistently identified the act as local — "our beloved Sister Crayon," "hometown heroes,"…
Sunmonks
Sunmonks is a Sacramento-region art-pop project built around the duo of Geoffrey CK (vocals, guitar) and Alexandra Steele (vocals), who came up out of the close-knit musical community of Auburn, California. Their genre-resistant sound blends pop, choral, West African highlife, samba, math rock and jazz, often layered…
T
Tera Melos
Tera Melos is a Sacramento-area experimental/math-rock trio known for spastic, genre-smashing guitar music built on two-handed finger tapping, dense effects-pedal work, and non-traditional song structures. Submerge consistently frames them as a hometown act, calling them "Sacramento's own," "Sacramento natives," and a…
Terra Lopez
Terra Lopez is a Sacramento singer, songwriter and multimedia artist best known as the founder and frontwoman of the band Sister Crayon, described by Submerge as a "native Sacramento duo." Beyond her own band she was active across the local scene as a guest vocalist, a DJ, and an organizer of all-ages and dance nights.
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…
Two Sheds
Two Sheds is a Sacramento indie/folk-rock act built around the husband-and-wife duo of singer/guitarist Caitlin Gutenberger and bassist/backing-vocalist Johnny (John) Gutenberger, active since 2006. Long described as Sacramento "darlings," they remained a fixture of the greater Sacramento music scene before relocating…
Tycho
Tycho is the ambient/electronic project of Scott Hansen, a producer, multi-instrumentalist and graphic designer who was raised in Fair Oaks and built his early career in Sacramento before relocating to San Francisco. Hansen was born on February 7, 1977, in Sacramento, California. Submerge repeatedly frames Tycho as a…
V
W
Who Cares
Who Cares was a Sacramento hip-hop group founded in 2002, known for a backpack-rap sound that grew into a full live band and for being, in its own framing, the perpetual opening act of the local rap scene. Despite a name suggesting apathy, the group treated its music as a survival mechanism for "latchkey kids" and…
Will Haven
Will Haven is a Sacramento metal band, formed in 1995, regarded as one of the city's most respected longtime heavy-music acts. Their sound resists easy labels, variously described as metalcore or post-hardcore, built on power, heaviness and driving rhythmic intensity.
Y
Z
Zac Brown
Zac Brown is a Sacramento guitarist and bassist who has been a fixture of the local music scene since at least the late 2000s, performing and recording across a string of interlinked Sacramento bands and as the touring/recording instrumentalist for the electronic act Tycho. He is distinct from the country musician of…
Zach Hill
Zach Hill is a Sacramento-based drummer, composer, and producer known for an unrelenting, fluid percussive style and an enormous catalog of collaborations, anchoring the local bands Hella and Death Grips. Submerge repeatedly identifies him as a "Sacramento drummer" and "Sacramento-based drummer," placing his origin…
Zack Lopez
Zack Lopez is a Sacramento-native guitarist, vocalist, and producer best known as one half of the hard-rock duo Middle Class Rut (often abbreviated "MC Rut"), alongside drummer/vocalist Sean Stockham. He is repeatedly identified in coverage as a Sacramento local and "native," making the band a hometown act despite its…
ZuhG
ZuhG is a Sacramento jam band, active since 2007, known for a hard-to-categorize blend of funk, reggae, jazz, rock, blues, psychedelia and hip-hop, fronted throughout its existence by guitarist/vocalist Bryan Nichols. Beyond music, the band became a fixture of the local scene by operating the ZuhG Life Store, a…
Gap
Missing a venue, band, or piece of Sacramento music history?
Suggest an entry and we'll research it.








