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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
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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
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Bret Bair
Bret Bair is a Sacramento music-venue owner, operator, and talent buyer who, in partnership with Eric Rushing, founded and ran several of downtown Sacramento's most prominent live-music venues, including Ace of Spades and Goldfield. He is described as "one of the forces behind the music venues Ace of Spades and…
Bryan Nichols
Bryan Nichols is a Sacramento-scene musician and organizer best known as the frontman, lead singer, and guitarist of the local jam band ZuhG. Beyond performing, he operated a Sacramento music store, booked live shows, and founded recurring local music events, making him a connective figure across the city's jam,…
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Daniel Taylor
Daniel Taylor is a Chico, California drummer who has performed in Northern California heavy and post-rock bands that toured through the Sacramento scene, including West By Swan and Cold Blue Mountain. He is documented as a drummer rather than as a Sacramento native, and his bands originate from Chico, placing him in…
Danny Secretion
Danny Secretion is a Sacramento punk musician and scene figure, best known as the drummer and a vocalist of the long-running local band The Secretions, which he co-founded in 1991. His legal surname is Reynoso — he performs and is widely known under the stage name "Danny Secretion." Beyond the band, he is recognized…
DJ Rated R
DJ Rated R (real name Ron Florente) is a Sacramento turntablist, DJ and hip-hop producer who came up through Sac State's student station KSSU and became a fixture of the local hip-hop scene as the DJ for the crew Live Manikins, a member of the production crew The Sleeprockers, and the touring partner of rapper Random…
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…
Drew Walker
Drew Walker is a Sacramento musician and live-sound engineer who has been a recurring presence in the city's experimental and DIY music scene, best known as a member of the experimental rock band Gentleman Surfer, as the house sound engineer at the Midtown venue Witch Room, and as the organizer of the venue's farewell…
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Jerry Perry
Jerry Perry is a longtime Sacramento music promoter, talent buyer and club operator, repeatedly described in Submerge coverage as an "icon" and "OG" of the local scene. Across decades he has booked clubs, free outdoor concert series and even political rallies, and is treated as a load-bearing figure connecting young…
Jess Gowrie
Jess Gowrie is a Sacramento-scene drummer and vocalist whose career threads through a long list of local and touring rock projects, including Red Host, The Drama, I'm Dirty Too, Horseneck, and the touring band of Chelsea Wolfe. A fixture of the Sacramento music community, she is repeatedly framed as a longtime local…
Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston is a Sacramento recording engineer who runs Pus Cavern, a local recording studio that became a go-to facility for the region's rock, punk, reggae and indie acts. Before his engineering career he was an active local musician, playing in Sacramento bands such as 58 Fury and Target in the 1980s.
John Baccigaluppi
John Baccigaluppi is a Sacramento recording engineer, producer and studio owner, and the publisher of the recording-industry magazine Tape Op. For roughly two decades he ran the Sacramento recording studio The Hangar, and he has been a central behind-the-scenes figure in the local music scene as a producer and mentor.
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Robert Cheek
Robert Cheek — sometimes credited as Robert "Flossy" Cheek — is a Sacramento-based record producer, engineer and mixer who became one of the city's most-used and most-respected studio hands across the late 2000s and 2010s, frequently working out of The Hangar studio. He is also an active musician, playing in the bands…
Roger Carpio
Roger Carpio is a Sacramento DJ and club-night promoter, best known as the longtime co-resident of Lipstick, an indie-dance night at Old Ironsides that he and Shaun Slaughter ran together for over a decade. He is repeatedly identified as one of Sacramento's local DJs and was a fixture across several of the city's most…
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Sean Stockham
Sean Stockham is a Sacramento drummer and vocalist, best known as one half of the hard-rock duo Middle Class Rut (MC Rut) alongside guitarist/vocalist Zack Lopez. The pair are repeatedly identified as Sacramento natives, and MC Rut became one of the short list of local bands to find mainstream success beyond the…
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…
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Wes Davis
Wes Davis is a Sacramento-area music photographer, videographer and musician who has documented and participated in the local music scene across multiple roles, associated with Beatnik Studios. He co-founded the local music-video project Live in the City of Trees and later became a founding member of the indie-folk…
Will Swan
Will Swan is a Sacramento guitarist, primary songwriter, and label head, best known as the founding guitarist and main creative force of the Sacramento post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance. He also founded the independent label Blue Swan Records and co-founded the multi-band supergroup Sianvar, making him a connective…
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