Sacramento’s Cultural Diversity Mirrored in our Music Scene

Sacramento’s Cultural Diversity

Mirrored in By Michael P. Coleman our Music Scene

In a number of arenas, Sacramento offers a little bit of everything. That’s certainly true of those who call the city home. The town was fi rst named

“America’s Most Diverse City” by Time Maga-

zine 20 years ago, and not much has changed in that regard over the last two decades, with it still garnering recognition for its diversity in the past few years. Walk any of the city’s streets and, and in addition to our trees (we have more per capita than any city in the country), you’re likely to run into people of a variety of hues who represent a host of cultures. On any given day, you’ll likely overhear conversations in multiple languages— sometimes during the same conversation—at a coffee shop, grocery store, or while taking a stroll down. The diversity of our music scene mirrors that of our residents. If you’re a music fan, there’s something for you in Sacramento. Other cities, like New York, Nashville, Detroit, Chicago, or New Orleans may have the name recognition that’s associated with different musical genres, but Sacramento offers some of everything for which those other cities are known. On any given day, somewhere in our 100-square-mile footprint, you’ll get a taste of the best of blues, jazz, dance/electronica, country, R&B, classical or world music.

The Nashville of the West Coast

If you’re into country, Sacramento can’t boast of a venue like Nashville’s Grand Ol’ Opry, but we offer several country music festivals, including this year’s inaugural GoldenSky headlined by Tim McGraw and Sam Hunt. There’s also the annual Country In The Park each May. Sacramento country music fans don’t play—Garth Brooks played two shows a night for three straight weeks here, a few years ago—and the park is packed for this event. If you like your honky tonk at a smaller venue, Harlow’s downtown offers country music, with a smidgeon of everything else, along with dinner and drinks. And don’t forget Goldfi eld in the center of the Downtown/ Midtown grid.

Tree Town Is Motown

For R&B fans, the River City can’t rival Detroit’s or Philadelphia’s run on the classics. But on any given day, we’re in the ballpark, with Taste Of Soul, Jazz, Blues & R n B Fest, V101FM’s annual Summer Jam, and a variety of other events that offer vintage soul music. The town’s got cred: You can’t go wrong with a city that spawns ’80s and ’90s sensation Club Nouveau (remember their killer, chart-topping cover of Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me?”), right? Speaking of cred, Art of Soul is presented by Sacramento’s Sojourner

Truth African Heritage

Museum. And if what I call Bubblegum R&B is your thing, ’90s “soul” musical curiosity New Kids On The Block is bringing their Mixtape Tour to town. Need something harder? (Although anything’s harder than NKOTB, right?) Sacramento has been home to a number of emerging rap and hip-hop artists since the 1990s, paralleling the Northwest region’s grunge-era music. Artists include M’ster Lewis (who promotes social consciousness through hip-hop), Kali Streetz (who’s heavily infl uenced by Kanye West and Philly Freeway), the duo Jive Hive, and underground hip-hop artist Noni Blanco, who follows in the footsteps of Sacramento rapper Mozzy. Headliners will include Slipknot, Kiss, My Chemical Romance and Muse along with dozens of other artists including Judas Priest, Evanescence, Rob Zombie, Papa Roach, Stone Temple Pilots and Bad Religion. Cleveland may be home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but our annual Aftershock puts anything they can dish out to shame. And there’s also

Punk In Drublic Sacra-

mento in Sacramento’s Heart Health Park every spring, offering the best of punk rock (along with healthy doses of beer) to anyone brave enough to give it a try.

Lighter Sounds

Prefer something softer? Sacramento often hosts middle-of-the-road acts such as Celine Dion and Johnny Mathis. Chances are, if that’s your cup of tea, you’ll fi nd a show you’ll never forget somewhere in town. If classical music is your thing, internationally renowned tenor

Andrea Bocelli

regularly plays the Golden 1 Center, to standing-room-only, enraptured audiences, and he’s coming back later this year. The Sacramento

Philharmonic & Opera

draws ’em in on the regular. And the Crocker Art Museum hosts a series of monthly classical music concerts throughout the year.

Rock & Roll in Sac

On the other end of the sonic spectrum, Aftershock, a rock and heavy metal music festival is returning to Sacramen-

to’s Discovery

Park this fall.

Meet Sacramento’s Dennis McBride The Old Sacramento Wa-

terfront takes you back to the Gold Rush era, and along with preserving the architecture and fl avor of Sacramento’s founding days, Old Sac’s stoops double as stages for local music artists like Dennis

McBride.

McBride takes the stage in front of Brannan Manor every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. As I walked by one weekend in early summer, he’d just launched into a searing version of Rufus & Chaka Khan’s “Sweet Thing,” which was followed by Heatwave’s “Always & Forever” and The Eagles’ “Desperado,” and he shut the street down for a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon. McBride’s exhibition of talent during his multi-format set was a perfect example of the phenomenal artistic diversity of the Sacramento music scene. “When the pandemic hit, you couldn’t book a band anymore,” McBride shared with me by phone. “That’s why I created that stage in Old Sac a couple of years ago. I grabbed my guitar and went down and started busking. That’s the way I share my love with the world. It allows for real community between the artist and the listener. I’m a singer who plays instruments. The only music I don’t love is music you can’t feel.” McBride feels every note he sings, and you will, too.

For the LBGTQ Community— Who Needs SF?

Oh, yeah, let’s not forget Sacramento’s Midtown! It’s home to the hub of the city’s LGBTQ community, and venues including Badlands, which hosts

“Fridays Are a Drag”

each month and, along with Faces, some of the best drag shows east of San Francisco’s Castro District. Their performers draw audiences of all sexual orientations and gender expressions, and acts that take the word “theater” to a whole new level.

Af- of talent during his , a rock and multi-format set was a heavy metal music perfect example of the

Sacramen-

of the Sacramento music scene.

ally renowned tenor McBride takes the stage in front of every Saturday and Sunday Andrea Bocelli from noon to 4 p.m. As I walked by one weekend in McBride’s exhibition acts that take the word

Musical Theater Broadway Sacramento Broadway Sacramento

has been bringing Broadhas been bringing Broadway’s best musical theater way’s best musical theater to town for over 30 years, to town for over 30 years, now presenting in its new now presenting in its new home, the beautiful SAFE SAFE

Credit Union Perform-

ing Arts Center, part of Sacramento’s Convention Center complex. Between their Broadway Sacramento and Music Circus series, many of musical theater’s Sacramento fans enjoy the best of the Great White Way, all year.

Hellen Heels

The Secret Garden, Broadway at Music Circus

To find out about what’s going on in Sacramento on any given day of the year, check out sacramento365.com.