Events & Activities

The hilarious adventure of three brothers on the eve of their mother’s first public lecture on the migratory patterns of the Monarch Butterfly. A road trip comedy that’s part science lecture and part farcical nature documentary, this joyful play examines identity, unity and the power of family.

Based on the true story of reporter John D’Agata’s essay What Happens There, The Lifespan of a Fact follows Fingal, who has a small job, to fact-check articles for one of the best magazines in the country. His boss has given him a big assignment, to apply his skill to a groundbreaking piece by legendary author D’Agata. But now Fingal has a huge problem, D’Agata made up a lot of his article. What starts professional quickly becomes profane. A brilliant comedy grappling with a seminal issue of our time.
Featuring: Jamie Jones*, Dave Pierini* and Cole Winslow.

*Member Actors’ Equity Association

The annual 20-Twenty exhibit is Sacramento's most anticipated yearly art show. This year some of the finest new collections have been brought together to grace the walls of Kennedy Gallery. The "20-Twenty" exhibit features works from over 20 resident artists inside three floors of open studios in the heart of Midtown’s entertainment district.

See 160+ tables of trains for sale. There will also be a free train set drawing for attendees Age 17 and under.

Composer and musician Kaki King is considered one of the world’s greatest living guitarists, known both for her technical mastery and for her constant quest to push the boundaries of the instrument. Hailed by Rolling Stone as “a genre unto herself,” Kaki has released nine albums and toured extensively, presenting in such prestigious arts centers as the Kennedy Center, MoMA, LACMA, The Met, and Smithsonian Design Museum. She has created music for numerous film and TV soundtracks, including August Rush and Into the Wild, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score. She has performed with symphonies and chamber ensembles, and recorded an album in collaboration with the Porta Girevole Chamber Orchestra commissioned by the Berklee College of Music.

In 2015 Kaki launched The Neck is a Bridge to the Body, a groundbreaking multimedia performance that toured extensively throughout the world, marking her first foray into multimedia and experimental theater. Kaki’s new multimedia project, DATA NOT FOUND, marks her first foray into experimental theater as she continues to redefine her guitar as a tool for storytelling, exploring contemporary issues like A.I., the natural world, “big data” and personal empowerment.

This exciting play is a tale of three close friends - Keisha, Jill and Stephanie - who grew up together and now at thirty years old are confronted with facing their demons. Keisha, an urban socialite, has her life crushed when she realizes her long-term boyfriend has had a child with another woman. Jill, a housewife in denial, admits to her husband’s betrayal. Stephanie, an executive in the upper echelon world, has to face the core of her mental illness. 3: Black Girl Blues meditates on the ways we choose to present ourselves and the forces that cause us to come clean.

Lydia Pense and Cold Blood packed the San Francisco Ballrooms in their heyday. Now, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood still fill halls with cheering, dancing, foot-stomping fans. Far from fading over the years, Cold Blood has flourished. Along with Tower of Power, Cold Blood pioneered the Bay Area's brass heavy funk-rock sound, which came to be known as "East Bay Grease." Fronted by the proverbial little girl with a huge voice, Lydia Pense's powerful vocal chops were impossible to ignore, and despite frequent personnel changes within the band, Cold Blood always attracted inspired and creative musicians and remained a crack unit.

It’s been a long road, over 40 years to be exact with a break somewhere in the middle. But, Lydia and the band are living proof that a little time off can be a really good thing. With their new album, Soul Of The Gypsy, turning heads across the country, fans are remembering just what has been missing from music in the last few decades.

The Dreamland Cinema presents a series of curated films at the Thistle Dew Dessert Theater! Join them for weekends in June as they showcase cult, indie, international, and arthouse movies in a small theater setting.

McGillicuddy Productions presents an LGBTQ stand-up comedy show featuring the best comics from Sacramento and the Bay Area. Hosted by Maryam Moosavi and featuring Heather Rogue, Melissa McGillicuddy, and Marcus Williams.

There is no label to accurately describe the music of Joe Craven and the Sometimers. Acid-Rockgrass? Jazz Fusion Americana? To try to box it in would be to crush the exuberant creative spirit that happens when Craven, Jonathan Stoyanoff, Bruce MacMillan, and Hattie Craven play together. “No genre left behind” is their musical motto, and they accomplish the task with joyful abandon, playing paradigm-shattering free range music that entices and excites.

Bob Greene and Gary Michael Weinberg can’t remember a time when they weren’t playing guitar and singing songs for anyone and everyone around them. They went from singing in school choirs and playing in garage bands to performing solo at state fairs and singing “God Bless America” for Memorial Day celebrations (Bob) and on stages from Lincoln Center in New York to the Comedy Store in Los Angeles (Gary). Six years ago they joined forces and became The BAGMEN, and have been entertaining audiences of all ages and types throughout Northern California and beyond. They perform both originals and covers at festivals, clubs, bars, house concerts, and probably at your mom’s house. In other words, these guys get around!

The BAGMEN perform in many genres, including folk, rock, blues, country, pop, and even a little old-school R'n'B. Regardless of the genre, The BAGMEN are known for the power of their lyrics and licks and the sheer joy with which they perform them. Their unique blend of “urban-anthropological-folk-rock” (Is that even a thing?) is peppered with a twist of comedic banter that always brings audiences back. With a combined 70 plus years of performing, they know a thing or two about how to give an audience a good time.

“The most impressive instrumentalist I’ve ever heard.” - Johnny Cash

No one remembers when the neighbors started calling the McCutcheons to complain about the loud singing from young John’s bedroom. It didn’t seem to do much good, though. For, after a shaky, lopsided battle between piano lessons and baseball (he was a mediocre pianist and an all-star catcher), he had “found his voice” thanks to a cheap mail-order guitar and a used book of chords.

From such inauspicious beginnings, John McCutcheon has emerged as one of our most respected and loved folksingers. As an instrumentalist, he is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most notably the rare and beautiful hammer dulcimer. His songwriting has been hailed by critics and singers around the globe. His thirty recordings have garnered every imaginable honor including seven Grammy nominations. He has produced over twenty albums of other artists, from traditional fiddlers to contemporary singer-songwriters to educational and documentary works. His books and instructional materials have introduced budding players to the joys of their own musicality. And his commitment to grassroots political organizations has put him on the front lines of many of the issues important to communities and workers.

Even before graduating summa cum laude from Minnesota’s St. John’s University, this Wisconsin native literally “headed for the hills,” forgoing a college lecture hall for the classroom of the eastern Kentucky coal camps, union halls, country churches, and square dance halls. His apprenticeship to many of the legendary figures of Appalachian music imbedded a love of not only home-made music, but a sense of community and rootedness. The result is music...whether traditional or from his huge catalog of original songs...with the profound mark of place, family, and strength. It also created a storytelling style that has been compared to Will Rogers and Garrison Keillor.

Through sensational storytelling and beautiful movement, Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre creates a safe environment to witness the challenges and heartbreaks that so many endure while discovering who they are.  Celebrating the uniqueness and color of the LGBTQ+ community as a whole, the show features a brilliant ensemble cast and Los Angeles based Drag Queen Jonnie Reinhart who uses wit, humor, and divine vocals to enchant the audience while transforming into a dazzling Queen live on stage.

This forum reaches all ages and provides an opportunity to educate people about the LGBTQ+ community. Children, parents, and families that may not have access to queer representation might begin to have a conversation or be more open and aware of LGBTQ+ issues after seeing this dance theatre production.

OUT is the perfect beginning to honor PRIDE month. Proceeds benefit the Sacramento LGBTQ+ Center. Choreography and Artistic Direction by Jacob Gutiérrez-Montoya

Singer-songwriter and modern folk pioneer Joe Purdy just released his new album, Coyote. Coyote is now available on all digital service providers. Purdy had previously shared his track “Heartbreak In The Key Of Roger Miller” just a week before the album’s release, including a video to go along with the track. A full length, film-style visualizer accompanies the entire album.

Recorded sometime between 2019 and 2020, Coyote is Purdy’s first to follow up 2016’s Who Will Be Next? that has only since been followed by music from the soundtrack for the feature film American Folk, in which Purdy appeared.

Join the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus (SGMC) as they relive one of their favorite decades: the 1980s!

They’re dusting off their shoulder pads, bold colors, and big hair for this bodacious show. SGMC To the Max! features rad 1980s tunes sure to make you tap your toes and sing along. From A-Ha to the Weather Girls, if you love the '80s, you’ll be totally amped about this awesome show!

Last year proved that not even a worldwide plague could contain the maelstrom of horror, art, and fun that is Sinister Creature Con. This year, the convention returns to Sacramento for a two-day celebration of horror, cult film, engineering, and art.

Last year’s Sinister Creature Con saw the event return after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to skip a year. Attendance was so strong that organizers have added another day to this year’s event. An unspeakably fun afterparty featuring the Scream Queens Gorelesque Cabaret Troupe and dark cabaret troubadour Aurelio Voltaire rounds out this year’s event.

As always, Sinister Creature Con will feature demonstrations, Q and A panels, and opportunities to meet celebrities from all corners of horror and cult film. Its legendary vendor hall is bigger than ever, with more than 100 horror-genre artisans, including filmmakers and actors, writers, practical fx designers, comic book artists, painters, and tattoo artists.

Featured guests include actors Rachel True (The Craft, Half-Baked), Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The Devil’s Rejects, your worst nightmares), Fred Williamson (From Dusk Till Dawn), and Lisa Loring, the original Wednesday Addams.

Some of the horror genre’s most innovative makeup and FX artists, including Dan Acosta, Gina Scheiber, and Rainn Williamson, will share the secrets of their craft in live demos. It wouldn’t be Sinister Creature Con without cosplay, and this year’s event will feature more competitions and more flat-out escapist fun than ever.

For over three decades, the band Acoustic Alchemy has been at the forefront of contemporary jazz, even if the band’s signature eclectic mix of styles has meant they have never comfortably fit snugly into any one genre. That is certainly the case with their album, 33 1/3, which touches on jazz, blues, Caribbean, Eastern, and even classical music. Yet with all the diversity of styles, the album manages to still sound like classic Acoustic Alchemy. As guitarist Miles explains, “The band has changed a lot over the years; different personnel, different eras, different influences, but we always somehow make it sound like Acoustic Alchemy. I think every band tries to do that, to make something that’s new and interesting, but the fans still hear it and go, that’s them!”

Note: All attendees are required to be COVID-19 vaccinated.

Imagine, for a moment, a city under siege. Government prohibitions are multiplying (for the good of the people). Strawberry pie is illegal. All bicycle tires, confiscated. The word effervescent has been outlawed. Kite Flying, once a popular pastime, is now a capital offense. David and Julia are making the best of things when a mysterious tapping starts to emanate from their apartment wall. As their suspicions proliferate, their world unravels.

Cheryl Wheeler has to be seen to be appreciated. Nothing you read and nothing you hear from her albums prepares you for how entertaining a performer she is. If you’re not already familiar with Cheryl, you have probably heard her music. She is very respected as a songwriter by her peers, which can be seen by how many of them record her songs. Cheryl's songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Dan Seals, Peter Paul & Mary, Kenny Loggins, Garth Brooks, Suzy Bogguss, Melanie, Bette Midler, Maura O'Connell, Sylvia, Kathy Mattea, and Holly Near. From her albums you can tell that she is a gifted songwriter with a beautiful voice. From other people's comments about her you learn that she is a natural storyteller with a fantastic sense of humor. But until you see her in person, you never really believe what you've been told about her. Interestingly enough, almost half of the songs she performs during her shows have never been recorded!

Cheryl's first concert was to a captive audience. She found an old toy ukelele in a neighbor's attic and serenaded her mother who was taking a bath at the time. A year later she got a real ukelele, followed by her first guitar. She learned guitar from a neighbor, who also taught a group of boys. Each week they would get together and play just about any song they could think of for hours on end. Her first public performance was at a Hootenanny when she was 12. She started writing her own songs when she was 17. Cheryl has never had a "day job," and her first professional gigs were at the Steak and Ale Restaurant in her home town of Timonium, Maryland. The place only had one PA system; in the middle of her songs you would hear: "Jones, party of four ... Jones, party of four." She finally convinced them to get a second PA system. She performed at venues around Baltimore and Washington DC before moving to New England in 1976, where she now lives. She tours extensively, often performing solo or with Kenny White, who often opens her shows as well. She appeared as part of the On a Winter's Night tour, and was part of the Philo 25th Anniversary tour. Her funny stories between songs reveal her talent for diversity. Each time she tells a story, it will be a little bit different, so even if you've heard it before, you still find yourself laughing.

Louis Prima Jr. is a singer, musician, and bandleader known for his energetic and over-the-top performances with his boisterous New Orleans-style band The Witnesses. Prima Jr. is the son of legendary singer and entertainer Louis Prima. The rowdy, horn-driven 10-piece band has recorded two albums with Warrior Records/Universal Music Distribution, with a third due to be released in 2022. The band, which performs original music as well as Prima classics, was formed in 2006 and has been performing to sellout crowds around the world ever since.

Note: All attendees are required to be COVID-19 vaccinated.

You know it when you hear it: a great live band that captures the real spirit of timeless songs and makes them their own. The grind and swing of shimmering electric guitars, graced with an immortal Hammond organ swell, driven by a locked in beat, and the rumble of soul from the bass guitar. Top it off with singers that have honed their craft and vocal expressions on countless stages facing fans eager to hear real rock and roll, and you arrive at the LunaFish experience.

Whether it’s for a large festival crowd, a concert in the park, a cozy outdoor winery setting, a restaurant patio, or private event, LunaFish will bring a top notch musical performance. For 10 years, they have built a strong and faithful following, creating a reputation for being a band that delivers on the musical promise of a good time to be had by all.