Ironbound

September 25, 2018 - October 28, 2018
Theatre Series

MAINSTAGE SERIES

Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Martyna Mayjok captivates audiences with her gripping new play IRONBOUND. B Street's next Mainstage production tells the story of Polish immigrant Darja as she confronts the twists and turns of life in America. We watch as Darja's relationships to love, work and her son transform her into a resilient, passionate woman who forges her own path.
"...she writes with such energy and charisma that the play’s four characters feel vivid and real" - Washington Post

Treasure Island

October 15, 2018 - November 4, 2018
Theatre Series

FAMILY SERIES

TREASURE ISLAND returns to the B Street stage on Capitol Avenue! This beloved adaptation is back with new twists, exciting explosions and your favorite characters.
Recommended for ages 7 and up.

SBL Entertainment – Stanley Jordan

October 18, 2018
Music Series

In a career that took flight in 1985 with commercial and critical acclaim, guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan has consistently displayed a chameleonic musical persona of openness, imagination, versatility and maverick daring. Be it bold reinventions of classical masterpieces or soulful explorations through pop-rock hits, to blazing straight ahead jazz forays and ultramodern improvisational works—solo or with a group—Jordan can always be counted on to take listeners on breathless journeys into the unexpected.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Laurie Lewis

October 19, 2018
Music Series

Grammy Award-winning musician Laurie Lewis is internationally renowned as a singer, songwriter, fiddler, bandleader, producer and educator. She was a founding member of the Good Ol’ Persons and the Grant Street String Band and has performed and recorded since 1986 with her musical partner, mandolinist Tom Rozum. Laurie has twice been voted IBMA's Female Vocalist of the Year and has won the respect and admiration of her peers.

Since her debut in 1986, Laurie has recorded nearly 20 albums in a number of musical formats. Her latest album with her band the Right Hands (Tom Rozum, Brandon Godman, Patrick Sauber, and Sam Grisman), The Hazel and Alice Sessions, was nominated for the Best Bluegrass Recording Grammy in 2017.

SBL Entertainment Presents – JD Souther

October 20, 2018
Music Series

Grammy-nominated JD Souther has penned countless hits for the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Roy Orbison, James Taylor, Don Henley, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks and Dunn and found success as a solo artist. This led him to being inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2013 and becoming one of the most celebrated songwriters of his generation. On his latest studio album, Tenderness (Sony Music Masterworks), Souther creates a perfect balance of understated jazz with the ineffable pop narratives that have been the backbone of much of his greatest work. His classic albums John David Souther, Black Rose and Home by Dawn have been released as expanded reissues (Omnivore Recordings).

SBL Entertainment Presents – Karrin Allyson

October 25, 2018
Music Series

The Houston Press — "If there's a choir in heaven, someday the exquisite vocalist Karrin Allyson will lead it. She's such an otherworldly talent that the creator probably already has her on heavy rotation." Well, no worries, mate, Karrin Allyson will be part of this earthly choir for a very long time. But she is moving on, after a jam-packed career with Concord Jazz — thirteen albums, four Grammy nominations, and a recent self-produced holiday album, Yuletide Hideaway that won four stars from Downbeat. In May of 2015, as part of a new agreement with Motema Records, Karrin heads back into the recording studio with for a very intimate look at the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein. For Karrin, who actually played Nelly Forbush in a production of South Pacific as a teenager this album is a return. “I've been all around the world musically, from bop and bossa and chanson to blues and singersongwriters. And now, I feel like coming home. I find myself powerfully drawn to the world of Rodgers and Hammerstein.” “Why? Well, the tunes for starters, gorgeous melodies, near perfect lyrics, music that begs to be sung. Music filled with innocence, optimism, a confident can-do response to any problem, an appealing wiseguy humor, a sense that we all belong together on this wonderful planet. So, Rodgers & Hammerstein in very spare, honest settings — just a singer, telling the story with two masterful partners, the magisterial pianist Kenny Barron and the superb bassist John Pattituci, underlining and extending.”

SBL Entertainment Presents – Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

October 26, 2018
Music Series

Blazing soul-blues rocker Tommy Castro’s musical roots run deep. As he unleashes his high-energy music to fans all over the world, Castro is inspired by the sounds he absorbed while coming of age on the rough and tumble side of San Jose, California. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, this was Castro’s home turf—his stomping ground. It was a place where the street-tough Mexican Americans and the counter-culture hippies came together to drink, smoke, laugh, party and listen to tunes—the hippies with their blues and rock, the Mexicans with their soul music. Mixing the blues-rock he loved and the soul music he heard blasting out from the lowriders cruising the streets, along with the socially conscious message songs of the day, Tommy’s own sound was born. He honed his guitar playing to a razor’s edge on the city’s competitive bar scene, where he learned how to capture an audience with his intensely passionate vocals, stellar musicianship and dynamic performances. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike & Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to Elvin Bishop to Taj Mahal, toured through the area, and Castro was at almost every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King and Buddy Guy & Junior Wells at the same local blues bar, JJ’s, where he often jammed, dreaming of one day busting out.

Upstairs at The B Presents – Maximum Occupancy

October 26, 2018
Other Entertainment Series

Company Members Dave Pierini, Tara Sissom, Stephanie Altholz and guests perform classic long-form improvisation for a late-night audience. Coming out of Chicago’s comedy scene, the Harold has been used by famous improv groups like Second City which developed comedic talent such as Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell and Tina Fey. Based off an audience suggestion, performers will create a one-night-only improvised play, so every performance will be unique! As an exciting caveat, if we do achieve “maximum occupancy” aka a sell out show, we buy everyone pizza!

SBL Entertainment Presents – The Subdudes

October 27, 2018
Music Series

Over the course of 25 years and ten albums, the Subdudes have quietly become one of America’s national music treasures.
The New Orleans-formed group is a living encapsulation of American music, a vibrant cauldron of sounds that stirs together meaty grooves and jazzy dynamics, soulful R&B swagger, easy vocal harmonies, cheeky rock ‘n’ roll attitude and folky social consciousness — not to mention some of the sharpest musicianship and ensemble playing you’ll ever hear from any five musicians.
Led by singer/guitarist Tommy Malone and accordionist, John Magnie, The Subdudes draw most of their inspiration from the sounds of their native New Orleans, blending blues, gospel, funk, and R&B with their own harmony vocals; their sound is also notable for the band’s substitution of a tambourine player, Steve Amedée, for a drummer. Tim Cook rounds out the band on bass.

Upstairs at The B Presents – Poison Boot

October 28, 2018
Other Entertainment Series

A live podcast with host Dave Pierini. Named after the theatre folklore of “what happens when the gun doesn’t go off,” Poison Boot features Pierini interviewing actors about the high anxiety moments on stage when the script couldn’t save them. In the second act, an improv team performs a skit based on the story.

Upstairs at The B Presents – New Play Brunch

October 28, 2018
Other Entertainment Series

Join us for brunch, drinks and a play reading! Food will be provided complimentary.

“I wanted to write a play for my favorite actresses, the result is Surprise Party at the End of the World.” – Amy Kelly, B Street Theatre Company Member

A surprise party in Tahoe is disrupted by a violent storm, reports of widespread panic and unexplained explosions. Fast-paced and highly comedic, five very different women must navigate their way to safety as the power goes out, cell service goes down and roads become flooded. Surprise Party at the End of the World is a tense, ridiculous and humorous ride as we watch the characters reveal their biggest secrets and fears. A play about family, friendship and the tremendous strength that surfaces when we must fight for our survival.

SBL Entertainment Presents – NRBQ

October 31, 2018
Music Series

NRBQ is Terry Adams, Scott Ligon, Casey McDonough, and John Perrin. “NRBQ” stands for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet. The band’s music, a rollicking blend of everything from stomping
rockabilly to Beatles-influenced pop to Thelonious Monk-inspired jazz, has attracted fans as diverse as Elvis Costello, Penn & Teller, R.E.M., SpongeBob SquarePants, Ian McLagan, She & Him, Wilco, Widespread Panic, Nick Lowe, and indie-rock band Whitney. NRBQ songs have inspired cover versions by Bonnie Raitt, Los Lobos, Darlene Love, and Dave Edmunds, among
many others. In addition, the group served as the unofficial "house band" for The Simpsons for the Season 10-12. NRBQ has released a series of critically-acclaimed albums in recent years,
among them Keep This Love Goin’ (2011), Brass Tacks (2014), and last year’s 5-disc, 50-year retrospective, High Noon. Of the brand new Happy Talk EP, the Nashville Scene says, “…ties the
pursuit of eternal youth to the idea of timeless rock ‘n’ roll.” As the song says, “You’ve got to have a dream, if you don’t have a dream, how you gonna make a dream come true?”

SBL Entertainment Presents – Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas

November 1, 2018
Music Series

The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, "the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling", and brilliant Californian cellist Natalie Haas spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 18 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music. They continue to thrill audiences internationally with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Throwing Shade Line 2018: There’s No Place Like Condo Tour

November 2, 2018
Other Entertainment Series

Comedians Bryan Safi and Erin Gibson give their fresh takes on women’s issues, LGBTQ issues and pop culture with hilarity and vulgarity. Plus Singing! Dancing! Guests! Games! Clowns! Can you handle it?

SBL Entertainment Presents – Mary Youngblood and The Sisters of the Earth

November 3, 2018
Music Series

Native American Mary Youngblood, half Seminole and half Aleut, is the first woman to professionally record the Native American Flute, and the first woman to win not just one, but two Grammy Awards for "Best Native American Music Album". When Mary performs, it takes only a moment to acknowledge the profound spirituality of the sacred Native American flute and its historical courtship and wooing attributes. Her haunting music is much more than a song ... it's liquid poetry, a prayer.

Mary Youngblood takes little credit for the intense emotions people feel when they listen to her music. "I am only a vessel between Creator and this instrument. As a sculptor would tell you, the clay has a spirit of its own and decides what it will become; so it is with the flute. These songs came from those who walked before me."

Mary and her family currently reside in Northern California.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Richard Shindell

November 4, 2018
Music Series

Originally from New York, now dividing his time between Buenos Aires, Argentina and New York’s Hudson Valley, Richard Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, inhabit characters, vividly evoking entire worlds along the way and expanding our sense of just what it is a song may be. From his first record, Sparrow’s Point (1992) to his current release, Careless (September 2016), Shindell has explored the possibilities offered by this most elastic and variable of cultural confections: the song. The path that led him to songwriting was both circuitous and direct. Taking up the guitar at the age of eight, he listened but imagined that composing a song was out of the question. After college and a nine month stint in a Zen Buddhist community in Upstate New York, he headed to Europe with his guitar, finding something not approaching a livelihood performing in the Paris Metro, where he discovered “I loved the acoustics in those tunnels, but only when they were empty.”

The Legend of Georgia McBride

November 6, 2018 - December 9, 2018
Theatre Series

MAINSTAGE SERIES

In this stitch-in-your-side funny play, Casey is an Elvis impersonator working in a Florida Panhandle bar. But when his poorly attended Elvis show is cancelled for the more popular drag queen performers, Casey is despondent. His girlfriend is pregnant and the rent check’s bounced. But to his rescue come Tracy Mills and Miss Anorexia Nervosa who instruct Casey on the finer points of drag performance.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Leo Kottke (an evening with)

November 6, 2018
Music Series

Acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke was born in Athens, Georgia, but left town after a year and a half. Raised in 12 different states, he absorbed a variety of musical influences as a child, flirting with both violin and trombone, before abandoning Stravinsky for the guitar at age 11.

After adding a love for the country-blues of Mississippi John Hurt to the music of John Phillip Sousa and Preston Epps, Kottke joined the Navy underage, to be underwater, and eventually lost some hearing shooting at lightbulbs in the Atlantic while serving on the USS Halfbeak, a diesel submarine.
Kottke had previously entered college at the U of Missouri, dropping out after a year to hitchhike across the country to South Carolina, then to New London and into the Navy, with his twelve string. "The trip was not something I enjoyed," he has said, "I was broke and met too many interesting people."
His collaboration with Phish bassist Mike Gordon, "Clone," caught audiences' attention in 2002. Kottke and Gordon followed with a recording in the Bahamas called "Sixty Six Steps," produced by Leo's old friend and Prince producer David Z.
Kottke has been awarded two Grammy nominations; a Doctorate in Music Performance by the Peck School of Music at the U of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and a Certificate of Significant Achievement in Not Playing the Trombone from the U of Texas at Brownsville with Texas Southmost College.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Lisa Loeb w/ Billy Lawler

November 8, 2018
Music Series

Lisa Loeb is a touring artist, author and philanthropist who started her career with the platinum-selling Number 1 hit song “Stay (I Missed You)” from the film Reality Bites. A trailblazing independent artist, Lisa was the first pop musician to have a Number 1 single while not signed to a recording contract. She followed that remarkable feat with the hit singles "Do You Sleep," "I Do" and "Let's Forget about It ” and the albums Cake and Pie and No Fairy Tale. Her albums Tails and Firecracker were both certified Gold.
Lisa continues to craft irresistible pop songs for the 21st century, while designing Lisa Loeb Eyewear, writing children's books, and supporting non-profit causes. The Los Angeles based mother of two is well known to parents and kids for her albums Catch the Moon (with Elizabeth Mitchell) and Camp Lisa (with sales benefiting the Camp Lisa Foundation). She published her second picture book-CD for Sterling Children’s Books: Lisa Loeb’s Songs for Movin’ and Shakin’, in 2013. Her song “Disappointing Pancake” became a hit in concert and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Lisa recently collaborated to co-write the children’s musical "Camp Kappawanna," which debuted at New York City's Atlantic Theater Company. Recognizing her work to help kids get to summer camp, the American Camp Association, New England named Lisa Loeb as their 2015 Camp Champions Honoree with a gala celebration at Fenway Park. Lisa Loeb views the world through her iconic cat-eyed glasses. As touring performer and entrepreneur, Lisa redefines how women accessorize with her Lisa Loeb Eyewear, with a variety of styles available at Costco and select optical shops around the United States.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Rick Estrin & The Nightcats

November 9, 2018
Music Series

Wildly fun, musically fearless and bursting with bravado, 2018’s Blues Music Award-winning Band Of The Year Rick Estrin & The Nightcatshave created one of the blues’ most instantly recognizable sounds and no-holds-barred styles. Featuring the world-class talents of harmonica master, songwriter and vocalist Rick Estrin, guitar wunderkind Chris “Kid” Andersen, keyboard wizard Lorenzo Farrell and dynamic drummer Alex Pettersen, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats serve up sharp and incisive original blues and gritty roadhouse rock ‘n’ roll. With his wily and unforgettable original songs and his hipster, street-smart vocals, no one on the blues scenewrites or sings like Rick Estrin. DownBeatsays, “Rick Estrin sings and writes songs like the brightest wiseguy in all of blueslandand blows harmonica as if he learned at the knee of Little Walter.” Live, the band is simply unbeatable. They deliver a high-energy show capable of bringing any audience to its feet. Rick Estrin & The Nightcats’ latest Alligator album, Groovin’ In Greaseland, features 13 original songs, 11 by Estrin (including one co-written with Andersen), and one each by Andersen and Farrell. The band’s dazzling performances bring the songs to life as richly detailed characters spill their secrets and share their stories. The Chicago Sun-Timessays, “These are serious musicians having a hotter than hot good time. It’s tough to stay in your seat when Estrin and his musical cohorts get cooking.”

SBL Entertainment Presents – Strunz & Farah

November 10, 2018
Music Series

Performing together since 1979, Strunz & Farah are the innovators of an entirely new expression for the acoustic guitar. Well ahead of their time they created an original style that now is widely influential. Originally from Costa Rica and Iran respectively, Jorge Strunz and Ardeshir Farah have brought the musical influences of their native lands into their highly virtuosic, rhythmic, and improvisation-rich original instrumental compositions, inspiring fans and many guitarists worldwide. Their meeting in 1979 in Los Angeles, where they are still based, marked the first time that Latin American and Middle Eastern music, along with other important elements, came together on the guitar. They remain the undisputed masters of the style they created. S&F’s music is perhaps best described as original multi-cultural acoustic instrumental improvisational guitar music, or world jazz. Their music emphasizes and luxuriates in sensuous melody and rhythm with a colorful and passionate expression, and is saturated with their cultural roots. Afro-Caribbean, Latin American folk, flamenco and Middle Eastern music all converge in an essentially jazz context, especially in the sense of improvisation, and is a unique contribution to the diversity of contemporary guitar music.

SBL Entertainment Presents – David Wilcox

November 11, 2018
Music Series

Cleveland-born David Wilcox is a father, a husband, a citizen and a songwriter. First inspired to play guitar after hearing a fellow college student playing in a stairwell, Wilcox is now 18 records into a career marked by personal revelation and wildly loyal fans. His lyrical insight is matched by a smooth baritone voice, virtuosic guitar chops, and creative open tunings, giving him a range and tenderness rare in folk music.

Upstairs at The B Presents – Sacramento Emerging Artist Showcase

November 17, 2018
Other Entertainment Series

The goal of SEAS is to uplift and celebrate the next wave of Sacramento’s performing artists, giving them important tools they will need to succeed along the way!

Support the Capital City’s newest circus artists, musicians, drag performers, comedians, burlesque performers, variety acts, singers, dancers and slam poets as they share their most stage-ready content for your entertainment pleasure!

Watch 10 acts representing different performing arts genres each month, delivered by Sacramento’s new generation of live entertainers (performing 4yrs or less). Provide anonymous, constructive feedback for the artists throughout the show by texting the SEAS feedback line. Feedback from spectators, peers and other arts professionals plays a vital role in the growth of any performer, and we are proud to create an opportunity for just that!

Upstairs at The B Presents – BS! Burlesque + Stand-up Comedy

November 17, 2018
Other Entertainment Series

An epic game of 2 Truths & A Lie, featuring performers from Sacramento & beyond!

A rapid fire event series where performers leave YOU to separate the truth from fiction, as they bring their most creative acts AND personal facts to the stage for…BS!

Join your special guest host each month for an epic game of two truths and a lie, as they task YOU with calling bullshit on the lie each entertainer submits before their performance. BS offers a new twist on audience interaction while providing a lens into the lives of the entertainers we love! Jump in for some raucous and irreverent fun, deliberating with your table to cast your final vote - BS depends on YOU to uncover the Bu**sh*t, and our entertainers are here to lay it on you!

A Christmas Carol

November 30, 2018 - December 30, 2018
Theatre Series

FAMILY SERIES

The return of this hilarious adaptation of Dickens’ classic story, Ebenezer Scrooge has had enough of his yearly redemption and does everything he can to bust out of it. All the familiar characters are present as he fights his way through the night, providing fodder for his disdain but also pushing him, reluctantly, to his absolution.
*Recommended for all ages!
*Please be advised, only children 5 years and up are permitted in the theatre.

B Street Theatre Presents – Ross Hammond

December 1, 2018
Music Series

Sacramento guitarist Ross Hammond has played on large stages and in small corners throughout the United States and beyond. His sound is equal parts folk, blues, spirituals and world music.
He has played for Hillary Clinton, to audiences of five and all points in between.
His latest release is “Riding Dragons In Winter,” an album of solo music for resonator and steel guitar.

SBL Entertainment Presents – BEAT-LELE

December 2, 2018
Music Series

Beat-Lele is comprised of four Beatle-loving musicians who hail from the island of Oahu. Having performed for numerous years as a Beatles tribute band in Hawaii, they decided to reinvent themselves and fuse the beautiful music of the Beatles with their passion of playing ukulele's. There is no other musical group in the world we are aware of combining the timeless music of The Beatles to the soaring popularity of a simple ukulele with added percussion of a cajon.
With Sonny Aquino as "John", Nolet Quiason as "Paul", Alastar McNeil as "George" and Dennis Muth as "Ringo", each band member sings and performs their respective parts as one would expect from the original recording. Beat-Lele spans the career of The Beatles from Love Me Do through their later years of Let It Be and Abbey Road and everything in between. Their impeccable attention to musical detail will make you wonder if you are hearing the actual recordings!

SBL Entertainment Presents – Band Of Friends (A Celebration Of Rory Gallagher)

December 5, 2018
Music Series

Rory Gallagher’s music reached a massive audience from Norway to Spain, from Japan to the USA, covering all parts of the globe and producing some of the greatest rock/blues albums of the 60s, 70s and 80s. Sadly we lost Rory on June 14th 1995. To his devoted fans and followers this was the ultimate tragedy.

The BAND OF FRIENDS is not a tribute to Rory, But more a celebration of his life and music. The band consists of musicians who played with Rory as his rhythm section for years and is fronted by the incomparable Davy Knowles!

SBL Entertainment Presents – Joe Louis Walker

December 6, 2018
Music Series

Joe Louis Walker is a true powerhouse guitar virtuoso, unique singer and prolific songwriter. Walker, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee and four-time Blues Music Award winner, has toured extensively throughout his career, performing at the world’s most renowned music festivals, and earned a legion of dedicated fans. His latest, highly-acclaimed album Everybody Wants A Piece, from Mascot/Provogue, cements his legacy as a prolific torch bearer for the blues. Looking back on his rich history, Walker shares, “I’d like to be known for the credibility of a lifetime of being true to my music and the blues. Sometimes I feel I’ve learned more from my failures, than from my successes, but that’s made me stronger and more adventurous, and helped me create my own style. I’d like to think that when someone puts on one of my records they would know from the first notes, ‘That’s Joe Louis Walker.'”

NPR Music has called Walker “a legendary boundary-pushing icon of modern blues,” and he is already being referred to within the blues world as a living legend. However, at this stage of his life, Walker profoundly shares, “I’d really like to inspire younger musicians to carry on the legacy of blues/roots music – but play and do it your way – don’t be afraid to mix it up. There’s no right or wrong way, just the way you wanna express yourself. And above all, ENJOY YOURSELF.”

SBL Entertainment Presents – Peter Rowan

December 9, 2018
Music Series

Grammy-award winner Peter Rowan is a singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades. From his early years playing under the tutelage of Bluegrass veteran Bill Monroe, to his time in Old & In the Way and his breakout as a solo musician and bandleader, Rowan has built a devoted, international fan base through a solid stream of recordings, collaborative projects, and constant touring.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Dirty Cello

December 15, 2018
Music Series

From China to Italy, and all over the U.S., Dirty Cello brings the world a high energy and unique spin on blues and bluegrass. Led by vivacious cross-over cellist, Rebecca Roudman, Dirty Cello is cello like you’ve never heard before. From down home blues with a wailing cello to virtuosic stompin’ bluegrass, Dirty Cello is a band that gets your heart thumping and your toes tapping!
"Dirty Cello’s music is all over the map: funky, carnival, romantic, sexy, tangled, electric, fiercely rhythmic, and textured, and only occasionally classical." Lou Fancher, Oakland Magazine.
"The band plays every style imaginable, and does some fantastic covers. (Their rendition of “Purple Haze” is incredible.) But what is most spectacular about them is hearing the depth of soul in Roudman’s playing—it goes beyond what most people would expect from the instrument. She plays it with so much heart, you’ll wonder why more bands don’t have a cellist." Good Times Santa Cruz
"The group seamlessly careens from blues to bluegrass and rock in a way that really shouldn't make sense but somehow does." LA Times

Halftime With Don

December 15, 2018 - December 30, 2018
Theatre Series

A special engagement

Don Devers was a celebrated NFL star linebacker for 9 years. Now in his 50s, the toll of his excellence has decimated his body and mind. He spends his days in his chair subsisting on Gatorade and Pringles. Don’s daughter sets up a meeting with Don’s biggest fan, aspiring sports writer Ed Ryan. Don agrees to let Ed spend a week with him and gives him full access to write about his life. Thrilled at first, Ed soon realizes that there is more to Don than his heroics on the field in this poignant, heartfelt story from playwright Ken Weitzman.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Wake The Dead

January 5, 2019
Music Series

Wake The Dead is the World’s Only Celtic All-Star Grateful Dead Jam Band. Since 2000, this hot Northern California septet has been blending Celtic traditional music and the songs of the Grateful Dead—at first impressing the Dead themselves enough for them to release the debut CD on Grateful Dead/Arista Records. Now, ever more inventive and ever more energetic, WAKE THE DEAD spreads their reach to embrace the entire Summer of Love, keeping it alive for Deadheads and Celtoids alike as only they can.

House on Haunted Hill – The Comedy

January 8, 2019 - February 17, 2019
Theatre Series

Mainstage Series Presents!
Adapted by the B Street Theatre! The classic 1959 horror film starring Vincent Price is given a hilarious adaptation that’s totally outrageous, totally terrifying and totally B Street. Eccentric millionaire Frederick Loren and his wife Annabelle have invited five strangers to a “haunted house” party. Whoever can last the night will receive $10,000, but there’s a catch: The house is full of ghosts, spirits and other terrors! In the style of 39 Steps and Around The World In 80 Days, House On Haunted Hill promises to be an instant classic B Street comedy featuring all your favorite company members.

SBL Entertainment Presents – An intimate evening with Craig Chaquico

January 18, 2019
Music Series

Rocketing onto the music scene over 40 years ago as a teen, Craig Chaquico was an original founding member of the multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated, American rock bands, Jefferson Starship and Starship (Miracles, Jane, Find Your Way Back, Sara, Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now), from 1973 - 1990. Since that time, Craig has been a million-selling, chart-topping solo jazz guitarist. His CD, Acoustic Planet, received a Best New Age Grammy-nomination, as well as reaching #1 in Billboard magazine and on national radio charts. Craig holds a spot in Jazziz Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential Guitarists of All Time.
On this special night, Craig will be accompanied by his own recorded backing music as he weaves a unique blend of his award-winning solo acoustic guitar with personal stories from over four decades at the top of the charts. Join us on January 18, for an "Intimate Evening with Craig Chaquico."

SBL Entertainment Presents – Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers

January 19, 2019
Music Series

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers are internationally recognized as one of the top bands in the world performing classic American jazz, swing, blues and R&B music from the mid-twentieth century.
Lavay and her group have toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and Canada. They have performed at many of the top festivals, concert venues and nightclubs in the USA, and recently headlined Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City for a special New Year’s Eve show in December, 2014. Whether singing her own compositions or drawing on a large repertoire of classics, Lavay and her all-star 7-piece band bake up an instant recipe for dancing and good times.

The Sound of Freedom

January 20, 2019 - February 2, 2019
Theatre Series

Come feel the spirit and the power of civil rights heroes from all over the world. Their stories and words will be brought to life in what will be an unforgettable theatrical experience.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Loudon Wainwright III

January 22, 2019
Music Series

Loudon’s long and illustrious career is highlighted by more than two dozen album releases, Movie and TV credits, and now his new autobiography, Liner Notes (2017 Penguin/Random House). In 2010 Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. His 2012 recording, Older Than My Old Man Now, was named one of NPR’s Top 10 Albums of the Year. In 2014, Haven’t Got the Blues (Yet), marked his the 26th career release to-date. September 2018, Loudon releases a new retrospective album, Years In The Making, a double CD with more than 45 tracks – live performances, demos, outtakes, unreleased songs spanning 50 years.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Joe Craven & The Sometimers

January 26, 2019
Music Series

Joe Craven first captured the wide-eyed stare of many fans in the ’90s as the astonishing percussionist and multi-instrumentalist with the David Grismann Quintet. He approaches his music with an insider’s knowledge and adoration - he performed and recorded with Garcia & Grisman for four years. As an educator, artist and actor, his oeuvre covers a huge range of musical genres and artistic inspirations.
On his jaunty and inventive new album, Garcia Songbook, Craven blazes a new path across the well-worn trails of the beloved and revered Garcia songbook. Bursting forth with exciting and unexpected takes on familiar favorites, the music is seasoned with surprising flavors, deviations, re-imaginings and detours. Craven sings and plays mandolin, fiddle and percussion alongside his band The Sometimers, featuring his daughter Hattie Craven on harmony vocals, plus Bruce MacMillan (guitar, dobro & vocals), Jonathan Stoyanoff (bass & vocals) and Barry Eldridge (drums & percussion).

SBL Entertainment Presents – Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra

February 6, 2019
Music Series

Ottmar Liebert’s global success can be attributed to a myriad of things - his creative vision, his determination, and a strong sense of melody. Born in Cologne, Germany, he began playing guitar at 11. Before the age of 19, Liebert had intended to stay in Germany and pursue a career as a designer and photographer. However, while journeying extensively through Asia and playing with other travelers and local musicians, he realised that he could not escape a life of music. After pursuing his dreams of playing rock music in Boston, he settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Santa Fe was a fresh start for Liebert in many ways and in addition to returning to the acoustic guitar, he remained open to letting the place define the music he made. It was this openness to the local landscape that defined what was to become his musical style, a mix of Spanish, Mexican and World elements, strong melodies tinged with a shade of melancholy, balanced with upbeat rhythms.

Liebert founded the first incarnation of his band, Luna Negra, in 1989. His debut album began as a self-produced release called Marita: Shadows and Storms, copies of which local Native American artist, Frank Howell, distributed in his art galleries. After the record made its way to radio stations, it began generating a buzz among programmers and received unprecedented response among listeners. Higher Octave Music picked it up and released a fully remastered version, Nouveau Flamenco. Recorded for less than $3,000 on an old analog machine in a shack beside a gravel pit, this CD became an international sensation, establishing Liebert's unique border-style flamenco, and becoming the best-selling instrumental acoustic guitar album of all time.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Ed Asner – A Man And His Prostate

February 8, 2019
Other Entertainment Series

Based on a true-life experience, a man discovers his inner self in more ways than one. A near tragedy is masterfully transformed into a one-man comedy, perfectly portrayed by Ed Asner in his hilarious visit to the hospital in preparation for surgery he doesn’t want.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Oakland Jazz Choir

February 9, 2019
Music Series

We are the Oakland Jazz Choir and we have been singing and bringing innovative, and unique vocal jazz to the Bay Area since 1992. Oakland born and bred, we are one of just a few community jazz choirs in the nation singing cool original, and standard jazz material in a distinctive choral jazz setting.

The Oakland Jazz Choir, (OJC) a non-profit, has been an East Bay institution for over 20 years. During this span the group has taken many shapes, sizes and forms but the common denominator has always been the same: Joy of expression, using the voice to communicate the triumphs, as well as the turbulence, of the human spirit.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Joan Osborne

February 13, 2019 - February 14, 2019
Music Series

Osborne is widely known for her live performances in the GRAMMY Award-winning documentary "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." She has produced two albums for Americana stalwarts the Holmes Brothers, and co-produced her last two critically acclaimed solo records, 'Love And Hate' and 'Bring It On Home,' with talented producer/multi-instrumentalist Jack Petruzzelli. 'Bring It On Home,' which found Osborne tackling vintage songs by Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, Al Green, Ike and Tina Turner, and Sonny Boy Williamson, among others, and treating them with respect while giving them some interesting twists in tempo, key and feeling, garnered a Best Blues Album nomination at the 2013 GRAMMY Awards.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Rockapella

February 15, 2019
Music Series

Since the early ’90’s when they first achieved national television fame on PBS’s Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?, they’ve toured the globe and provided a funky powerful soundtrack to several generations of vocal music fans, while keeping it all fresh along the way. With buckets of catchy original pop songs, and complete contemporary revisions of sparkling Motown, pop, and soul classics, this group has always been the one to watch. ”Often imitated – never duplicated” applies here. Now they’re better than ever!

We make it rock and make it interesting,” explains Scott Leonard, the group’s chief songwriter, arranger, and an architect of their ever-evolving and imitated dynamic sound. USA Today summed up their lasting appeal: “The best musical instrument of all is the human voice – if you’ve seen Rockapella you know that’s the truth.” The New York Times agrees; they’re “Pure entertainment.”

KVIE & SBL Entertainment Presents – Albert Cummings

February 16, 2019
Music Series

Entertaining audiences from his phenomenal guitar work to his incredibly impassioned lyrics and overall songwriting prowess - one thing has certainly become clear about Albert Cummings’ music: He is FAR MORE than simply just the guitarist or the bluesman he’s often painted as by fans and the media alike. He offers the complete package.

Though undoubtedly a masterful guitar player who burst onto the blues rock scene in the early 2000’s and almost immediately began gaining praise in that realm, his latest release “Live at the ‘62 Center” further portrays not only his versatility as singer/songwriter and live performer but as an artist first and foremost.

This comes to fruition in the true spontaneity and creative spirit of the album, in which he put together a newly formed version of his usual trio that afternoon of the October, 2016 recording. With longtime friend and Grammy Winner Jim Gaines behind the soundboard, what comes through in both sight and sound is an incredible journey into the live performance world and true artistry of one of today’s most seasoned musicians.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Lunasa

February 25, 2019
Music Series

Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lúnasa is indeed a gathering of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. Its members have helped formed the backbone of some of the greatest Irish groups of the decade.

Bassist Trevor Hutchinson was a key member of The Waterboys, and later he, with guitarist Donogh Hennessy, would form the dynamic rhythm section of The Sharon Shannon Band. Paul Meehan (Karan Casey Band, North Cregg) has recently replaced Hennessy. Fiddler Sean Smyth is an All-Ireland champion who has played with Donal Lunny’s Coolfin; Kevin Crawford, considered to be among the finest flutists in Ireland played with the
acclaimed traditional group Moving Cloud; and, piper Cillian Vallely of the famous Vallely artistic clan. Folk Roots magazine has rightly termed them an “Irish music dream team.”

A Doll’s House Pt. 2

February 26, 2019 - April 7, 2019
Theatre Series

Mainstage Series Presents!
We all know the end of A Doll’s House; Theater’s great feminist icon, Nora walks out the door of her home, leaving her husband and children behind to embrace an uncertain future, but a future that she controls. But what if she came back? A Doll’s House Pt. 2 imagines just that scenario. Celebrated playwright Lucas Hnath’s Tony nominated play imagines the continuing story of Henrik Ibsen’s legendary protagonist. In this fascinating and brilliant play, we see the cost of Nora’s decision and investigate further the ideas set forth in Ibsen’s original. What price do we pay for control of our own destinies?

SBL Entertainment Presents – Hot Club of San Francisco

March 1, 2019
Music Series

This ensemble of accomplished and versatile musicians celebrates the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli’s pioneering Quintette du Hot Club de France with style and panache. The HCSF borrows the instrumentation of violin, bass, and guitars from the original Hot Club while breathing new life into the music with innovative arrangements of classic tunes and original compositions from the group’s superb lead guitarist, Paul Mehling. Featuring the amazing violin of twice GRAMMY® Award-winning Evan Price, the velvet vocals of Isabelle Fontaine and a swinging rhythm section, the group never fails to surprise and delight.

To hear the ensemble live, or on any of their 14 albums, is to be carried back to the 1930’s and the small, smoky jazz clubs of Paris and the refined lounge of the famous Hotel Ritz. Often called gypsy jazz, the music of The Hot Club of San Francisco has entranced audiences around the globe for over 20 years. Acoustic Guitar has hailed the group’s playing as “intricate, scorching and often brilliant.” With frequent national and international tours — from Iceland to Lincoln Center and the Monterey Jazz Festival — The Hot Club of San Francisco keeps this historic music fresh and alive.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Duo Quartet

March 16, 2019
Music Series

Blame Sally’s Pamela Delgado & Jeri Jones team up with Nina Gerber & Chris Webster for a Double Duo Evening. They’ll each be doing their own duo “thang” AND then mixing it up for some dueling guitar jams and three part harmonies.

Charlotte’s Web

March 17, 2019 - April 7, 2019
Theatre Series

E.B. White’s beloved children’s story is adapted for the stage in this delightful, colorful production. When Wilbur the pig is befriended by a small spider named Charlotte, the friendship sets off a series of events that turn Wilbur from the runt of his litter to “Some Pig”.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Adrian Legg

March 22, 2019
Music Series

Globally acclaimed by critics and fans alike for his unique acoustic and electric fingerstyle guitar playing, Adrian Legg masterfully blends diverse musical styles, influences and inspirations to create a distinctive sound all his own. With multiple awards and accolades spanning four decades, Legg has been heralded as a “guitarist of astonishing virtuosity, (whose) imagination and melodic invention seem unbounded,” (Q magazine); “ridiculously talented,” (Music Week) and “simply the best acoustic guitar player I’ve ever heard.”(guitar icon Joe Satriani). Setting the stage for his international success in the decades to follow, Legg was named as Acoustic Guitarist of the Decade by the UK’s Guitarist Magazine(1984-94), and Best Acoustic Fingerstylist in Guitar Player Magazine’s Readers’ Poll for four years in a row. (1993-96).

SBL Entertainment Presents – Henry Kapono & Band

March 23, 2019
Music Series

“Kapono is one of the great island songwriters of his generation.” --Honolulu
Star-Advertiser
Henry Kapono is a performer who has it all – vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, composer, thrilling performer, audience favorite—and multiple honors and awards, including a Grammy nomination. He has taken home 14 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (Hawaii's “Grammy”) including Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Rock Album of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Robbie Fulks

March 26, 2019
Music Series

Robbie Fulks is a singer, recording artist, instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter. His most recent release, 2017’s Upland Stories, earned year’s-best recognition from NPR and Rolling Stone among many others, as well as two Grammy® nominations, for folk album and American roots song (“Alabama At Night”).

SBL Entertainment – Karla Bonoff

March 29, 2019
Music Series

Karla Bonoff has been described as one of the finest singer/songwriters of her generation. With a career spanning for decades, Bonoff has enjoyed critical acclaim, commercial success, enduring popularity and the unwavering respect of her peers. In addition to charting with her own recordings, Karla has seen her songs become hits for Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna Judd and Linda Ronstadt.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Trout Fishing in America

March 30, 2019
Music Series

Trout Fishing in America is the longstanding, four-time GRAMMY nominated musical partnership of Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet. A willingness to at once make fun of our most annoying daily habits, then to touch our hearts with tender and passionate images of family life, is what makes the connection between Trout Fishing in America and its audiences so compelling and poignant. “…the Lennon and McCartney of kids’ music.” – National Public Radio

SBL Entertainment Presents – The Four Bitchin’ Babes

April 4, 2019
Music Series

THE FOUR BITCHIN’ BABES – Sally Fingerett, Debi Smith, Deirdre Flint, along with revolving 4th members, Nancy Moran and Megon McDonough. are an original “Babes Brand” of musical theater with a 25 year career on-stage and in-studio, releasing multiple recordings and a full length DVD. Together they honor and pay tribute to the wacky and hectic lives of men and women with their unbridled comedic commentary.These four accomplished, seasoned musician-actress-comediennes take turns in the spotlight, filling it with whimsical songs and shtick, presenting the hippest and most luxurious girl group harmonies “evah!” With guitars, bass, piano, and Irish Bodhran, this rollicking renegade sorority of gal pals use their exquisite wit and sophisticated (never blue) humor, creating an amazing evening of Cabaret/Broadway ‘esque original entertainment.

SBL Entertainment – Joe Kye

April 13, 2019
Music Series

Born in Korea and raised in Seattle, violinist- looper and vocalist Joe Kye has drawn rave reviews since launching his music career in 2013, “discharging world[s] of emotion” and delivering “divine messages” with his lush string loops and eclectic style (Guitar World). Drawing upon his migrant upbringing, Kye blends indie-rock, jazz, classical, pop, and world folk to create a unique sound that “leaves everyone in awe” (Sac News and Review). With his innovative use of digital effects and looping, Kye weaves together diverse textures, catchy melodies, and rich, sweet vocals to create songs that groove, uplift, and empower listeners.

Holmes and Watson

April 16, 2019 - May 26, 2019
Theatre Series

Mainstage Series Presents!
An all new Sherlock mystery! In the year following the assumed death of the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes at the falls of Reichenbach, his most trusted companion, Dr. Watson is called upon to discredit a number of “false sightings.” With each call, Watson must travel to expose them as fakes until one day when he is summoned to an insane asylum on an island, in the middle of a storm, where there is not one man claiming to be Sherlock Holmes, but three! With the shocks and surprises that we expect from a Sherlock Holmes story, playwright Jeffrey Hatcher puts us on the edge of our seats until the final moment. Don’t give away the ending! #dontgiveawaytheending

SBL Entertainment Presents – Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom

April 26, 2019
Music Series

Amy's role as a cultural force for Hawaiian Culture stems from composing in Hawaiian Language and bringing her language to the world with a current blend of diverse musical stylings.
Hanaiali'i's talent emerges from a disciplined classical training, fused powerhouse vocals, and honoring her family's worldly heritage and rooted ancestral responsibility.
Amy's albums have also garnered 18 Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards – Hawai’i's equivalent to the GRAMMY® awards.
Hānaiali'i's range of multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano wins, showcases her varied musical depth over the years prevailing in the following categories: Female Vocalist of the Year, Hawaiian Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Group of the Year, Christmas Album of the Year, Contemporary Album of the Year, and many others.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Friends! The Musical Parody

April 27, 2019
Theatre Series

FRIENDS! The Musical Parody is the hilarious new musical that lovingly lampoons TV’s Friends celebrating the wacky misadventures of your favorite group of 20-something pals as they navigate the pitfalls of work, life, and love in 1990s Manhattan. It’s a seemingly typical day at New York’s only coffee shop, Central Perk, until an unexpected runaway bride with beautiful hair enters the picture and kicks the whole gang out of second gear! This delightfully naughty confection plucks the best moments from the show’s ten years and recreates the moments through an uncensored, fast-paced, music filled romp. You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! You’ll Unagi!
Recommended for mature audiences.

Sacramento Ballet Presents – Fast Forward

May 16, 2019 - May 19, 2019
Other Entertainment Series

Where else can the classical ballet language lead? See three short ballets that express how this art form is evolving and thriving.
Written and Forgotten
Choreography: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Music: Various artists
A humorous, sometimes poignant look at childhood memories, through the lens of internationally celebrated choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.
The Bridge
Choreography: Val Caniparoli
Music: Dmitri Shostakovich
“…the work seems more powerful now than in 1998, when it was made in tribute to the media-created ‘Romeo and Juliet of Sarajevo.’……Like the Shostakovich string quartet it’s set to, the piece is relentlessly somber, but within the darkness skeins of deep color swirl.” Seattle Weekly, March 22, 2006 - Roger Downey
Elpis
A world premiere by Artistic Director Amy Seiwert, with live music composed and performed by violist Christen Lien.
Lien has constructed a concept album exploring the Greek myth of Elpis. The personification of Hope, Elpis is one of the evils created by Zeus to punish humanity. Because Elpis was the heaviest, most grievous evil, she was ordered to be the last to leave Pandora’s Box. But soon after Pandora opened the lid and the evils began to fly out, Pandora knew she made a mistake and quickly put the lid back on just when Elpis was trying to leave. In consequence, Elpis became trapped, where she has been imprisoned for thousands of years.

The Forever Question

June 4, 2019 - July 14, 2019
Theatre Series

Mainstage Series

The 2018 New Comedies Winner!
Life comes at you fast. For young couple, Carolyn and Mike, life has been a series of questions that have led them to the biggest one yet: should they have a second child? In this hilarious and inventive new comedy, winner of the inaugural B Street Theatre New Comedies Festival, playwright James Christy examines the small and not so small occurrences that build our lives and lead Carolyn and Mike to a question that could affect their lives… well, forever.

The Last Match

July 23, 2019 - September 1, 2019
Theatre Series

Mainstage Series Presents!
It is the quarterfinal of the U.S. Open and rising Russian tennis player Sergei faces the former six-time champ, aging All-American Tim Porter. In Anna Ziegler’s incendiary play, we witness the entire match through the minds of these fierce warriors. As each point is played, we learn what goes on in the heads of the players, the relationships and life decisions that focus them to win or cause them to stumble. In this exciting and whip smart play, the tennis match becomes more than just a game and becomes an insight into the mind of the elite athlete.

A Stand Up Guy

September 10, 2019 - October 20, 2019
Theatre Series

Mainstage Series Presents!
For years the B Street Theatre audiences have come to know Jack Gallagher. In his previous one man shows, Jack has covered all parts of his history and life except the one that he made his name on: his experiences as a professional stand-up comedian. In his new show, A Stand Up Guy, Jack will dive deep into his past and present. After 40 years as a professional comedian, Jack has some stories to tell…

Fun Home

October 29, 2019 - December 8, 2019
Theatre Series

Mainstage Series Presents!
The 2015 Tony Award winning musical comes to the B Street Theatre. In this beautiful and moving musical, based on the graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel, we meet Alison at three different ages as she unravels the mystery of childhood and discovers her true self. Growing up in a funeral home with her brothers, her mother and her brilliant but volatile father, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest musical about seeing your parents through grown up eyes.