V-Day Sacramento Presents – The Vagina Monologues

February 17, 2019 - February 24, 2019
Other Entertainment Series

V-Day Sacramento's 8th annual benefit performance of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" sponsored by Sacramento Take Back the Night. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Gender Health Center and Sex Workers Outreach Project, Sacramento.

For 20 years, The Vagina Monologues has given voice to experiences and feelings not previously exposed in public and brought a deeper consciousness to the conversation around ending violence against women and girls. The award-winning play is based on V-Day Founder/playwright Eve Ensler's interviews with more than 200 women. With humor and grace, the piece celebrates women's sexuality and strength. Through this play and the liberation of this one word, countless women throughout the world have taken control of their bodies and their lives.

SBL Entertainment Presents – The Soul Rebels

February 21, 2019
Music Series

Eight piece brass sensation THE SOUL REBELS are riding high in 2018 after debuting on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, touring four continents including Europe, Australia, debuting in China and Japan, and collaborating live with Nas, G-Eazy, Robert Glasper, DMX, Curren$y, Joey Bada$$, Talib Kweli, GZA, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Marilyn Manson among many others, and opening for Lauryn Hill.
The Soul Rebels started with an idea – to expand upon the pop music they loved on the radio and the New Orleans brass tradition they grew up on. They took that tradition and blended funk and soul with elements of hip hop, jazz and rock all within a brass band context. The band has built a career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and drums in a deep pocket funk party-like atmosphere. When not touring, The Soul Rebels’ weekly show at New Orleans’ Le Bon Temps Roulé is known to erupt with the kind of contagious, shout-along musical mayhem that The Rebels bring with them wherever they perform.
The Soul Rebels continue to chart new territory as they feature in major films, tour globally, and combine topnotch musicianship with songs that celebrate dancing, life, funk and soul.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Greg Adams & East Bay Soul

February 22, 2019
Music Series

The sound of Grammy and Emmy nominated trumpeter, arranger Greg Adams is one of the world’s best-known musical signatures. As a founding member of Tower of Power, legendary for his arrangements that made the TOP horn section a sought out entity all its own. With countless collaborations in the studio and live on stage, Adams has made his mark on a broad stretch of today’s musical landscape that includes jazz, pop, rock, R&B,
soul, and funk.
It has been nearly a quarter century since the genre chameleon trumpeter and arranger became a leader in his own right with his ground breaking 1995 debut Hidden Agenda. With Greg Adams’ approach that music is a language... the CONVERSATION continues. You will sense a direct connection with the live feel of the music, the open breath of each note and the collaboration of each player.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Bay Area’s Premier Hawaiian Artist, Faith Ako with special guest appearance by Halau Ka Waikahe Lani Malie of Sacramento

February 23, 2019
Music Series

As Bay Area's Premier Female Artist in Traditional Hawaiian/Contemporary music, Faith Ako has long graced the stages of Northern California, East Coast Martha's VIneyard and her home state of Hawai'i for the last couple decades. With her Hawai'i Music Award winning albums, the late Mayor Ed Lee's San Francisco Citizen Award being recognized for her leadership work, understanding and appreciation for multiculturalism and diversity in the greater Bay Area and abroad. Currently working on her fourth album in Honolulu will be an exciting feature for 2019. Her charisma, sultry tones and local girl style of ALOHA, will welcome you back to the islands time after time without ever getting on a plane.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Lunasa with special intermission performance by McKeever School Of Irish Dance

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

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?

Don't worry—familiarity with A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen is not required to absolutely love this production!

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.

B Street Theatre Presents – Jack Gallagher’s “The Joke’s On Me. One Last Time.”

March 2, 2019 - March 3, 2019
Music Series

Jack Gallagher is back!
The Swan Song. This Could be the Last Time. The Last Waltz. It's Jack Gallagher's personal favorite rock 'n' roll/pop songs Version Finale.0.
"The Joke's on Me" has had a swell run of eight shows across nine years. For one last time, this will be an evening of terrific live music and laughs as Sacramento's adopted favorite son performs with his all star band. Songs by Tom Petty, Little Feat, Warren Zevon, The Mavericks, Grateful Dead, Rodney Crowell, The Turtles and Steppenwolf are just some of the tunes that made his list.

Upstairs at The B Presents – Maximum Occupancy

March 3, 2019
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!

Upstairs at The B Presents – Poison Boot

March 12, 2019
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.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Tim Flannery & the Lunatic Fringe

March 15, 2019
Music Series

To say Tim “Flan” Flannery is a baseball man is an understatement. But those who know Flan understand how much music has always meant to him. So while he is beyond proud, and certainly humble, about being part of three World Series championship San Francisco Giants teams (2010, 2012, 2014), as well as his thirty plus years in the Major Leagues and his current TV work as a baseball analyst, Tim Flannery has consistently toured and played shows in support of his original music usually backed by his amazing band, The Lunatic Fringe. The music now also serves another purpose: every cent from CD sales, merchandise, and ticket sales benefits his non-profit, the Love Harder Project, for anti-bullying and anti-violence programs across the country.
Tim Flannery is currently performing and booking dates to support his 13th album, “The Last of the Old Dogs.”

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.

Upstairs at The B Presents – Delivered

March 16, 2019
Other Entertainment Series

A story slam dedicated to the humorous, harrowing, and heartfelt reproductive health experiences that define us.

Featuring stories from ALL those who desperately sought or actively avoided pregnancy, from those who grew a baby,
lost a baby, birthed a baby, or were told it was too soon, too late, or impossible to do so—and stories from those who supported or cared for a person while they experienced a reproductive health moment.

To see what we’re all about, visit www.deliveredslam.org/ or email us at info@deliveredslam.org

Charlotte’s Web

March 17, 2019 - April 14, 2019
Theatre Series

FAMILY 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”.

Upstairs at The B Presents – Seekers of The Strange

March 17, 2019
Other Entertainment Series

Seekers of the Strange is
a fictional, paranormal investigation team that embarks on a perilous and sanity-sapping foray into the unknown each month. Based on the model of tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, company member John Lamb and other familiar faces bring
live role playing to the stage. Part game, part improvisational storytelling, and all strange, the Seekers invite the audience to help them navigate a supernatural mystery. Whether you want to be an observer or create a character and become an active participant,
Seekers of the Strange offers a truly unique theatre experience every month. Perfect for those who enjoy HarmonQuest or classic RPGs.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Kaki King

March 17, 2019
Music Series

Hailed by Rolling Stone as “a genre unto herself,” Kaki King is a true iconoclast, a visionary musician/artist whose singular work rightly stands out amongst the easily formatted. Over her decade-long career thus far, the Brooklyn-based guitarist/composer has recorded five extraordinarily diverse and distinctive LPs, performed with such icons as Foo Fighters, Timbaland, and The Mountain Goats, contributed to a variety of film and TV soundtracks (spanning Golden Globe-nominated work on Sean Penn’s Into The Wild to scoring – and appearing in as guitar-playing hand double – the acclaimed 2007 drama, August Rush), and played to ever-growing audiences on innumerable world tours. Each twist and veer
marked the turning of a page, another step forward on a truly exceptional musical path. Beginning with 2002’s Everybody Loves You – to date, her only fully acoustic guitar recording – King has expanded and reconceived the role of the solo instrumental artist, constantly kicking at the boundaries of what’s expected.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Dar Williams with Lindi Ortega

March 18, 2019
Music Series

Dar Williams has been called “one of America’s very best singer-songwriters” by The New Yorker. She’s released ten studio albums and authored four books including her latest, “What I Found In A Thousand Towns,” to be released in September. Known as much for her staunch progressive ideals as her raw acoustic energy, Williams has been captivating audiences with her sheer elegance and honesty in her folk-pop songwriting since the '90s. Williams’ growth as an individual over her two-decade-long career has gone hand-in-hand with her evolution as an artist, touring along the way with such distinguished peers as Joan Baez, Patty Griffin, Ani DiFranco, Loudon Wainwright III and Shawn Colvin among others. Dar's most recent album, Emerald, “deals as bluntly as ever with the shadowy, subtle corners of humanity” according to Rolling Stone, and was recorded with friends such as Richard Thompson, Jill Sobule, Jim Lauderdale, the Milk Carton Kids, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Suzzy Roche, the Hooters and others in various studios across the U.S. It is a sparkling collection of new original material, inspired collaborations and some surprising covers such as B.A.D.’s “Johnny Appleseed” making this album one of her best yet.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Morgan James

March 21, 2019
Music Series

One voice is all it takes. The right vocalist can make you fall in love at first listen, elicit tears, or bring you back to a different era altogether. A microphone and a stage remain the only necessities. That holds true for New York-based soul singer, songwriter, and Broadway actress Morgan James. Part of Morgan’s creative trajectory has become centered around her full album cover projects. She covered D’Angelo’s “Black Messiah” one month after its release, Jeff Buckley’s “Grace” and a critically acclaimed full cover of Joni
Mitchell’s “Blue”. She now takes on her most ambitious project to date: The Beatles “White” album, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its original release.

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.

Upstairs at The B Presents – New Play Brunch

March 24, 2019
Other Entertainment Series

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

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 Presents – Graham Parker

April 5, 2019
Music Series

For nearly 30 years, GRAHAM PARKER has been slinging his signature sound, earning a spot in the pantheon of influential rock ‘n’ roll figures. Since his early days with The Rumour, Parker has coupled punk’s energy with his deeply rooted love of American R&B, country, and soul music.

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.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Hiroshima

April 14, 2019
Music Series

When Hiroshima cut their self-titled debut album in 1979, record executives at their own label placed bets that the band’s unprecedented amalgam of traditional Japanese instruments, American jazz structure and Latin percussion – an intriguing but ultimately refreshing anomaly in the waning days of the disco era – wouldn’t make much of an impact in terms of sales or critical acclaim.

Thirty years later, Hiroshima has remained very much in the game. And they’ve done so by sticking to that original philosophy of blending genres to map out and promote unlikely artistic and cultural connections. After three decades, in a time when the globe grows smaller and more connected by the day, and sounds from all over that globe can be found in almost any piece of contemporary music, it appears that the world may finally be catching up with Hiroshima.

Holmes and Watson

April 16, 2019 - May 26, 2019
Theatre Series

MAINSTAGE SERIES

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 – The Ray Charles Project

April 18, 2019
Music Series

In tribute to the genius of Ray Charles, a swinging septet of outstanding Bay Area musicians offers their take on some of the highlights from Ray’s amazing songbook. Glenn Walters sang lead for two sensational Bay Area bands, the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils and the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra. The San Francisco Examiner called his voice “as warm, furry and comforting as a mink coat. You just wanna wrap it around you.” David K. Mathews has been playing keyboards professionally since 1975. After playing with Tower of Power for two years, he toured for a decade with the Queen of Rhythm and Blues, Etta James, and is currently the keyboard player for Santana. He’s played on Late Night with David Letterman, Austin City Limits, Dancing with the Stars, and the Tonight Show – the Johnny Carson version and the Jay Leno edition – and worked with a Who’s Who of musical greats, including Toots Thielman, Bonnie Raitt, Vassar Clements, the Gypsy Kings, and John McLaughlin. Blues guitarist extraordinaire Chris Cain grew up in San Jose, studied music at San Jose City College, and over the next twenty years learned his way around clarinet, piano, bass guitar, and alto and tenor saxophone, not to mention developing fierce vocal chops. He’s played with such greats as Albert King and Albert Collins, Johnny Otis and Junior Wells, Boz Scaggs and Willie Nelson, and recorded ten solo albums, including his latest, So Many Miles, which the Chicago Blues Guide calls “a delicious blend of blues laced with jazz and rock.” Bassist DeWayne Pate graduated from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, moved north, and has since worked with an array of top artists including Huey Lewis and the News, Boz Scaggs, Maria Muldaur, Robben Ford, and Arturo Sandoval. He’s also a columnist for Bassics Magazine, and his instructional video, The Art of Tapping, his been widely popular. Reviewer Andrew Gilbert called his album Melting Pot “an impressive array of grooves.” Deszon Claiborne has worked with blues great Charles Brown and is the dynamic drummer for Clockwork and the Tammy Hall Trio. Page 1band bio Tony Lindsay has 11 Grammy awards on his mantel after spending two decades as lead singer of Santana, and has recorded with such artists as Patti Austin, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and Steve Winwood. He moved from Albany, New York to San Jose in 1980, worked at Guitar Center, and joined the Danny Hull Quintet, which later adopted the name Spang-a-Lang. His friend Chester Thompson invited him to audition for Santana, and overnight he went from playing small clubs to huge amphitheaters. Join these musical dynamos in a tribute to the genius of soul and blues, Ray Charles.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Al Stewart Duo w/ special guest Dave Nachmanoff

April 19, 2019
Music Series

Stewart came to stardom as part of the legendary British folk revival in the sixties and seventies, and developed his own unique style of combining folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of the great characters and events from history. Al Stewart had released nineteen studio albums between “Bedsitter Images” in 1967 and “Sparks of Ancient Light” in 2008 and continues to tour extensively around the US, and Europe. He is perhaps best known for his hit “Year of the Cat” from the platinum album of the same name and the platinum follow up album “Tim Passages”. But his career spans four decades as a key figure in British music. He played at the first ever Glastonbury Festival in 1970, worked with Yoko Ono pre-Lennon and shared a London apartment with a young Paul Simon.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Tom Rigney & Flambeau

April 20, 2019
Music Series

Tom Rigney is one of the premier Roots Music fiddle players on the planet. His band--Tom Rigney and Flambeau-- specializes in blazing Cajun two-steps, low-down Blues, funky New Orleans grooves, Boogie Woogie piano, and heartbreakingly beautiful ballads and waltzes. Much of the repertoire is composed by Rigney, but they mix in a few classics from the Cajun/New Orleans songbook. Along the way you may pick up a trace of Rigney's Irish roots, or echoes of Eastern Europe--it just makes the musical gumbo that much tastier. Flambeau showcases Rigney's fiery, virtuoso fiddling, his charismatic stage presence, and his range and originality as a composer. He and Flambeau have forged a unique sound that blends American Roots styles into something original and HOT--mixing irresistible grooves with deep musicality and spectacular soloing. Rigney's high-energy showmanship pulls the audience into his performances and makes them feel they are a part of the music and the show.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Oleta Adams

April 25, 2019
Music Series

Since the runaway success of her 1990 debut album Circle of One (which went Platinum), and the impassioned hit single "Get Here"; (which became an unofficial anthem of the 1991 Gulf War) Oleta Adams has inspired a growing legion of fans around the world with journeys of the heart via songs that draw deeply from her roots in gospel, while crossing effortlessly into the realms of soul, R&B, urban, and popular music. Her success was first nurtured by worldwide tours with Tears for Fears, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton and Luther Vandross and was solidified by four Grammy nominations and more than two and a half millions records sold.

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.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott

April 28, 2019
Music Series

Ramblin' Jack's life of travels, performances and recordings is a testament to the America of lore, a giant land of struggle, hard luck and sometimes even of good fortune. Ramblin' Jack takes us to places that spur us on to the romance and passion of life in the tunes and voices of real people.

At 84, Ramblin' Jack is still on the road, still seeking those people, places, songs and stories that are hand-crafted, wreaking of wood and canvas, cowhide and forged metal. You'll find him in the sleek lines of a long haul semi-truck, in the rigging of an old sailing ship, in the smell of a fine leather saddle. Better yet, find him in your local concert hall or on one of his many albums.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Kelly Finnigan & The Atonements

May 2, 2019
Music Series

After touring the world for over a decade with Monophoics, 37-year-old, Bay Area-based singer, songwriter, engineer, and producer, Kelly Finnigan will release his first solo album, The Tales People Tell on Colemine Records, in the first quater of 2019. Raw and gritty, tender and emotive, lush and symphonic, t he ten-song collection is Finnigan’s most complete work to date. With Kelly guiding these songs from their conception all the way to the record pressing plant, the new release provides the singular voice missing from soul music.

“I’m not looking to reinvent the wheel. I just want to remind people why the wheel was such a good invention in the first place,” says Finnigan. He might be invoking a golden era of soul music, but Finnigan captures a timelessness on this album that transcends the “retro” label so often cast on music with a gritty aesthetic. Partnering with Terry Cole and his rising label Colemine Records was a key part of this project for Finnigan who has been involved in over a dozen Colemine releases as an engineer, producer, instrumentalist, and singer. Finnigan plans to tour heavily in 2019 behind the album release.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Goapele

May 3, 2019
Music Series

That diversity has defined the Oakland-born singer, songwriter, producer, actress, and designer since the start of her career in 2001. Her influence and impact can be felt throughout R&B, soul, and hip-hop. Even Closer yielded the iconic anthem “Closer.” To date, it’s impressively racked up over 6 million Spotify streams and been sampled by everyone from Drake to YG. In between touring the world, she has released four full-length albums and collaborated with a diverse array of heavy hitters such as Snoop Dogg, E-40, Eric Benét, Soulive, and Jeff Bhasker. A film and television mainstay, she’s landed high-profile syncs in Sparkle, Honey, 90210, and many more. Along the way, The Washington Post fittingly described her as “soulful as always,”Huffington Post called her “a driving motivational force for many women,” and Essence claimed, “her voice is the stuff of dreams.” In 2016, she made a conscious decision to return to her roots while composing the music that would comprise this latest offering. Recording in Los Angeles and Bay Area studios, she re-teamed with longtime friends and collaborators such as producer/keyboardist Mike Tiger, guitarist Errol Cooney, and Bedrock who all contributed to some of her earliest material. Now, the sensual first single “Secret” introduces Dreamseeker. Produced by BedRock and AE, a ringing phone, shimmering keys, and a jazz-y beat give way to Goapele’s sexy delivery, yielding an artful bedroom anthem.

As she continues to evolve as an artist, Goapele further devotes herself to activism, acting, and fashion. She’s partnered with Aids Healthcare Foundation in 2017, launched a lifestyle product line Dreamseeker, and starred in a short film entitled Where Is Beauty. In the midst of everything, motherhood remains the highest priority.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Goapele

May 4, 2019
Music Series

That diversity has defined the Oakland-born singer, songwriter, producer, actress, and designer since the start of her career in 2001. Her influence and impact can be felt throughout R&B, soul, and hip-hop. Even Closer yielded the iconic anthem “Closer.” To date, it’s impressively racked up over 6 million Spotify streams and been sampled by everyone from Drake to YG. In between touring the world, she has released four full-length albums and collaborated with a diverse array of heavy hitters such as Snoop Dogg, E-40, Eric Benét, Soulive, and Jeff Bhasker. A film and television mainstay, she’s landed high-profile syncs in Sparkle, Honey, 90210, and many more. Along the way, The Washington Post fittingly described her as “soulful as always,”Huffington Post called her “a driving motivational force for many women,” and Essence claimed, “her voice is the stuff of dreams.” In 2016, she made a conscious decision to return to her roots while composing the music that would comprise this latest offering. Recording in Los Angeles and Bay Area studios, she re-teamed with longtime friends and collaborators such as producer/keyboardist Mike Tiger, guitarist Errol Cooney, and Bedrock who all contributed to some of her earliest material. Now, the sensual first single “Secret” introduces Dreamseeker. Produced by BedRock and AE, a ringing phone, shimmering keys, and a jazz-y beat give way to Goapele’s sexy delivery, yielding an artful bedroom anthem.

As she continues to evolve as an artist, Goapele further devotes herself to activism, acting, and fashion. She’s partnered with Aids Healthcare Foundation in 2017, launched a lifestyle product line Dreamseeker, and starred in a short film entitled Where Is Beauty. In the midst of everything, motherhood remains the highest priority.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Kahulanui

May 7, 2019
Music Series

There is a new wave coming from Hawaii, a blend of traditional music and the Big Band Swing brought to the Aloha State by U.S. servicemen during World War II. Its leading exponent is Kahulanui, a nine piece band—four horns plus guitar, bass, ukulele, drums and steel—whose energy and dynamic arrangements have caused a sensation throughout the Islands. Their debut CD, Hula Ku’I, was nominated for a 2014 Grammy Award in the Regional Roots category, and soon Hawaii’s Kings of Swing will be bringing their unique style to audiences across America.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Flor De Toloache

May 8, 2019
Music Series

Latin Grammy® winning, New York Based all-female ensemble and beloved press-darlings, Flor de Toloache continue to win the hearts of both progressive and traditional mariachi music fans alike through their distinct artistic vision and sophisticated, enlightened interpretation of traditional mariachi instruments. The female quartet’s diverse ethnicities and musical backgrounds have also transcended culture and gender by forging new paths. Like the legendary Love Potion the Toloache flower is used for in Mexico, the ladies of Flor de Toloache cast a spell over their audiences with soaring vocals and physical elegance. The group is led by co-band directors Mireya I. Ramos on violin and Shae Fiol on vihuela. Together, they have graced international stages from Chenai, India to Paris, France and have extensively toured the U.S. as supporting act for Dan Auerbach of “The Black Keys”’ new project “The Arcs", as well as Cafe Tacvba, La Santa Cecilia, and Natalia Lafourcade. Upcoming shows include the ACL Festival in Austin TX, Alaska tour with Ozomatli and dates with Ana Tijoux.

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.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Mark Hummel’s Harmonica Blowout w/Curtis Salgado, Jon Nemeth, Aki Kumar, Andrew Alli & Golden State Lone Stars w/Anson Funderburgh

May 23, 2019
Music Series

MARK HUMMEL’s GOLDEN STATE LONE STAR REVUE W/ANSON FUNDERBURGH; Harmonica man/singer/songwriter/bandleader/author/impresario MARK HUMMEL was born in New Haven, CT but moved to Los Angeles as a newborn. Hummel took up an interest in blues harp & rock-blues music in high school but soon discovered the originators like Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson & Little Walter. Soon after, Hummel frequented the Ash Grove club on Melrose Ave. in LA where he saw (in a three month period) three blues legends he would later work with on a regular basis; Charlie Musselwhite, Brownie McGhee (w/Sonny Terry) & James Cotton. By 1985 Mark Hummel's Blues Survivors hit the road full time & continue till the present (Hummel's memoir, "Big Road Blues: 12 Bars on I-80" recounts many road exploits). In 2014 Blind Pig Records released "REMEMBERING LITTLE WALTER" (a recording of a Hummel Blues Harp Blowout.) The CD was nominated for a Grammy Award and won two Blues Music Awards. Hummel's latest album, Harpbreaker (September 2018/Electro-Fi), is an all-instrumental harmonica album that redefines the scope and beauty of what the instrument is capable of in the right hands."Mark Hummel came of age in the early 70s, at the height of rock and roll,like many of his peers went and bought a harmonica and hasn't stopped playing since. A specialist in West Coast Blues he's a seasoned showman who knows more than a thing or two about how to please an audience." - (The New Yorker)

SBL Entertainment Presents – Che Apalache

May 24, 2019
Music Series

Che Apalache is a four-man string band based in Buenos Aires with members from Argentina, Mexico and the United States. The group's founder is Joe Troop (fiddle), a North Carolinian multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and composer who moved to Argentina in 2010. While patiently carving out a niche in the local music scene, Joe taught bluegrass and old-time music for a living. That's how he met Pau Barjau (banjo), Franco Martino (guitar) and Martin Bobrik (mandolin), his most dedicated students. They quickly became picking buddies and in 2013 decided to form Che Apalache and hit the stage.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Blame Sally

May 31, 2019
Music Series

BLAME SALLY is a San Francisco folk-rock quartet with an attitude, combining acoustic textures with Americana harmonies and an independent spirit. In 2011, Blame Sally rose from “Bay Area phenom” (-Santa Cruz Sentinel) to “a remarkable success story” (San Luis Obispo New Times) with the release of "Speeding Ticket and A Valentine", Alternate Root Magazine’s People’s Choice Awards “Best Album of the Year” out of 14,000 voters. The CD's “sensual vocal blend and...agile instrumental prowess ª (- Blurt) earned them two sold out release shows at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA, NPR's "song of the day", an appearance with John Oates on Mountain Stage, and a live for Public Television concert taping for Music Gone Public (http://www.musicgonepublic.com/), curated concerts for Public Television.

SBL Entertainment Presents – John Waite

June 1, 2019
Music Series

John will be performing his catalogue of hits from his 40 year career as a solo artist, with The Baby’s and Bad English and presented in a unique electric-acoustic format with his band.

John Waite’s catalogue of hits features some of the most loved songs of the 80s and 90s – the #1 Worldwide hit ‘Missing You’, The Baby’s ‘Isn't It Time’ and Bad English's ‘When I See You Smile’ rank amongst some of his biggest international hits and are still heard on radio today. Others include ‘Tears’, ‘Change’ and ‘These Times Are Hard For Lovers’. ‘Every Step Of The Way’ and ‘If Anybody Had A Heart’ appeared on the soundtrack to the 1986 Demi Moore film About Last Night. ‘Deal for Life’, penned by Martin Page and Bernie Taupin, was featured in the Days Of Thunder soundtrack.
As a solo artist and as the lead singer of The Baby’s and Bad English, John Waite was a fixture of album-oriented rock radio stations during the '70s and '80s. John Waite had a talent for power ballads and driving arena rock, occasionally touching on new wave-styled power pop as well.

His most recent recordings, The Wooden Heart-Acoustic Anthology Volume 1 and Volume 2, released in 2015 and 2017, respectively, features Waite in stripped back format – vocals and acoustic guitar only – and highlights the core essence of the songs themselves, threading newly penned original compositions, reworkings of some of Waite’s favorite material from his solo career and The Babys alongside smartly chosen covers by the likes of Bob Dylan (“Girl From The North Country”), Donovan (“Catch The Wind”) and Richard Thompson, into an authentic and soul stirring musical statement.

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.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Sven & The Masterful Majestic Orchestra

June 7, 2019
Music Series

The San Francisco Bay Area is a major breeding ground for an abundance of musical talent, and with this movement came Sven Soderlund, who has 35 years of playing live locally under his belt as a rock & metal guitarist turned crooner vocalist in his newest project. A native of San Francisco, Sven came from a musically talented family as his father played clarinet and saxophone, and his mother played piano and vocals in a local rock band in the mid 70's.

Sven has been surrounded by music his whole life either by singing Beatles songs at a mere 5 years old, or learning the guitar 4 years later only to have it be his main focused instrument for the next 4 decades. "I strongly believe that having parents that played music and listening to several types of music, made me adjust my musical prism many years later to do what I do at this point. After recording and playing live in multiple different metal, rock, & punk influenced projects as a guitarist, Sven decided to branch out a bit and start singing a style of music he heard as a young child, and wanted to front an orchestra ideally for many years. "Some people couldn't believe I would do this, so here we are." Also recording a debut album in March for a June release this year. Stay tuned folks, I'm only getting started!

SBL Entertainment Presents – Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums featuring Miss Carmen Getit

June 8, 2019
Music Series

Called “Consummate musicians and entertainers” by New York City’s Lincoln Center, and “Instant Crowd Favorites” by the San Francisco Blues Festival, Steve Lucky and Miss Carmen Getit really shine before a live audience, bringing an intense energy and sheer personal magnetism to the stage, exercising wit in a continuous battle of the sexes. They’ve earned their reputation as captivating entertainers with “superior musicianship”, engaging audiences at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Half Note Jazz Club in Athens Greece, the San Francisco Blues Festival and many venues around the world.

The fireworks started when Steve Lucky added Miss Carmen Getit to his San Francisco band, the Rhumba Bums. Lucky was used to stealing the spotlight with his natural showmanship, and was in demand for his soulful and exciting piano style. Lucky saw the potential of Carmen as a powerhouse woman vocalist, and how she draws in an audience, intrigued with her fiery guitar solos. The musical chemistry between Lucky & Getit is evident, and the two never miss an opportunity to take advantage of the sexual tension when they ‘spar’ on-stage.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Aubrey Logan

June 14, 2019
Music Series

The media refer to #1 selling artist, Aubrey Logan, as “The Queen of Sass.” And it’s easy to see why. Her concerts are a mix of excellent musicality, jaw-dropping vocals, virtuoso trombone-playing, a breathtaking array of originals and original takes on cover songs and, well…fun! Aubrey Logan loves music, loves performing and loves her fans. And it shows. “My relationship with the audience is the most fun I can legally have!” she says. Very few artists can concentrate so fully on the music and yet be so connected to the people who have come to hear her. And that connection is magic.

Aubrey has seen a lot of recent success, with two albums in the top 10 within the last year. Her debut album, Impossible, immediately shot to the top 10 on the iTunes, Billboard and Amazon charts. And her next appearance on Summer Horns II, from A to Z (as a special guest of Dave Koz on Concord Records) became the #1 selling Contemporary Jazz Album on Billboard. Aubrey has spent more time at the top of the charts lately than she has in an airport, and travel has been a permanent fixture for her in the last couple of years.

SBL Entertainment Presents – SonoMusette

June 15, 2019
Music Series

SonoMusette recaptures the moody, melancholic sound and spirit of mid twentieth-century Paris. Inspired by the great performers of the era, such as Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, and Django Reinhardt along with contemporary artists such as Zaz. This music has retained it’s power to charm and transport audiences, and SonoMusette taps that nostalgia with artistry in vocals and instrumentation.

The band features French singer Mimi Pirard whose rendition of these timeless French classics provide a freshness and excitement that is contemporary, yet faithful to the spirit and tradition of the original versions. Few singers are capable of doing justice to Piaf and Brel, and even fewer can match Pirard’s mesmerizing interpretation and delivery.

SBL Entertainment Presents – The Chris Cain Band

June 22, 2019
Music Series

Chris Cain has received several nominations for 2018, including BMA Blues Guitarist of the Year, BBM Male Blues Artist of the Year. Cain offers up a soulful stew of Memphis style electric blues. His powerfully deep vocals and jazz inspired, blues guitar riffs are unforgettable; uniquely his own, while reminiscent of the legendary BB King and Albert King. As a child, Chris Cain attended concerts with his father to hear many of the great blues artists of the time. When Cain burst onto the blues scene in 1987 with his award winning debut album, he soon found himself sharing the stage and trading licks with a few of those legends, including Albert King and Albert Collins. Chris Cain has released a dozen albums, each filled with soul-stirring songs pulled from his own blues drenched heart. His latest, released in 2017, has been nominated as BBM Best Contemporary Blues Album of 2018. Chris Cain's brand of blues is unforgettable.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Guitar Masters with Andy McKee,Trevor Gordon Hall, and Calum Graham

June 28, 2019
Music Series

Andy McKee is among the world’s finest acoustic guitarists. His youthful energy and attention to song structure and melodic content elevates him above the rest. He entertains both the eye and the ear as he magically transforms the steel string guitar into a full orchestra via his use of altered tunings, tapping, partial capos, percussive hits and a signature two-handed technique.

McKee’s crossover success has helped him to achieve millions upon millions of YouTube viewers, underscoring his emergence as one of today’s most unique and influential artists. He has been featured as a cover story in both Acoustic Guitar Magazine in the U.S. and Acoustic Magazine in the UK, and is also the figurehead of the unique Guitar Masters tours. McKee’s tour dates have taken him through Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, including tours with legendary acts including Prince and Dream Theater.

SBL Entertainment Presents- Paul Thorn

June 29, 2019
Music Series

Paul Thorn has created an innovative and impressive career, pleasing crowds with his muscular brand of roots music – bluesy, rocking and thoroughly Southern American, yet also speaking universal truths.

Among those who value originality, inspiration, eccentricity and character – as well as talent that hovers somewhere on the outskirts of genius, the story of Paul Thorn is already familiar. Raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, among the same spirits (and some of the actual people) who nurtured the young Elvis generations before, Paul Thorn has rambled down back roads and jumped out of airplanes, worked for years in a furniture factory, battled four-time world champion boxer Roberto Duran on national television, signed with and been dropped by a major label, performed [on stages with Bonnie Raitt, Mark Knopfler, Sting, and John Prine among many others, and made some of the most emotionally restless yet fully accessible music of our time.

He’s also appeared on major television shows such as Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live, been the subject of numerous National Public Radio (NPR) features and charted multiple times on the Billboard Top 100 and Americana Radio Charts.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Acoustic Alchemy

July 9, 2019
Music Series

Acoustic Alchemy have spent thirty years making music and in that time they have not only received critical acclaim for their albums (including three Grammy nominations), but have built a reputation for being one of the most exciting live bands in the business.

For the last decade, the band lineup has featured Greg Carmichael on nylon guitar, Miles Gilderdale on steel string acoustic & electric guitars, Fred White on keyboards and the powerhouse rhythm section of Greg Grainger on drums and his brother Gary Grainger on bass.

Since 1987, Acoustic Alchemy has pushed the limits of the acoustic guitar’s potential by embracing a spectrum of musical styles ranging from straight-ahead jazz, to folk, to rock, to world music and beyond.

The Last Match

July 23, 2019 - September 1, 2019
Theatre Series

MAINSTAGE SERIES

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.

SBL Entertainment Presents – The Waifs

August 4, 2019
Music Series

Just one look at the beautiful cover photo on The Waifs’ new album Ironbark says a lot about who they are and what they are about; friends and family bound together by their love of music, of performing and of Australia.

It’s 25 years since West Australian sisters Donna and Vikki Simpson (now Vikki Thorn) joined forces with Josh Cunningham to create one of the country’s best-loved bands. That cover shot, taken near Cunningham’s home on the NSW south coast, marks The Waifs’ quarter of a century together, but it’s also a nod to Australia itself, its nature and its people, essential ingredients in the extraordinary body of work The Waifs have created in that time.

One can’t imagine a better way to commemorate this significant landmark in the band’s career than with a double album of 25 original songs, one for each year, all of them recorded in the kitchen of Cunningham’s home near Moruya, where he grew up. That’s the amazing _ and unexpected_ harvest from a couple of weeks of recording late last year, when the trio assembled with regular collaborators David Ross McDonald (drums, percussion) and Ben Franz (bass, dobro), not really knowing what they were about to record, other than maybe some covers of other artists’ material.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Popa Chubby

August 30, 2019
Music Series

Popa Chubby, born Ted Horowitz, has been hard rocking the blues in his fierce and soulful way for more than 25 years. Over the course of a career that dates back to 1994, he has been a force of to be reckoned with on the guitar, and his tempestuous, soulful playing has never been more powerful. An imposing figure with a shaven head, tattooed arms, a goatee and a performance style he describes as “the Stooges meets Buddy Guy, Motörhead meets Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson,” Popa Chubby is an endearing character who is one of the genre’s most popular figures.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Majickat – A Tribute to Cat Stevens

September 7, 2019
Music Series

George Papailias and band recreate the music of Cat Stevens. George has performed Cat's music since seeing him perform in Berkeley, CA in July 1971. Band members include: George Papailias ("Cat Stevens", vocals and guitar), Shayne Sutton (2nd Guitar), Jill Ferreter (Keyboard), Louis Rebello (cellist), Nick Docous (bass, bouzouki, vocals), Bud Chatterley (drums, guitar, vocals).

A Stand Up Guy

September 10, 2019 - October 20, 2019
Theatre Series

MAINSTAGE SERIES

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…

SBL Entertainment Presents – Rick Estrin & The Nightcats

September 14, 2019
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 – Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet

October 25, 2019
Music Series

Since forming in 1975, Grammy winners BeauSoleil have claimed their undisputed role as the most esteemed Cajun group in music. BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet take the rich Cajun traditions of Louisiana and artfully blend elements of zydeco, New Orleans jazz, Tex-Mex, country, blues and more into a satisfying musical recipe. From The Grand Ole Opry to Newport Folk, from concert hall to dance floor, the music of BeauSoleil continues to captivate audiences the world over.

Fun Home

October 29, 2019 - December 8, 2019
Theatre Series

MAINSTAGE SERIES

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.

SBL Entertainment Presents – Dirty Cello

December 14, 2019
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