Creativity in the Capital

Recorded live at Capital Stage prior to April's Hangout Gigs Live.

Sitting in the Sacramento Poetry Center, I talk grief, love connections on old-school party lines and advocacy and representation with InnerVision Theater actors Regina Brink and Joe Green -who also just happen to be married.

The self-described "Music executive guy" has been responsible for bringing some great talent to perform in Sacramento. Justin has also offered unique opportunities to so many local musicians to perform at festivals like Concerts in the Park, Sol Blume or Launch. Justin's passion for music puts talent on the stage and we chat about it all.

I chat with Sac State alum, bodybuilder, social media influencer, disability advocate and SAG-AFTRA actor Mikey Infante and get the 411 on (among other things) his time on the Oakland set of 2024's indie Freaky Tales and the trip to the Sundance Film Festival that followed.

Mateo Briscoe and the Slothbois frontman Mateo Briscoe and co-host Casey Rafter chat about the cute brown creatures, discovering a path to thriving in Sacramento, lactose intolerance in social settings and Briscoe's musical life. Expect new music out from the band in 2026!

Helen Harlan and freelance documentary photographer extraordinaire Andri Tambunan occupy Access Sacramento's podcast studio to talk about photos, music and the best TV show in the history of the world.

Recorded Oct. 21 at the Torch Club in Sacramento before the band performed a set for Hangout Gigs Live, The Snares chatted with host Casey Rafter about opening for Jack White, touring Europe, their influences, style and evolution as a band.

Host Helen Harlan chats with the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera's CEO Giuliano Kornberg about childhood inspiration, the SP&O's upcoming 2025-26 season and watching U2 play through the cold Midwestern rain.

Host Casey Rafter sits down with Torch Club owner Marina Texeira and the venue's booking manager Mark Mitchell to discuss the Torch's legacy and what the future looks like for the historic Sacramento venue.

At Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library in mid-July, new "CitC" host Helen Harlan talks to Jason Jong, Sacramento's cultural and creative economy manager, about being a civil servant, arts ally and former percussionist in the East Bay's vibrant pan-Asian/Pacific American drum scene.

At a Hangout Gigs Live event in May, Brazilian native-Sacramento transplant Eduardo Faustino talked about the challenges of creating art in his homeland, developing a synergetic crew of musicians from all over the United States and managing a cafe with a performance space in otherwise tranquil Midtown Sacramento.

The music of dogpatch was first dreamed up by Emilee Durbin. She's since added the talents of Riley Echo (aka Gabrielle) and Harlequin Rose. The three women joined Nick Brunner for this taping to talk up the music scene in Sacramento, how creating art is akin to a relationship and how it felt to play for almost 30,000 people at the Bernie Sanders / Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fighting Oligarchy Tour.This episode was recorded April 22 in front of a live audience at The Torch Club in Sacramento.

Terra Lopez has been making music in Sacramento for about 20 years. Her two most recent projects are Rituals of Mine and the recently revived Sister Crayon. She's also one of the busiest creatives in this (or any other) city, from art installations, to mental health advocacy and now podcasting. The second season of "This Is What It Feels Like "launched this year and Terra talks about the challenges and celebrations involved in producing the series on her own. This episode was recorded May 10th in front of a live audience at Demo Art and Books in Sacramento."This Is What It Feels Like" online:WebsiteInstagramPodcast Subscription Links & More

Sacramento transplant (care of Oakland) Jeremy Kaetzel talks about his history as a youth paster and the satisfaction he's found in creating 3D models for himself and his customers.

Keith Lowell Jensen: Three words synonymous with performance in California's capital. A seemingly ceaseless mass of energy; Keith is the mind behind seminal Sacramento comedy showcases. He has many fine stand-up albums. He’s performed music as well as characters during the halcyon days of the Trash Film Orgy. And the man has had legal disputes settled in television’s finest court rooms.Most recently he’s been diving deep into his love of storytelling. Keith’s latest project is called "In a Nutshell" at The Sofia in Sacramento. Paraphrasing the series’ description, it’s a monthly show where four experienced storytellers from all walks of life tell a true story live on stage, based on intriguing prompts challenging the storytellers to dig deep and engage audiences with their heads, hearts, and everything in between.Speaking of stories, Keith has some doozies — true to form he talks about about everything from visiting wartime Ukraine ... to naked men at illegal concerts. Also, you might find that this episode is almost as much about comic Kiry Shabazz as it is Keith himself.

Sacramento's DJ Epik and Vinyl Honey opine on the expectations of a DJ, the differences between live stream and in-person audiences, what it takes to get a crowd moving and it all went down at Sac's newest hi-fi audio experience Legend Has It.

Lizz Shine is a singer-songwriter based in Sacramento who wants to “help people empathically,” she says. “The way that I do that is through my music.” Shine describes her songs as often being about her mental health journey, and her transition and life as a trans woman. She also considers herself an activist. Shine is currently in the process of recording two albums. Shine recently met up with podcast co-host Casey Rafter for a conversation about being both a musician and an activist. Listen to their conversation on our podcast, “Creativity in the Capitol,” available on streaming platforms.

What happens when you’re a kid in Brazil with an opportunity to study in the vaunted land of freedom? The United States of America. What happens when cultures clash? What happens when you stay ... and when you fall in love with an art form? Then how do you deal with the distance between you and your family — especially when tragedy strikes? Janine Mapurunga talks about her journey from the city of Fortaleza to Sacramento, her thoughts on the ubiquity of cameras today and her new film project.

One of the best fusion bands in Sacramento is a group called Cosmic Roots.. This episode, recorded live in front of an audience at The Torch Club, brings us closer to the past present and future of this six-piece band of funk, hip-hop, soul and jazz performers.

Drag performer A La Mode has been performing burlesque and drag in Sacramento since 2019. After a year of ups and challenging downs, Mx. Mode joins us to talk about avoiding burnout, a living wage for performers and the experience of shedding their day job to pursue drag full time.

Sacramento pop musician Lillian Frances is navigating life as minimally as possible. This week you'll hear about her approach to releasing and marketing her music, her affinity for rock climbing, her charmingly, disarmingly vacuous Instagram alter ego and a good deal more.

We hear from the LabRats recorded live in October as Solving Sacramento merged its Hangout Gig’s video series with Creativity in the Capital in front of a live audience at the Torch Club.If you missed this live event, join us Thursday, Dec. 19 at The Side Door.https://solvingsacramentohangoutgigscosmicroots.eventbrite.com

This is our second episode of two recorded live at Sacramento's CLARA Auditorium. Founder of Girl's Rock Sacramento,Larisa Bryski and blues champion and radio show host Mick Martin talk about inequality in opportunities here in Sacramento for young artists and the value of being an advocate, advocating for yourself and striving to keep on keepin' on. Toward the end of the talk, we do a little Q&A with the audience.

We’re bringing you a live recording from an event that happened Oct. 2 — Solving Sacramento was a co-sponsor of “Engage, a Sacramento entertainment and policy summit."It was hosted at The Urban Hive in Midtown and brought together city officials, council members, creative industry leaders and event organizers to discuss some of the obstacles facing Sacramento’s arts economy.This is kind of a long one and we think it’s an important part of the evolving state of live entertainment and the arts economy here in Sacramento.This episode was supported by funding from the James B. McClatchy Foundation.

This episode was recorded live at Sacramento's CLARA Auditorium. Josh Fernandez and Terra Lopez talk about their lives, approach to their work and butting heads with authority before a Q&A with the audience.Josh Fernandez's memoir "The Hands that Crafted the Bomb" is out now, published by PM Press.Find Terra Lopez's music on Bandcamp and other streaming platforms. Her podcast is called "This is What It Feels Like."

Becky Lynn is a locally rooted standup comedian, performing in Sacramento, Chico and the Bay Area (and way beyond). In 2021, Becky and co-host Ta'Vi (fellow Sacramento comedian) began hosting "It's Crazy You're in My Business," a podcast about comedy, business and life.

Paul Bates makes videos of bands performing in his living room and posts them on the internet. A simple idea, a simple visual approach and a ton of depth beneath the VHS veneer. Find out what keeps this creator connected to Sacramento's music community as the podcast stretches its own creative legs with a few new additions.lo-fire on YouTube and Instagram.www.SolvingSacramento.org

Writer Aaron Carnes fights for the music he believes in. It’s a very niche genre and a necessary fight. His tactics come in the form of his book and podcast called “In Defense of Ska.” The book explores the history of ska as it travels from its roots in Jamaica to the United Kingdom, to the States and explores where it has gone and will go next. Mendes Entertainment celebrates 916 loud and proud. Its owner, Anthony Mendes, who’s known colloquially by his titular surname, is a promoter and booster of local talent with immense passion for these artists and musicians. He makes it his job to spread the word of the great talent he touches in the capital city.

Tavarus Blackmon is a Sacramento talent whose work includes music, fashion, collages and curations. His art has been seen at Crocker Art Museum and Axis Gallery. Blackmon teaches artistic methods at Sacramento State and has taught at UC Davis. Andru Defeye is a celebrated local hip hop artist and a self-named guerilla poet who energetically supports the artistic community in all its forms. In 2020, Defeye was granted the title of Sacramento’s Poet Laureate. KSSU opened its doors for Blackmon and Defeye to meet face-to-face in the quiet studio.

Without a leader like burlesque dancer ChaCha Burnadette, Sacramento would not enjoy the kind of spice her dance group, the Darling Clementines, adds to the mix. The group’s founder has been part of the burlesque scene for a decade. Danielle Mercado, founder and director of the Hummingbird Theatre Company in Rancho Cordova, helps make the arts accessible and enjoyable for casual theatergoers and die-hard Broadway fans alike.

Detroit born storyteller, multi-instrument, composer, playwright and puppeteer Dalrymple MacAlpin has spent much of his life interpreting the vivid images of his dreams into the art he presents to his audiences. Sacramento-based hip hop and R&B performer and producer Christian Gates began piano lessons at six years old. Now, as The Philharmonik, he creates vibrations with voice and keys that’s enveloped his audiences in a blanket of thought provoking sound since 2016. The two creative souls huddled for a chat in the multimedia room of Sacramento State’s award-winning news publication, The State Hornet.

Sacramento artist and writer Liv Moe is the founder, curator and director of the Verge Center for the Arts, which offers residency programs, exhibitions and workshops to artists. Placerville native Jennifer Jackson not only owns Grigio Art Consulting, which places art in commercial and health care spaces, she is also a co-founder of The Red Museum, a performance and art warehouse in Sacramento.

Barbara Range, director of The Brickhouse Gallery and Art Complex since 2012, has called her work as the space’s curator “in service of arts to the community.” Jaya King is a Sacramento-based muralist and painter with a portfolio that boasts a diverse selection of black-and-white paintings, vibrant 4,600-square-foot murals and delightfully textured encaustic work. The two met at Brickhouse to discuss their earliest experiences with the Sacramento creative community, their thoughts on a primer for fledgling artists and the scarcity of artists residencies in the region.

For over 20 years, Sacramento photographer Elle Jaye has been playing with light, water and laughter to capture electric images in her work. At 12 years old, Sacramento musician Gabe Nelson found a guitar in his mother’s closet. A trade from guitar to bass eventually saw him as the bassist for the band Cake, which he left in 2015. The two met for the first time at a creaky table in the living room of Nelson’s Sacramento home.

Anthony Krutzkamp, artistic and executive director of the Sac Ballet, paired up with Romi Sunga, co-founder of Dance On the Edge, a free event that offers Latin dance lessons, for conversation. Having never met before, the two recently convened in a quiet office in the University Union at Sacramento State to talk about connecting with audiences on a personal level and growing their two worlds of dancers beyond their perceived potential.