The event will take place on Friday, August 22, 2008 at the classic Crest Theater. Musical guests include Maria Muldaur & The Free Radicals with special guests: Tracy Nelson, Holly Near, and Linda Tillery & The Cultural Heritage Choir. Yes We Can: Songs of Peace and Change is an all-star night of some of America’s greatest women vocalists singing songs by America’s best songwriters. Funky and uplifting, this annual fundraiser for Francis House will rock the house.

Since 1970, Francis House has been the Sacramento-based resource center for thousands who are suffering from poverty in body, mind and spirit.

Songs from YES WE CAN, Ms. Muldaur’s new album–Bob Dylan (‘License to Kill,’), Marvin Gaye (‘Inner City Blues’), Allen Toussaint (‘Yes, We Can’) , Earl King (‘Make a Better World’), Garth Brooks (‘We Shall Be Free’), Barrett Strong (‘War-What Is It Good For?’), Timmy Thomas(‘Why Can’t We Live Together?’) and Thomas Dorsey (‘Down By the Riverside -Ain’t Gonna Study War No More’)—are featured.

Says Muldaur, ‘As Pete Seeger says, ‘If you love your country you’ll find ways to speak up for what is right. Singing the right songs is the way to start.’

A night that will change lives.

Tickets are $100 VIP floor/center, $75 left and right sides/floor Rows AA-FF $75, GG-PP $50, QQ-TT $40. Doors at 7pm for 8pm show. This is a reserved seating show.

Tickets are on sale now.

The Sammies were different this year.  A different MC.  There were only about 6 or 7 groups that played.  But each group played about 5 songs.  I would rather have seen more groups playing 2 or three songs.  My favorite was Butterscotch, fronted by a black chick who did a bunch of base noises and brass noises just with her mouth, while playing another instrument and singing.  She could do the whole thing without any help, but on several of her songs she had a couple others filling in the cracks.  She did different things, some jazzy, some hip hoppity. 

Also saw The Losin’ Streaks (metal – a couple big guitars), The Evening Episode, An Angle (basic rock and roll – I liked them), Live Mannikins (four hip hop dudes – they were also good), Ricky Berger (kind of cute, softer, talented, somewhat quirky), The New Humans (I don’t remember much about them).  Some very attractive women called the Body something or other giving out the awards.

So did you go? And if so what did you think?

The 2008 Sammies will take place on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at the Crest Theater. Doors open at 7:00 for 8:00 show, according to the Crest calendar. Lots of local talent will perform and you can cheer for the winners. See you there. Now go vote for your favorites! NOTE: I wasn’t able to view the ballot page with IE6. Try Firefox.

Also, check out the Sammies Artist Showcase shows.

There is SO much musical talent in this town. The awards show will be held on Thursday, July 17, at the Crest Theatre. See you there.

The best music played that night (according to me anyway) was by: Agent Ribbons, who turned in a quirky, infectuous pop performance with only one guitar and drums. No, nothing like the White Stripes; Urbanfire, a tight and talented reggae act; The Evening Episode, who were not scheduled to play but did anyway. Now more intense than before with the recent member changes but still very interesting; and a host of others. Mad props to Chelsea Wolfe, The Bennys, Alkali Flats, Cuesta Drive, and Absent Me for their engaging sets.

If there is one band that I will want to see more of, it had to be Agent Ribbons. They were stunningly catchy and absolutely memorable. There was also a nice brief tribute to Erik Kleven, local music man who died shortly after last year’s ceremony. Sadly, it was at the end of the show, and the crowd had really thinned out. I don’t really understand why people don’t want to watch the whole show but what do I know? Most of the crowd seemed to come and go from the lobby (the bar?) to the show and back. Maybe people only like to see their faves but I enjoyed it all. Rock on Sacramento!!

You can find more about the 2007 Sammies in the News And Review here. And as always, feel free to post a comment at the bottom of this blog.

Readers’ Choice Winners:

Rock – Two Sheds
Pop – Didley Squat
World/Latin/Reggae – Urbanfire
Country/Bluegrass – Bottom Dwellers
Jazz – Vivian Lee
Rap/Hip-Hop – Crazy Ballhead
Blues – Kentucky Slim
R&B/Funk – The Bennys
Electronica – Chemical Angel
Folk/Acoustic – Be Brave Bold Robot
Punk – The Secretions
Hard Rock/Metal – Giant Squid

Critics’ Choice Awards:

Outstanding Guitarist – Steve Randall
Outstanding Bassist – Gabe Nelson
Outstanding Keyboardist – Stuart Nishiyama
Outstanding Drummer – Matt K. Shrugg
Outstanding Male Vocalist – Richard March
Outstanding Female Vocalist – Chelsea Wolfe
Outstanding DJ/Turntablist – Roger Carpio
Outstanding Reed/Brass/Woodwind Player – Steve Lishman
Outstanding Songwriter – Adrian Bourgeois
Special Recognition – Ross Hammond
Outstanding Local Act – Agent Ribbons
Outstanding Local CD – Deluxe

2007 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Shaun Slaughter
Four Guys From Reno
Erik Kleven

We saw the five nominees in the folk/acoustic category perform:

Justin Farren (he was great! Really hot on his acoustic guitar and very strong vocals, The songs were quirky, even odd,  but they were hella catchy and very entertaining)

Be Brave Bold Robot (interesting folk-pop-rock, they reminded me a bit of the Barenaked Ladies. They were good, above average, but a bit strange. In a pretty good way though)

Christopher Fairman (he was not folk, more rock. There was not much to grab me lyrically or musically, mostly just a couple chords extended into a song with no real hooks to speak of. The good news: the Daisy Spot guy played guitar and he can play that thing!)

Coolfield (heartfelt folk but kind of low-key. In all fairness, I should note that they were missing one of the two members due to illness)

Chelsea Wolfe (she has a great Fiona Apple style voice but her songs are more folky. They were good, intricate enought to hold our interest. Overall she was pretty good and should have performed more than four songs)

The awards will be given out at the Sammies show next month at the Crest Theater.

The 2007 Sammies will take place on Wednesday, July 18, at 7:00 PM at the Crest Theater. It’s cheap, only $8.00 in advance so get your tickets now. Lots of local talent will perform and you can cheer for the winners. See you there. Now go vote for your favorites here!