Music

Willie Nelson has written and recorded some of the most enduring music of our time. He played a major role in helping to shape Austin into what it is today. He's worked with some of the biggest musicians in every possible genre.

Saturday morning saw the official kickoff of the first Sacramento Music Festival, the new name adopted by the former Sacramento Jazz Jubilee.

California Musical Theatre is presenting an eight-week run of the show critics have dubbed "a triple jolt of inspired craziness!" It's "Triple Espresso," an invigorating blend of music, magic and, yes, a hefty dose of comedy.

This to do, starting today with ZuhG, Element of Soul and Playboy School bring funk and jam to the Cesar Chavez Plaza

Parade is now SATURDAY, at 10 a.m. All the Who, What and Where for the Music Festival

B Street Theatre stalwart and associate producer Jerry Montoya along with his 11-year-old son, Malachi, have taken something of a "Wicked" route with their new adaptation of "Hansel and Gretel" for the B Street Family Series.

John Ascuaga's Nugget once regularly filled its showrooms with country acts, then considered taboo in casinos because they supposedly did not draw an affluent audience.

In a matter of weeks, a YouTube video can take on a life of its own. Consider the viral brouhaha over the handheld video series "The Van Sessions" by San Francisco's Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers.

Ticket sales for events through the summer

Welcome the Sacramento Music Festival, and say goodbye to the Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee.

Summer may be the best season for exploring new music. And this year has seen a strong crop of new and interesting recordings that are tailor-made for expanding musical horizons.

The Holmes Brothers started in small-town Virginia but over the years the harmony-driven band has become a staple of the Harlem blues scene.

Local legend Kathy Barwick has been a reliable, sought-after player on the local music scene for the past 20 years. A nationally known flatpicking guitarist, Barwick also is a virtuoso on dobro, plus she can more than ably handle the mandolin and banjo.

Entertainment events in the Sacramento region.

Whether you're in the mood for an ice-cold brewski or looking to celebrate local Asian culture, plenty of good times are on tap this weekend. The sixth annual Raley Field Brewfest kicks off tonight, while Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of the Pacific Rim Street Fest.

Singing, dancing, farms, friends and fairytales.

Bill Cosby is stopping off in Reno for a show tonight at the Silver Legacy, en route to his Massachusetts home from being the commencement speaker at the University of San Francisco.

The Sacramento Youth Symphony is performing twice Sunday at Congregation B'nai Israel in Land Park in concerts featuring Egyptian composer Riad Abdel-Gawad.

The Sacramento Philharmonic reached its goal of raising $150,000 by a self-imposed May 15 deadline, persuading the organization's board of directors to vote Tuesday evening to keep the orchestra operating through the 2012-13 season.

Mondavi Center closes out its season with Cyro Baptista's Banquet of the Spirits. Local artist Vince King's marble- and-wood sculpture exhibit, "Origins: From Where Do We Come?" continues at Gallery 2110 in midtown

Summer outdoor music festivals offer plentiful listening opportunities, fresh air and a chance to catch up with festival-only friends. Festival season's here from Old Sac's Memorial Day weekend fest to S.F.'s Hardly Strictly in fall,there are chances to tap, clap and even camp amid musical experiences

It is traditional to take Mom out for a Mother's Day dinner or brunch, and the casinos in both Northern Nevada and Northern California offer a virtual bounty of choices.

The Chautauqua Playhouse's Marie Raymond puts a different spin on "The Prince and the Pauper." This time, Count Chimp and Mouse-Breath plot to finish off the Prince

The strength and beauty of a festival such as In the Flow is the depth and breadth of programming. For listeners interested in progressive improvised music, whether it's acoustic mainstream jazz or computer-generated electronic loops, there will be something here.

Ross Hammond the musician has a lot in common with Ross Hammond the music festival curator. Both are creative entrepreneurs who understand the importance of timing, patience and knowing when to make something happen.

Tickets are $10 per day (available at the door of the venue) or $30 for a festival pass (which includes an In the Flow T-shirt)

The financially strapped Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra's deadline to raise $150,000 by May 1 to avoid closure has passed, but the organization is not ready to throw in the towel.

In its own 21st year, the Cesar Chavez Plaza free concert series – starting tonight and running every Friday through July 27 – is experiencing its own rites of passage.

The Michael Jackson tribute at the Eldorado, "Man in the Mirror," is a grand celebration of his music. Nobody on stage actually impersonates Jackson, and there is no attempt to copy his choreography.

On Sale today Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Rush

The best things to do

John T. Nickens Jr., a retired engineer who played the clarinet in community bands for nine decades, died April 25 at age 99.

Fun for everyone at the May Fair. Rosanne Cash will perform with her husband, guitarist John Leventhal, in a show at the Center for the Arts."Writings on the Wall" is a unique collection of love poems by some of Sacramento's best-known visual artists, performers and writers

Jules Baenziger, a.k.a. Sea of Bees, has done a lot of living since releasing her first album, "Songs for the Ravens," two years ago.

Anthony Coleman's Simplistic Big Band project brings together a collection of music and musicians that is anything but simple. The consortium of players and vocalists involved likely won't all be together until some point Sunday night when they all are on stage at Harlow's.

The Bee picks of the best things to do this week.

For a while, it seemed as though this city would have to thrive on the fame of Tesla and Cake for the rest of eternity, but something has happened.

Entertainment events in the Sacramento region.

KOLT Run Productions continues its "Revelations: 2012" season with comic writer Rachel Axler's dark spoof "Smudge." Axler, who won an Emmy Award writing for Jon Stewart's "Daily Show," also has written for the often hysterical television show "Parks and Recreation."

Lisa Lampanelli is going to Broadway with a one-woman show, "Bring Back the Fat Chick."

While growing up, maverick cellist Maya Beiser was deeply moved by the call-to-prayer songs she heard emanating from a nearby mosque.

As the Golden State and center of the movie and recording industries, California is ground zero for sun-and-fun pop cultural expressions.

The usual line of teenagers in front of Ace of Spades will likely draw a few second looks on Wednesday. It won't be the baggy jeans. It will be the clown makeup.

Baroque musicians typically fly under the radar in the classical music world, but their outsize passion for the music will be on display at the third annual Bravo Bach Festival. The event will feature six concerts starting today at Sacramento's St. Mark's United Methodist Church.

Walter Williams Sr., one of the original O'Jays set to perform Saturday night at Cache Creek in Brooks, talks with Mel about the hard work that went into making the singers into dancers.

The Bee Picks of some things to do Little Alice stumbles into Boogie Wonderland in pursuit of a white-suited rabbit and finds a mystical dimension populated by the oddest assortment of characters imaginable, including the Disco Queen of Hearts.

Entertainment events in the Sacramento region.

Cynthia Dall, a Sacramento singer and musician who was a favorite of the indie-rock underground scene, died April 5 in her sleep at home, her family said. She was 41.

Veteran vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson represents the gold standard in not only jazz musicians but human beings.

If you don't pay attention on this rainy, blustery weeknight, the empty roads and quiet storefronts can tell a story of a city without a night life.