Let's talk roots music – music with its roots in Sacramento, that is.

Two examples come immediately to mind: The infamous Rutabaga Boogie Band that was the hottest club act going around town in the late 1970s and '80s, and the country duo Curtis & Luckey, whose Brian Curtis is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills.

The Rutabaga Boogie Band will perform at 8 tonight at Thunder Valley Casino Resort after a period of self-imposed silence.

Named "Best Good Time Party Band" by Sacramento magazine in 2002, the "boys" have been in hibernation of late. Guitarist Bill Horton recently retired from the Franchise Tax Board. Guitarist Larry Gosch has owned Encore Music in Auburn for the past 16 years. Guitarist Dave Phelps is an instructional video operations coordinator at California State University, Sacramento. Bassist Craig Mozley moved to Minnesota in 2005 and is in the beverage equipment business. Drummer Bob Hudson, who has been a staple of the local music scene since 1964, owns and operates an electrical contracting company that bears his name. And drummer Russ Martinez is an executive and "wealth adviser" – couldn't we all use one of those? – for Morgan Stanley in Folsom. Martinez used to own Bitter Creek, a bar where many local bands played.

With Mozley living out of town, opportunities to see the homegrown band are rare, and tonight's Thunder Valley show is a good bet for a good time.

Good music, deeds

If you attended Oak Ridge High with Brian Curtis, you'll recall that he played football in addition to making music.

Afterward, he went to the University of California, Irvine, where he earned a degree in international business. Then he moved to Japan, where he spent evenings singing in a country music cover band while teaching English during the day. After a period of backpacking the world, he moved to Nashville, Tenn., to pursue his first love, songwriting.

Curtis is at his parents' home in El Dorado Hills for the next week or so – along with Eric Luckey Moore and their band – for some local gigs and an appearance Wednesday at the California State Fair.

"I always love coming to Sacramento," he said Tuesday. "We get back here as much as possible, and we've got a couple of cool weeks coming up," he said.

The band will perform at 7 tonight at the Mt. Vernon Winery in Auburn ($15; reservations at: 530-823-1111) and will perform live on Channel 31's "Good Day Sacramento" in the 8 a.m. hour Monday.

"We're really excited about playing the State Fair," Curtis said. "This is a big opportunity for us. We really want to grow our fan base in Northern California."

Earlier this year, Curtis & Luckey played several area clubs, including the PowerHouse Pub in Folsom, the Wrangler in Elk Grove and the Purple Place in El Dorado Hills.

"We have a lot of support when we're here. I have a wonderful, supportive family and friends, and it's nice to have that element at our shows. It's really nice not to have to stay in a hotel," he said.

Shows, too, are different when he's "home," he said. "I have friends that I played football with in high school, or went to class with, and after the show, you're catching up with people, reconnecting with friends."

Since December, when Curtis & Luckey began its current tour, it added something new to the travel arrangements. In each city the band visits, it stops in at a local children's home for a free concert and visit. The band has formed the Music Miracles Foundation and plans to encourage its sponsors and local music stores to help create a music library in each home.

"Early this year, we visited our first children's home," Curtis said. "The kids were so excited. It started off with just music, and then we added in questions and answers. A little later, we started having some of the kids come up, and we'd give them a short lesson on the instruments."

Through an arrangement with the band's sponsor, Boulder Creek Guitars, the group will begin donating an acoustic guitar to start a lending library at each children's home visited.

"In a lot of the cities, we're contacting music stores in the area to see if they'll donate a harmonica, say, or another instrument to the library, so kids can check them out," Curtis said. "… We're six musicians who eat, breathe and live music. When you see these kids get so excited by our visit, maybe this is the push they need to find something positive in their lives."

Curtis & Luckey are to perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday on the Promenade Stage at the State Fair. The show is free with fair admission. During July, Sacramento fans can download the band's latest album, "The Hard Way," free by going to www.curtisandluckey.com/download.

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