Music, poetry and breathing are brought together for live West Sacramento event

Fire Breathing in the Wild, a show combining live music, slam poetry and breathing to explore themes about living in California, will be presented Saturday at the West Sacramento Black Box Theater.

Sacramento poet Natachi Mez, the show’s curator and producer, said the performance aims to bring people together within the theatrical space.

“(It) has a few different meanings as a sense of life force, vitality and the energy within all of us,” Mez said of the show. “Also there’s the aspect of wildfires, thinking about climate change and what it means to live in this environment and breathe through those obstacles, breathe through uncertainty, and use breath as a strategy to stay grounded.”

Collaboration with musicians is a big part of the show.

“I was kind of going back and forth between like, ‘oh, what do I want to do, an EP or an album,’” Mez said. “But I went for the live performance aspect, because I just felt like, that’s just the way I feel really invigorated and excited.”

Mez’s style of poetry performance includes elements of rhythm and hip-hop. Her spoken word offers high-energy delivery and emotional depth that is sometimes performed a cappella and at times, over an instrumental beat.

“I feel like people often also feel like a spiritual component to my poetry, a sense of transcendence and kind of going into another realm,” Mez said.

Who are the performers?

Mez is accompanied by an ensemble of Black women who are instrumental to the Sacramento and Northern California creative scene.

They include Nicole Gentry, Syrin, MmaMma Laura, Diamond Key and Quincia Lynn or “QLynn Smoove.”

They embody soul, rhythm, intricate lyricism and freedom having shared stages with acclaimed artists such as India Arie and Anthony Hamilton.

The performers have also worked as educators, performing and facilitating international workshops.

“I definitely wanted to have an all-Black woman band because in the music industry it’s so rare to see,” Mez said. “It’s so common to see all men on instruments. Maybe you would see women on background vocals but to have a band where it’s like, that’s us on the instruments, that’s us in the vocals, that’s us who do the writing, producing. That was just a really exciting thing for me both, to curate and be a part of.”

Who is Natachi Mez?

Mez, a producer, curator, performer and writer, has dabbled in arts and creative expression since she was very young.

“I feel like I remember just elementary school, even kindergarten, we’d have these little response journals, and I think it’s a practice I took home to just be journaling,” she said.

Yes, she was one of those students who took those assignments seriously.

“They made space for it in the class itself. But I do think that practice of journaling and reflecting, I took it home with me,” she said. “It’s such a nice space to have. I think it’s like a cool place to just be with yourself and process and make sense of things. So absolutely, it’s a great outlet.”

Whether it was journaling, drawing or making comics in elementary school, Mez always kept her creative mind bubbling.

It wasn’t until middle and high school when she became immersed in poetry, seeking open mics, creative expressions and school poetry clubs.

“I think creative expression really calls us to like, really honor that there’s actually a lot within us and around us and that it can attune our senses better to the life we’re living, so we can sort of not live on autopilot, but really sort of waking ourselves up and best honor the lives that we have,” she said.

Looking ahead to the showcase

In advance of a show, Mez and her group take intentional breaths together. But specifically for Mez, it’s the invigorating words that transport her into a performing realm.

“The words feel like a vehicle,” she said. “They take me to the place of that piece, the world of that piece, and then I get to be sort of present just by saying it.”

The theater is inside the West Sacramento Community Center at 1075 W. Capitol Ave. Doors open for the show at 6:15 p.m. Saturday and the showcase starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite starting at $30.

This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 2:43 PM.