A few of our favorite free outdoor music events are on tap for September — one of them showcasing new music from one of the area’s most revered singer/songwriters.
Local artists, message Aaron Davis on Instagram if you have upcoming shows, @adavis_threetosee .
When Davis-native indie folk artist Nat Lefkoff was kind enough to let me sneak preview his vibrant new record “There You Are.” He was not kind enough to warn me of the emotional shrapnel one inevitably catches from the tracks within. Instrumental squalls crash in from the horizon even in those moments when the waters feel hypnotically calm (“Avalanche Lily”), and the hammer still freely swings through the air even after the walls have long since been knocked down (“Broken Down House”). Nothing is left on the shelf — Lefkoff clears the benches with zigzagging wails of at-times jarringly intensive lyricism and alluringly crafted, daring mashups of acoustic meandering and plush electric soundscapes.
“These songs mean the world to me and carry the suffering, heartache, traps, love, and victory that come along with being human,” Lefkoff says of the new record — the recording of which was funded through a creative grant he received in 2022 from the Davis Independent Music Initiative — and features production from fellow Davis troubadour Rowan McGuire. “There You Are” gets its coronation this month, with Beti Masenqo with Alex Togashii also performing at the official release gig (6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14. Davis Odd Fellows, 415 Second St. $16.82 adv. davislivemusic.com ). The record will be available on all the usual platforms on the same day.
The following week, Lefkoff joins the party at the ever-lively (and always free) Farm-to-Fork Festival , performing a 1 p.m. main stage set, preceded by the swirling chill-wave pop of Inner Nature and followed by mainstay local reggae rockers Arden Park Roots , singer/songwriter Chance Emerson , pop songstress Stacey Ryan, and blues/R&B/jazz standout Andra Day headlining. Friday night’s F2F music features a bevy of funk from locals Boot Juice and the groove-laden Hip Abduction , setting up a headlining set of boisterous Americana rock from the pairing of Hayes Carll and Band of Heathens — check out that pair’s bouncy new single “ Nobody Dies from Weed ” for a cheeky ode to one of California’s favorite farm products that doesn’t require a fork (Sept. 20-21, Capitol Mall. farmtofork.com )
Nestled under the shady oak in the corner of Fremont Park is the sterling local music stage at the Chalk It Up! Festival , annually showcasing a platoon of veteran acts and up-and-comers (surrounded by a square block of chalk art). G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento has the honor of leading things off on a “rebellious” Saturday, with local rock standouts Ghost Town Rebellion, Stout Rebellion and venerable indie rock duo Pets . Shack-shaking rockabilly act Leaping Blennies headlines Sunday along with ramshackle folk-rock stalwarts Be Brave Bold Robot, Kentucky Trust Fund and Skyler’s Pool , with upstart dream-pop act Rosemother, Brent Seavers & the Lucky Shots and others closing it out on Monday (Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 15th and P streets. Free. chalkitup.org/festival/musicians/ ).
Grass Valley artist Ryan Joseph Moody is bringing his curated Ghost Creek Jamboree series back to the raucous Dew Drop Inn for its sixth installment, showcasing a cavalcade of deep roots and throwback (way back!) Americana talent from throughout the region. Topping the bill is captivating “feral folk” maven Darien Lane , along with troubadour Dirty Laundry , whose zigzagging summer road trek found him in Rhode Island in July as part of the famed Newport Folk Festival’s slate of popup artists. Rev. John Tyler & the Jaybirds, Beard Picker, Outlaws in the Golden State, Nathan North, Mad Eileen and your host Ghosttown Rambler round out a huge bill of music (6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30. 19729 Cerrito Road, Grass Valley. $10. instagram.com/ghosttownrambler ). Later in the month, the playfully dingy Dew Drop also hosts the second installment of the grittier rock-focused Grass-apalooza , with two stages and a full day of music from ONOFF, Cardboard Ringo , Primus tribute act Here Come the Bastards , Stone Temple Pilots tribute Conversation Kills and tons more (1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14. $30. Search Grass-apalooza 2 on facebook.com ).
Local fixture Ross Hammond continues his duties as host of Sunday Jazz at Old Soul on the Broadway Triangle (at 35th Street), which has been going strong since February. The free Sunday afternoon series has 4 p.m. gigs booked out through early October, which include a tribune to late saxophone master Pharoah Sanders (Sept. 1), Hammond’s swooning Deep Water (Sept. 8), AMP Quartet (Sept. 15), Cross Pollination (Sept. 22), Michael Otwell Trio (Sept. 29) and Ice Age Quartet (Oct. 6).
A scream into the void often goes coldly unanswered. Other times, the void answers back and offers a warm hug or sympathetic shoulder, perhaps buys you a few cocktails on a sunny autumn afternoon. Such a interaction seems to bluster through the 10 tracks of June Swoon’s 2023 solar flare of an indie rock record, “A House With Windows Open.” Sacramento native and now L.A. resident Juli Lydell (formerly of Paper Pistols) floods her sophomore effort with pinging, distraughtly echoing guitar hooks and tumbling bass lines that evoke a desolate journey with no end in sight — but plenty of miles logged to have found a few answers along the way. June Swoon links up with Sacramento indie pop rock artist stillyoung for a midweek gig at Starlet Room (8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4. $23.69. harlows.com )
Apologies to our new friends over at Touchstone Brewing: We missed the boat on this summer’s free first Fridays music series at your sweet new Pipeworks-adjacent taproom on 16th Street. There’s one left for the season, courtesy of the ebullient Hotplug and their treasure chest of pinballing guitar hooks, breezy harmonies and downtown day-drinking indie rock. Stick around for that Detroit-style pizza and a ton of west coast IPA offerings (7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, 116 N. 16th St. instagram.com/touchstonebrewingcompany ).
Sac State’s University Union’s Unique programs is presenting the third installment of its WEUSI Music Festival & Vendor Fair — and we can confirm they did their homework on putting together an outdoor afternoon teeming with funk. WEUSI (“We-You-See,” which stands for We, Us, and I) has soul-seared troupe Ideateam , the aforementioned Arden Park Roots and Tiny Desk contest champ The Philharmonik all throwing down on Serna Plaza lawn, with DJs RUNITBAK and LG , and Banda Mexicana de Los Bocenegra closing it all out (Noon to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13. Free. theuniversityunion.com/unique )
The island-vibed Holo Holo Festival is back, this time cozying in at Heart Health Park at Cal Expo after holding last year’s event in Wheatland. Headliners for the two-day reggae-tinged fest are Kolohe Kai and J Boog on Saturday, Maoli and the Green on Sunday, with Iam Tongi , Ho’onu’a , Kapena and tons more (Sept. 21-22. holoholofestival.com/sacramento ).
Loyal fans of Americana rock-folk outfit Goodnight, Texas were likely not prepared for those first few tracks of the group’s new record, “Signals.” The first act of the record leans as jovially hard into high-plains rock ‘n’ roll as anything the bicoastal duo of Avi Vinocur and Patrick Dyer Wolf have yet put on wax — and that guitar shredding on “Runaways” comes from none other than Metallica axe god Kirk Hammett. Once the album takes a breath, it reacquaints itself with the kind of moth-eaten vintage roots rock and fireside folk that has become the group’s hallmark — songs devoted more to the mountains and valleys traversed in the van on the way to the saloon than at the saloon itself. They’re paired up with delightful country-folk upstart Madeline Hawthorne , celebrating her own newly released gem of a record “Tales from Late Nights and Long Drives,” on what the two acts have dubbed the “Signals from Late Nights and Long Drives” tour - we see what you did there! (7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27. Harlow’s. $24.72. harlows.com ).
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