Creativity in the Capital

Recorded live at Capital Stage prior to April's Hangout Gigs Live.

Sitting in the Sacramento Poetry Center, I talk grief, love connections on old-school party lines and advocacy and representation with InnerVision Theater actors Regina Brink and Joe Green -who also just happen to be married.

The self-described "Music executive guy" has been responsible for bringing some great talent to perform in Sacramento. Justin has also offered unique opportunities to so many local musicians to perform at festivals like Concerts in the Park, Sol Blume or Launch. Justin's passion for music puts talent on the stage and we chat about it all.

I chat with Sac State alum, bodybuilder, social media influencer , disability advocate and SAG-AFTRA actor Mikey Infante and get the 411 on (among other things) his time on the Oakland set of 2024's indie Freaky Tales and the trip to the Sundance Film Festival that followed.

Mateo Briscoe and the Slothbois frontman Mateo Briscoe and co-host Casey Rafter chat about the cute brown creatures, discovering a path to thriving in Sacramento, lactose intolerance in social settings and Briscoe's musical life. Expect new music out from the band in 2026!

Helen Harlan and freelance documentary photographer extraordinaire Andri Tambunan occupy Access Sacramento's podcast studio to talk about photos, music and the best TV show in the history of the world .

Recorded Oct. 21 at the Torch Club in Sacramento before the band performed a set for Hangout Gigs Live, The Snares chatted with host Casey Rafter about opening for Jack White, touring Europe, their influences, style and evolution as a band.

Host Helen Harlan chats with the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera's CEO Giuliano Kornberg about childhood inspiration, the SP&O's upcoming 2025-26 season and watching U2 play through the cold Midwestern rain.

Host Casey Rafter sits down with Torch Club owner Marina Texeira and the venue's booking manager Mark Mitchell to discuss the Torch's legacy and what the future looks like for the historic Sacramento venue.

At Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library in mid-July, new "CitC" host Helen Harlan talks to Jason Jong, Sacramento's cultural and creative economy manager, about being a civil servant, arts ally and former percussionist in the East Bay's vibrant pan-Asian/Pacific American drum scene.

At a Hangout Gigs Live event in May, Brazilian native-Sacramento transplant Eduardo Faustino talked about the challenges of creating art in his homeland, developing a synergetic crew of musicians from all over the United States and managing a cafe with a performance space in otherwise tranquil Midtown Sacramento.

The music of dogpatch was first dreamed up by Emilee Durbin. She's since added the talents of Riley Echo (aka Gabrielle) and Harlequin Rose. The three women joined Nick Brunner for this taping to talk up the music scene in Sacramento, how creating art is akin to a relationship and how it felt to play for almost 30,000 people at the Bernie Sanders / Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fighting Oligarchy Tour....

Terra Lopez has been making music in Sacramento for about 20 years. Her two most recent projects are Rituals of Mine and the recently revived Sister Crayon. She's also one of the busiest creatives in this (or any other) city, from art installations, to mental health advocacy and now podcasting. The second season of "This Is What It Feels Like "launched this year and Terra talks about the challenge...

Sacramento transplant (care of Oakland) Jeremy Kaetzel talks about his history as a youth paster and the satisfaction he's found in creating 3D models for himself and his customers.

Keith Lowell Jensen: Three words synonymous with performance in California's capital. A seemingly ceaseless mass of energy; Keith is the mind behind seminal Sacramento comedy showcases. He has many fine stand-up albums. He’s performed music as well as characters during the halcyon days of the Trash Film Orgy. And the man has had legal disputes settled in television’s finest court rooms. Most recen...

Sacramento's DJ Epik and Vinyl Honey opine on the expectations of a DJ, the differences between live stream and in-person audiences, what it takes to get a crowd moving and it all went down at Sac's newest hi-fi audio experience Legend Has It.

Lizz Shine is a singer-songwriter based in Sacramento who wants to “help people empathically,” she says. “The way that I do that is through my music.” Shine describes her songs as often being about her mental health journey, and her transition and life as a trans woman. She also considers herself an activist. Shine is currently in the process of recording two albums. Shine recently met up with pod...

What happens when you’re a kid in Brazil with an opportunity to study in the vaunted land of freedom? The United States of America. What happens when cultures clash? What happens when you stay ... and when you fall in love with an art form? Then how do you deal with the distance between you and your family — especially when tragedy strikes? Janine Mapurunga talks about her journey from the city of...

One of the best fusion bands in Sacramento is a group called Cosmic Roots. . This episode, recorded live in front of an audience at The Torch Club , brings us closer to the past present and future of this six-piece band of funk, hip-hop, soul and jazz performers.

Drag performer A La Mode has been performing burlesque and drag in Sacramento since 2019. After a year of ups and challenging downs, Mx. Mode joins us to talk about avoiding burnout, a living wage for performers and the experience of shedding their day job to pursue drag full time.

Sacramento pop musician Lillian Frances is navigating life as minimally as possible. This week you'll hear about her approach to releasing and marketing her music, her affinity for rock climbing, her charmingly, disarmingly vacuous Instagram alter ego and a good deal more.

We hear from the LabRats recorded live in October as Solving Sacramento merged its Hangout Gig’s video series with Creativity in the Capital in front of a live audience at the Torch Club. If you missed this live event, join us Thursday, Dec. 19 at The Side Door. https://solvingsacramentohangoutgigscosmicroots.eventbrite.com

This is our second episode of two recorded live at Sacramento's CLARA Auditorium. Founder of Girl's Rock Sacramento , Larisa Bryski and blues champion and radio show host Mick Martin talk about inequality in opportunities here in Sacramento for young artists and the value of being an advocate, advocating for yourself and striving to keep on keepin' on. Toward the end of the talk, we do a little Q&...

We’re bringing you a live recording from an event that happened Oct. 2 — Solving Sacramento was a co-sponsor of “Engage, a Sacramento entertainment and policy summit." It was hosted at The Urban Hive in Midtown and brought together city officials, council members, creative industry leaders and event organizers to discuss some of the obstacles facing Sacramento’s arts economy. This is kind of a lon...

This episode was recorded live at Sacramento's CLARA Auditorium. Josh Fernandez and Terra Lopez talk about their lives, approach to their work and butting heads with authority before a Q&A with the audience. Josh Fernandez's memoir " The Hands that Crafted the Bomb" is out now, published by PM Press. Find Terra Lopez's music on Bandcamp and other streaming platforms. Her podcast is called " Th...