{"id":395146,"date":"2026-07-11T23:33:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T23:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/395146\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T23:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T23:33:20","slug":"video-game-music-festival-debuts-in-downtown-sacramento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/395146\/","title":{"rendered":"Video game music festival debuts in Downtown Sacramento"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is the July 9 edition of Cultural Capital, an arts and entertainment newsletter written by Abridged contributor Chris Macias. Want it sent directly to your inbox?\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Are bookstores the new Cattle Club? I\u2019m still buzzing from last week\u2019s concert and conversation at\u00a0Amatoria Fine Art Books<\/a>. Mike Blanchard and the Californios enchanted the room with their harmonies and stellar Americana sound. Then, I had a blast leading a Q&A with Mike following their set and picked up the \u201cJohn Cage Was<\/a>\u201d photo book that I\u2019d been eyeing.<\/p>\n

This marked the fourth show at the bookstore in partnership with Abridged by PBS KVIE, and the fifth was just announced. Jakhari Smith, a poet of a hip-hop artist, will take the mic backed by his live band on July 24, followed by a Q&A with Abridged contributor Natachi Mez. Limited tickets are available now on Eventbrite.<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, an exciting week awaits with musical homages to video games, a marriage of crafting and brews, an art market shaded in blue and much more.<\/p>\n

Grab your Nintendo Switch and let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Want to discover more events across the Sacramento region? Check out Abridged by PBS KVIE\u2019s\u00a0new searchable events calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\tSign Up for the Cultural Capital<\/p>\n

In your inbox every Thursday, Abridged’s entertainment newsletter from Chris Macias highlights things to do in the Sacramento region.<\/p>\n

A rush of video game music<\/p>\n

The details:<\/p>\n

MusicLandria, 808 O St., Sacramento<\/p>\n

1-10 p.m., July 11 (Saturday)<\/p>\n

$20<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just about time to get immersed in the soundtracks to Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, but you can leave the controllers at home. Plan to rock out and dance along instead.<\/p>\n

The River City Rush Video Game Music Festival<\/a>\u00a0debuts Saturday at MusicLandria, with a dozen acts playing over two stages. Note that some of the groups will play original tunes, but the bulk of the music will focus on video game homages. Those include interpretations via heavy metal, hip-hop, Latin jazz and more under the umbrella of Video Game Music (VGM). The show also features an original composer, Aivi, best known for writing the music for the Cartoon Network\u2019s \u201cSteven Universe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The festival is held in conjunction with\u00a0MAGWest<\/a>, a music and video game festival set for San Jose in mid-August. Sacramento is a perfect spot to set off these video game celebrations on a musical note.\u00a0The Advantage<\/a>\u00a0was a pioneering VGM act and favorite on the local indie-rock scene in the early 2000s with its covers of Nintendo video game songs.<\/p>\n

The area is also home to the\u00a0Video Game Orchestra at UC Davis<\/a>, along with numerous arcades and retro game shops like 1-Up Retro Video Games and Dave\u2019s Retro Video Games. Note the Woodland Opera House is also hosting a\u00a0\u201cMusical Screenshots: Anime to Video Games\u201d<\/a>\u00a0concert on July 10.<\/p>\n

The River City Rush Video Game Music Festival\u2019s founder is \u201cElbow,\u201d the frontman for\u00a0Floating Continent<\/a>\u00a0who prefers being identified by his video game handle. He thinks the musical side of Sacramento VGM could level up even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe noticed that Sacramento doesn\u2019t really have an active scene locally, which surprised us given that the very first successful game music band (The Advantage) came out of this town,\u201d Elbow wrote in an email. \u201cSo we set out to try to put on a show that both showcased local talent in this niche as well as connected that talent to the larger regional and national scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elbow hopes that River City Rush will become an annual festival, and plans to organize smaller shows outside of it. His overall goal is to invigorate VGM in Sacramento as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cVGM is not really a genre in itself as much as a context,\u201d he said. \u201c(It) can be any genre of music! What brings it all together is a love for the source material and the experiences we have all shared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pay respects to a\u00a0hard rock legend<\/p>\n

The details:<\/p>\n

Hard Rock Live, 3317 Forty Mile Road, Wheatland<\/p>\n

8 p.m., July 9 (Thursday)<\/p>\n

$19.55<\/p>\n

July 22 marks one year since Ozzy Osbourne passed away, a somber day for all those who like their music on the heavy side. But the music from rock \u2018n\u2019 roll\u2019s Prince of Darkness lives on at Hard Rock Live with\u00a0Crazy Train: America\u2019s Ozzy Experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This tribute band cranks away on tunes from Ozzy\u2019s Black Sabbath days, such as \u201cSweet Leaf\u201d and \u201cWar Pigs,\u201d through his years as a hit solo artist and MTV icon. Throw some devil horns and pay your respects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Get tangled up in\u00a0blue artistry<\/p>\n

The details:<\/p>\n

Latino Center of Arts & Culture, 2700 Front St., Sacramento<\/p>\n

6-8:30 p.m., July 11 (Saturday)<\/p>\n

Free<\/p>\n

Stan Padilla\u2019s \u201cCaminos Mundiales\u201d at the Latino Center of Arts and Culture represents one of the area\u2019s most vibrant art exhibitions at present. The show represents Padilla\u2019s world travels to gather blue pigments, featured in\u00a0Cultural Capital\u2019s June 11 edition<\/a>, and Saturday\u2019s\u00a0\u201cBlue Night Market\u201d<\/a>\u00a0continues the theme. Get immersed in Padilla\u2019s art while sipping blue lemonade mocktails and scouring the market for his beautiful jewelry and prints.<\/p>\n

Get crafty\u00a0in a house of craft beer<\/p>\n

The details:<\/p>\n

Blue Note Brewing, 750 Dead Cat Alley, Woodland<\/p>\n

6 p.m., July 9 (Thursday)<\/p>\n

Free entry<\/p>\n

Grab your favorite rotary cutters, cardstock and glue \u2014 and a pint of your preference.\u00a0\u201cArts & Drafts\u201d<\/a>\u00a0is on tap for Thursday at Blue Note Brewing<\/a>. Come meet with locals who like getting crafty while savoring beers and what gets my vote as the best pizza in Woodland.<\/p>\n

More events happening this week<\/p>\n

Before I go,<\/p>\n

I dug the recent story by contributor Daryl V. Rowland on\u00a0Roseville\u2019s music scene<\/a>. Give it a read to learn more about the folks who are running the venues and determined to keep rocking the \u2018burbs.<\/p>\n

Drop me a line at\u00a0christo916@gmail.com<\/a>. See you next week!<\/p>\n

Chris Macias is a regular contributor, writing Cultural Capital for Abridged by PBS KVIE.\u00a0<\/p>\n