New Year, New Music • Make It Your Resolution to Discover New Local Artists

A new year is upon us, which means it’s time for all of us to set a bunch of lofty New Year’s resolutions like “exercise more,” or “eat healthier” or “start saving money.” While all of those are great goals to set (and I would argue stuff that we should all be doing regularly anyway), how about this year we make it our resolutions to seek out and discover new local music! We are lucky to live in an area that is a hotbed of creativity, so why not take advantage? I know that sometimes, for a lot of people, the phrases “local music” or “local band” might conjure up visions of janky groups playing out of tune, begging you to buy their terrible recordings, but I’m here to tell you that Sacramento has a lot of amazingly talented local bands that deserve your attention. So, in 2018, make it your goal to go out to more shows, to step out of your musical comfort zone, to hit up some new venues. Who knows, you might discover a gem. Here are a few ways to do just that:

MOMO Sacramento, an intimate venue operated by and situated above Harlow’s, recently launched their new weekly “Discover Thursdays” series where they feature both up-and-coming and established regional acts. These are free shows, but you must be 21-and-over to attend. Jan. 4 will feature a promising young R&B/jazz/funk band called Hayez, along with the David Mckissick Quartet. Jan. 11 will feature the smooth stylings of two easy listening local groups, The Mindful and In the Know Trio. Jan. 18 will see two incredible jazz/funk fusion groups perform, Mino Yanci and George Napp. Jan. 25 wraps up the month in style with two veteran rock/pop groups, Blame The Bishop and Mezcal Aces.

Holy Diver, the city’s newest all-ages venue located in the legendary Midtown Sacramento building that used to house Starlite Lounge and before that Townhouse, has also started a new series, called “Local Showcase Thursdays.” These shows are just $5, all ages, and feature diverse, mixed bills. Jan. 4 is stacked with Mookatite, City Mural, Tonic Zephyr, and Flight Mongoose. Jan. 11 features five acts, Roman Pilot, Chaos Mantra, Rebel Holocrons, California Child, and Lucky/You. There’s no Local Showcase on Jan. 18 (the venue is hosting the Digitour: Arctic Lights tour that night) but it picks back up again on Jan. 25 with Sleeptalk, Groves, NOSEDIVE, Sam Peter, and Average League.

How about discovering something new while never leaving your couch? On Friday, Jan. 5 we will be premiering a brand new music video right here on our website from local post-punk/darkwave group Creux Lies (who was formerly known as NMBRSTTN). The song is called “Zone,” and if you dig bands like The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Tears for Fears, etc., you’re going to love this track. Creux Lies is planning on releasing a full-length in 2018, so keep an eye out for that, ‘cause it will surely rule.

Lastly, if you haven’t heard yet, in 2018 Submerge turns 10 years old! To celebrate, we’re planning on throwing a bunch of fun and creative events throughout the year, the first of which will be on Saturday, Feb. 3 at Holy Diver. We’ve lined up three of our favorite local bands to play the show, including Screature, who will be celebrating the release of their fantastic new album Old Hand New Wave, produced by Chris Woodhouse (Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Wand); Horseneck, a kick-ass, gritty rock band who released one of our favorite albums of 2017, Heavy Trip, and features members of Will Haven and Chelsea Wolfe; and lastly, Destroy Boys, a super rad young rock band with big things in their future. We’ll probably have some DJs spinning tunes downstairs, too. There’s also pizza and beer, so you’ve gotta go! It’s technically a free show, but we’ll be asking for a suggested $10 donation to get upstairs to see the bands, with portions of the proceeds going to charity. We hope you’ll come celebrate our 10-year milestone with us and discover some new local talent at the same time.

As always, remember to regularly check out our Submerge events calendar in print every issue or online at Submergemag.com/calendar to stay in the loop about upcoming shows.

**This piece first appeared in print on page 8 of issue #256 (Jan. 1 – 15, 2018)**