SATURDAY, APRIL 9th
BANDS, ENSEMBLES, & SOLO ARTISTS
Sacramento Youth Band
11 AM - 12 PM The Sacramento Youth Band is a non-profit organization that consists of a Symphonic/Parade Band, a Concert Band, a Big Band and Jazz Combos! SYB has been educating and inspiring young musicians in the Sacramento area since 1957. It provides them with a place to meet new friends, expand their musical abilities, and travel to exciting places like San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and more!
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Monét Tyler
2:20 PM - 2:40 PM Bay Area native Monet Tyler is a multi-instrumentalist that transforms piano ballads into a combination of synth-pop and new-age rock. Since the release of the music video for her first single time machine, Monet has released three singles, two of which are accompanied by visualizers. In September of 2021, she performed her first live show opening for local bands Giveaway and Hear In Color on the Oakland Secret backyard stage.
From the comfort of her small town bedroom, Monet produces music inspired by the natures of love and companionship as she navigates her young adult life. Through layered vocals with a nostalgic edge and motivational chord progressions, her sound has evolved as an escape for those who crave it. |
Dog People
3:40 PM - 4 PM Dog People is a Synth-Pop-Punk band out of Davis, CA. Lovers HG (bass) and Toni Rizzo(vocals) deliver spunky, high-energy performances over fun, catchy synth and drum back beats. They’re debut EP, RUFF has been very well received and their single, “Werewolf Weekday” WILL get stuck in your head.
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Katie Fry
4:40 PM - 5 PM Katie Fry is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with a beautiful soprano voice and sound that transcends genres. Born Katie Jane Goudie, raised on a dairy goat farm in Northern California, her influences include the country and folk music of her youth. She writes songs about love, friendship, struggle and hope.
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orion XV
6 PM - 6:20 PM New on the scene, “orion XV” is a producer/singer-songwriter who has proven to be a force beyond traditional R&B. Blending elements of dark synths, big 808s, funk, rock, hip-hop and everything in between - “orion XV” has shown to be a genre-nomadic artist who writes about finding the beauty in earthly and unearthly things.
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Rudy Kalma
6:20 PM - 7 PM Rudy Kalma is a recording artist, songwriter, producer, and audio engineer currently based in Sacramento, California. Born in the the Philippines and raised in the Bay Area, Rudy’s writing encompasses themes surrounding mental health, identity, and love - drawing from personal experiences and his own worldly observations. He draws inspiration from artists such as Nas, Yasiin Be y, Outkast, Lauryn Hill, Frank Ocean, SiR, Isaiah Rashad, Smino, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, and many other inspiring acts from all eras of music. Rudy has a vast catalogue and is planning to release more work this year.
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Jaidon
7 PM - 7:20 PM Jaidon is an Independent bedroom artist who writes and produces his creativity through an outdated iPad and Garage band. With a mixture of soft and hard rock, soothing harmonies, guitar leads, and reverb instrumentals it's very easy to vibe along with his music. Falsetto EP, his very first tracks came along to be lower quality, a slow acoustic, mellow relaxing EP now transitioning to a later release Sunriver Lane of more upbeat rock, surf type, indie songs to vibe too.
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The Vibe Setters
7:20 PM - 8:20 PM The Vibe Setters first embarked on their musical voyage of discovery together as a tight-knit Band in 2019. But their origin goes back earlier to when the band members grew up listening to a variety of musical genres that played an influential role in shaping their paths as musicians and ultimately led them to join forces. The Vibe Setters has collectively found their signature sound and offers something different and unique to their fans by creating and sharing original music that is unmistakably unique.
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UC DAVIS STUDENT GROUPS
SoNE1
3 PM - 3:10 PM SoNE1 is the first K-pop dance cover and performance team at UC Davis. They recently just celebrated their 10 year anniversary and have a YouTube channel where they showcase the skills they've been practicing year round. Representing SoNE1 will be Fatima, Adam, Cathleen, and Gina, performing Savage by aespa.
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Nā Keiki O Hawai'i
3:10 PM - 3:30 PM Nā Keiki O Hawai'i, meaning "The Children of Hawai'i", is a Polynesian dance club at UC Davis. NKOH strives to promote the culture of the Polynesian islands, through Tahitian and hula dance to create an environment where those from the islands can find a piece of home on the mainland and for those that reside here to get a genuine taste of what it means to LIVE ALOHA.
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CLASSICAL JAPANESE ARTISTS
Naoko
1:40 PM - 2:20 PM Naoko has been playing the koto since she was six years old. She was taught by Koji Kikuhara who was a highly ranked student of National Living Treasure Hatsuko Kikuhara. In 1987, she passed a professional music examination at the Todo Music Association that proudly claims more than 100 years of history. She studied classical singing with Ichijuro Kiyomoto and Fujima style dance with Monjuro Fujima from 1979 to 1981.
Naoko has been taking biwa lesson from Hokuniu Kyokuto Kimura, aka Molly Kimura. She received a Shoden degree from Head Master Iemoto Kyokuso Tachibana with Chiluzen-biwa Nihon-Tachibana Organization on November 30, 2009. Naoko as a performer of Nogawa Style jiuta shamisen and Ikuta style koto continues to perform at several places in the United States from 1994. |
TAIKO GROUPS
TAIKO WORKSHOP MASTERS
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Deborah Wong (Ethnomusicology, UC Riverside)
1:40 PM - 2:40 PM Deborah Wong is an ethnomusicologist and Professor of Music at the University of California, Riverside. She was a student of Rev. Tom Kurai and a member of the Taiko Center of Los Angeles for many years, and she is working right now on arranging for Rev. Tom’s extensive personal records to be deposited in several archives. Her most recent book is Louder and Faster: Pain, Joy, and the Body Politic in Asian American Taiko (2019) and she served as editor for Nobuko Miyamoto’s extraordinary memoir, Not Yo’ Butterfly: My Long Song of Relocation, Race, Love, and Revolution (2021). Her happiest hours of the week are spent preparing and then going on air with her weekly radio show Gold Mountain for KUCR 88.3 FM in Riverside.
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I Am Because You Are: Taiko and the Power of the Communitarian
How and why does North American kumi-daiko rely on the power of the group? Some musical traditions emphasize the individual, but taiko emphasizes the group. Not only is kumi-daiko designed for ensemble playing, but the social aesthetics of taiko emphasize putting the group first by valuing group over individual needs.
North American kumi-daiko has social roots in Japanese American communities, but it has also been informed by Japanese American activists who have strong, intentional connections to Black communitarian struggle. I will trace some ideas about communitarian power that come from communities of color. Aggrieved and oppressed communities have had to rely on one another for survival. I will look at the South African concept of ubuntu, famously deployed by Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela as the idea that the individual is only as strong as its community, that “I am because you are,” and that “a person is a person through other people.” How might taiko players draw on ubuntu to respond to anti-Asian hate by amplifying community strengths? I will share some stories from my own experiences as a taiko player and as an Asian American activist to reflect on my deep need to learn from community, and I will ask the audience to consider how and why you draw strength and purpose from the communities in which you are located, including – especially – your taiko group.
North American kumi-daiko has social roots in Japanese American communities, but it has also been informed by Japanese American activists who have strong, intentional connections to Black communitarian struggle. I will trace some ideas about communitarian power that come from communities of color. Aggrieved and oppressed communities have had to rely on one another for survival. I will look at the South African concept of ubuntu, famously deployed by Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela as the idea that the individual is only as strong as its community, that “I am because you are,” and that “a person is a person through other people.” How might taiko players draw on ubuntu to respond to anti-Asian hate by amplifying community strengths? I will share some stories from my own experiences as a taiko player and as an Asian American activist to reflect on my deep need to learn from community, and I will ask the audience to consider how and why you draw strength and purpose from the communities in which you are located, including – especially – your taiko group.
SUNDAY, APRIL 10th
BANDS, ENSEMBLES, & SOLO ARTISTS
Emmet Francis & Friends
12 PM - 12:20 PM Emmet Francis is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis who also likes to play and write music in his free time. He grew up playing guitar and piano in the church and eventually started playing bass clarinet and/or saxophone in marching bands and concert bands throughout high school and his undergraduate years at UC Davis. In recent years, he worked a bit more on songwriting, releasing one "demo" EP, "A Story Worth Being Told". His musical influences include The Killers, The National, Phoebe Bridgers, Switchfoot, and whoever else he happens to be listening to. These days, he loves getting together with some PhD student friends and covering Weezer songs or working on different acoustic covers with his wife.
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Jimmy Toor
12:20 PM - 12:40 PM Jimmy Toor is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music educator from Fairfield, California. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento and studied performing arts at UC Davis. JT can be seen leading his band from the drums or collaborating with award-winning musicians. His sound features multi-cultural rhythms and improvisation. Debut studio album, Global Connection to be released in Summer 2022.
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Abbii Grace
1:20 PM - 1:40 PM Originally growing up classically trained in piano and violin, Bay Area native Abbii Grace found her passion for songwriting when she picked up the guitar. While balancing her life as a musician and student, she independently produces music from her bedroom as a creative outlet. She released her first EP in 2021 and hopes to continue making music no matter where life takes her.
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katgrüvs
2:40 PM - 3 PM Kat Gallardo, known as “katgrüvs,” is riding the new wave of modern fingerstyle guitarists. Covering her heroes such as Michael Hedges, Andy McKee, and Preston Reed in high school, she fell in love and was inspired by the polyphonic sound of open-tuned acoustic guitar. A self-taught artist with a solid sense of time and rhythm, she discovers new ways to nurture her passion for percussive fingerstyle guitar arrangement and composition. The name “katgrüvs” captures her innate feel for “grüv” and pocket, a trait steeped in years of playing in jazz, funk, and rock ensembles. A graduate from the University of California, Davis in Mechanical Engineering, she aspires to marry her lifelong passion for music with creative engineering.
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Sunday Soul
3 PM - 3:20 PM Sunday Soul is a neo soul duo from the East Bay Are featuring Selena and Eli. Eli is not only a multi-instrumentalist but a producer. Selena is a vocalist inspired by Amy Winehouse, Hiatus Kaiyote, and Erykah Badu. Collectively they create music that’s going to tell relatable stories, make you get in your feels, and keep you on your toes.
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Rose Haze
3:20 PM - 3:40 PM Rose Haze is an ethereal, psychedelic, progressive, dreampop band. Leader and singer-songwriter Kate was once a rolling stone sharing her music across the Midwest, New Orleans, Europe, & Kauai. Now based in Oakland, she is supported by a high-energy band comprised of guitar, bass, drums, and occasionally electric violin, harp, or horns. Together they create musical layers difficult to peg into any one specific genre. Elements of pulse-driven hypnotic dreampop, lush textural shoegaze, sultry psychedelic rock, and soulful expressions drive their sound. “Rose Haze” is a musical persona and moniker for Kate, but it also perfectly describes the hazy, psychedelic, flowery, and sometimes thorny essence of the band as a whole.
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Bloodypoppies
4 PM - 4:20 PM From the bay area, Bloodypoppies is a local alternative indie group specializing in pop and punk overtones. Shortly after putting out their first two acoustic singles in 2020, the duo of guitarist Andrew Melendez and lead singer J.C. Remigio met future drummer Zach Szerlip. The trio are now recording and starting to perform shows such as the Zacc and the Scissorlips 2022 New Year’s Eve album release show and upcoming guest appearance at the Milk Bar in San Francisco. Looking to expand its reach into the further areas of California, the band is planning future shows in Santa Cruz and Southern California.
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August Lee Stevens
4:20 PM - 4:40 PM August is a singer/ songwriter/ musician from Hercules, California.
At the age of 7, she began classical piano lessons and from there went on to train at the prestigious Oakland School for the Arts where she deepened her musical knowledge and branched out into singing and songwriting. With heartfelt lyrics and soulful vocals, August uses music to express the moments in life too big for words alone. Some of her featured performances include 2018 Notes & Words with Dave Grohl, 2019 UC Santa Cruz production of the musical Crowns alongside jazz singer Tammi Brown, and 2021 AATAT 30 Year Gala with Danny Glover. |
Hear in Color
6 PM - 6:20 PM Hear In Color is an alternative/indie/shoegaze group from the East Bay. Originally formed at Diablo Valley College in 2019, the band has released 5 singles and put out their debut EP entitled Last Thoughts back in February 2021.
The group consists of: Faith Donithan - Lead Vocals Gerardo González - Keys/Guitar/Backing Vocals Elias Lozano - Bass Guitar Isaiah Selva - Guitar/Synth/Backing Vocals Valente McNamer - Drums |
iraya
6:20 PM - 6:40 PM “If I had to describe my artistry, I would categorize it as ‘Combining the smooth tones and grooves of R&B/Soul, with the lyrical freedom and wit of Hip-Hop to evoke an emotional experience.’” Born and raised in South San Francisco, the Bay Area singer-songwriter, rapper and producer, iraya started his journey into music through his mother. “When I was a kid, my mom on her days off would invite me to sing along with her for her karaoke sessions. We would have competitions to see who can get the highest score.” From then on, iraya’s love for the art grew and proceeded to teach himself several instruments and eventually how to produce his own music.
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Lillian Frances
6:40 PM - 7 PM Lillian Frances is a sonic collager based out of Sacramento, CA. She was a Polly Pocket in a past life, and draws inspiration from the creative nature of children. While crafting her music, Frances isn’t bothered by genre, or motivated to create in a particular style. One minute she leads you through a poppy, textured dream-land, the next you tumble into sparse, trappy beats as Lillian glides effortlessly between English and Spanish.
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Kings' Aisle
7 PM - 7:20 PM Our music collective constantly breaks the barrier between different genres, combining a variety of sounds, such as R&B, Indie, and Rap, to make our own. Kings’ Aisle, established in 2018, consists of 5 different artists and producers, whose individual sounds are distinct from one another. A lot of these songs are either self-produced, or sonically engineered by us. You can always expect something extraordinary as a result of our unique approaches to music and songwriting. We make music because it feeds our souls. To us, music is everything. And we can’t wait to share our art with you.
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Busy Lighthouse
7:40 PM - 8:20 PM Busy Lighthouse is a rock band from the East Bay consisting of Jesús Rico (Vocals/Guitar), Isaiah Selva (Bass/Vocals), Gerardo González (Guitar/Keys/Vocals) and Josh Zucker (Drums). The band’s different styles range from alternative, hard rock, grunge, punk, experimental, & indie. They released their debut album “Memories & Unrealities” in 2016 & their second album "A Place We're All The Same" in 2019. Inspirations & influences range from Pearl Jam, Nirvana, The Strokes, Foo Fighters, The Beatles, System Of A Down, Iron Maiden, The Scorpions, Muse, The Who, Radiohead, & many more.
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CLASSICAL JAPANESE ARTISTS
Kohaku
2:20 PM - 2:40 PM KOHAKU is a unique performance collaborative based in Sacramento that specializes in traditional and contemporary Japanese performing arts, such as Kagura dance (Sacred dance of Shinto shrines), Taiko drum and a variety of other celebrated cultural music and dance. We also perform Japanese folkloric and kids songs, music and dance of sacred rituals and contemporary dance inspired by Japanese and world fusion. Audiences will also enjoy the power and beauty of authentic Japanese instruments such as Taiko drums, Fue (flutes), Chappa (cymbals) and more.
Our passion is to share the rich Japanese cultural heritage through an artistic outreach that may bring the world a deeper appreciation for the beauty of our home country. Our creative offerings will reveal the comical, touching and sacred aspects of Japanese culture and Shinto traditions that we hope will leave you with a depth of joy and happiness. |
UC DAVIS STUDENT GROUPS
Liquid Hot Plates
2:20 PM - 2:40 PM The Liquid Hotplates are the drippiest and hottest all-gender a cappella group at UC Davis! With their name coming from MTV’s “Liquid Television” and the now-banned dorm essential hotplate, these 2-time ICCA semi-finalists perform student-made arrangements influenced by genres like soul and R&B, to pop and alternative. LHP makes appearances in competitions, school happenings, and other events, so keep your eyes peeled for what they might do next! No matter where they go or what they do, the members of LHP put their hearts and souls into their music, and do it as a family!
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Video Game Orchestra
6 PM - 6:40 PM Video Game Orchestra (VGO for short) is a student-run orchestra that arranges and performs video game music from some of your favorite games. These include franchises like the Legend of Zelda, Mario, and many more. Our goal is to share our love of music and video games with the community through our concerts and performances.
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TAIKO GROUPS
TAIKO WORKSHOP MASTERS