by Sarah Peterson-Camacho
For as long as she can remember, Fresno musician and actress Rebecca Potts has been creating and performing her own music. And from appearing on Netflix to performing the National Anthem for the NFL, she’s not about to let the pandemic bring her down. Kings River Life recently spoke with Potts about her time on TV, the release of her first single, “Like Home,” and how the challenges of living through the pandemic have spurred her creativity to new heights.
by Terrance McArthur
Virtual Rogue Festival has one more weekend to enjoy some great shows virtually! Just like Rogue is different this year, we are posting our reviews differently this year–we won’t be posting them all together, though they will still be in groups. Here is our second group of reviews!
by Mallory Moad
Virtual Rogue Festival has one more weekend to enjoy some great shows virtually! Just like Rogue is different this year, we are posting our reviews differently this year–we won’t be posting them all together, though they will still be in groups. Here is our first group of reviews!
by Mark Nunis
I Sit On My Arse & Play Piano isn’t just the name of my Rogue Festival debut, it’s what I do for a living, almost every day for over twenty-five years. You see, I’m a professional piano bar entertainer. My show will be funny, a bit cheeky, and will include a collection of original songs and personal stories, like these…
by Melanie Gall
In 2013, I first performed my French music cabaret, Piaf and Brel: The Impossible Concert at the Fresno Rogue festival. At that time it was a two-person show, and the two weeks I spent at the Rogue fest were two of the best weeks of my life, with a whirl of breakfast parties with Marcel, late-night doughnuts in the Tower District, and more sun that a girl from Northern Alberta usually gets in March.
by Steven Sanchez
Having worked in the music industry for the past five years, I can guarantee that every person employed in the field had the same reaction I did when the pandemic happened:…s***! Once the virus hit and the lockdown went into effect, the immediate activity banned was concerts. How can it not? All those people in an arena or bunched up in a club. So the venues shutdown, and the promoters, roadies, techs, staff, and musicians were left scratching their heads. How would the music industry be able to thrive when the outlet that makes the artists and record labels money—which is touring—was eradicated?
by Steven Sanchez
What do you get when you mix the elements of intelligence, beauty, talent, attitude, drive, ambition, spirituality, and tenacity? The concoction result would be local on-air personality, actress, and now activist, Rebecah Rye. She’s the nighttime voice for 105.1 The Blaze, “Fresno’s Best Rock,” playing headbangin’ metal anthems and the traffic coordinator for the rock station and the hip hop format Q97.1.
by Mallory Moad
Here we are in the 12th week of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying shutdown, with a return to normal—whatever that was—still far away. We’ve worked from home, done our best to keep our kids mentally stimulated without going flat-out mental ourselves, practiced social distancing on those rare occasions when we braved going out in public, and embraced facial coverings as a fashion accessory.
by Steven Sanchez
Filmmaker, editor, musician, producer, these are the many titles that shape Robert J. Thissen’s identity. This Central Valley artist has made a name for himself in Hollywood for his work as a television and associate editor on several TV shows ranging from Hart of Dixie, Life In Pieces, Rizzoli and Isles, and that’s just naming a few. He’s become a go-to from the big studios in Tinseltown, maybe you’ve heard of them, the selection being Warner Bros. Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Disney, along with others. But now he’s shifting gear and his focus to another craft…music.
by Lorie Lewis Ham
Despite all of the terrible things happening in the world right now, there are a lot of amazing things happening online. Performers of all sorts are going online to provide concerts, classes, readings, and many other wonderful things-both locally and worldwide. Local musician/actor Nate Butler is involved in something local that not only provides entertainment for the rest of us, but helps out local musicians who aren’t able to go out and play their normal gigs. I chatted with Nate recently about this.
by Steven Sanchez
You hear the tapping sounds on a ride cymbal, the strums of a guitar, then chiming in is a funky bassline, accompanied by a second riff from a guitar, this continues on and builds up until you hear a guttural and primal scream shouting, “Are you ready?” These are the rhythms and lyrics stitched to the song “Blind,” that belongs to the band, Korn.
by Rebecca Potts,
Mallory Moad & Terrance McArthur
The Rogue Festival is here! You can find all of our Rogue Festival articles, and our upcoming show reviews in our Rogue Festival section! We will be posting reviews throughout the festival.
by Steven Sanchez
It’s 2020, not only a new year, but a new decade. Last year was a phenomenal 12-month timeline for events in the Central Valley. It definitely did serve as a worthy exclamation point to what was a good decade of entertainment options. The 2010s did set the bar, but I hope that the 20s will take it to another level. This past January and February was a very good warmup as the year is taking shape, and it’ll continue on as more acts will be announced on who’ll be trekking to the area to provide music, laughs, and good times. Here are some of the acts that came out of the starting gate to set the benchmark for the rest of the year.
by Excursions, Amelia Ryan, Spencer/Morris
Here are three Rogue Festival Shows that all involve music! The Excursions, Songs & Stories, and Spencer/Morris
