SOLD OUT: Rick Estrin & the Nightcats

Harlow's and The Sacramento Blues Society present
SOLD OUT: Rick Estrin & the Nightcats
Celebrate the Life and Music of Little Charlie Baty with special guest Anson Funderburgh

Doors: 6pm / Show: 7pm

$40 Advance - $45 Day of Show

Rick Estrin and the Nightcats

Celebrate the Life and Music of Little Charlie Baty with special guest Anson Funderburgh, and more...

Fearless, fierce, a relentless seeker. Generous, observant, clever, wordy, worldly. One of the greatest modern guitarists. The leader and co-founder of Sacramento’s Little Charlie & The Nightcats, Charles Baty never played the same song the same way twice. Guitar World said, “Baty’s straight blues playing is eye-popping...inspired and manic blues guitar. He can sting like Buddy Guy and swing like Tiny Grimes.” The band released nine albums on Alligator Records (1987-2008) before Charlie decided to retire from their worldwide touring. But of course, he never stopped playing. Inside his vast musical mind jazz, rockabilly and swing had a very fertile playground.

He fronted jazz trio Little Charlie & Organ Grinder Swing, and performed regularly with his blues colleagues Mark Hummel, Kim Wilson and Anson Funderburgh. He released fourteen albums in his lifetime.

We lost him on March 6, 2020 from a heart attack, believed to be complications from COVID-19. He was only 66.

For blues fans worldwide, it has been akin to losing Muddy, Junior, Stevie, John Lee (who intoned in back in 1987- "You're dangerous with that guitar, man. They're gonna put you in jail.")

Tonight, we celebrate Charles Baty.

From Rick Estrin (Co-founder of Little Charlie & The Nightcats):

"For me to say that my association with Charles Baty probably saved my life sounds overly dramatic, but if you know my story, and especially if you knew me personally 45 years ago, you know it's not an exaggeration.

1976, the year I began playing with Charles, marked the start of a major turnaround in my life.

I'm not going to go into detail about my lifestyle when Charles invited me to join his fledgling band, but I'll just say it was unhealthy, and illegal - and by 1976, things for me, looked and felt hopeless.

Then I stepped off a greyhound bus in Sacramento, and my life began a whole new trajectory.

In those early days, our bar tab often exceeded our pay...and it wasn't because we drank so much - but our mutual love for some obscure and arcane styles of blues, kept us going.

I had lived in Chicago and had the opportunity to play with some well-known blues musicians, but right away I could see that Charles' talent as an instrumentalist - on harmonica and guitar - was like nothing I'd ever seen.

For me, being in a band with Charles was simultaneously intimidating and inspiring. Playing with him instilled in me a badly needed sense of pride, and really forced me to work and develop my skills and my craft - 'cause I could see, otherwise - I was gonna be reduced to a nightly afterthought.

In 32 years and listening to Little Charlie on literally thousands of gigs, I never lost that feeling of anticipation, wonderment and fascination.

His skills and knowledge never stopped growing - His work ethic never wavered - but it was his instinct for constructing the most daring, thrilling, and wildly logical solos that was his absolutely unique gift. Night after night, I would introduce Little Charlie as "One of a kind" - it's an overused phrase, but in Charles' case, it was the gospel truth. At his best, he was the best."

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A portion of the net proceeds will be donated to SBS' newly created Little Charlie Baty Scholarship Fund. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About the Sacramento Blues Society

The Sacramento Blues Society (SBS) is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization formed to preserve and promote blues music as an art form.

The Sacramento Blues Society was founded in 1979 and is one of the oldest blues societies in California. In 2015, the SBS was awarded the prestigious "Keepin' the Blues Alive" Award from The Blues Foundation, an international organization headquartered in Memphis. Each year, The Blues Foundation presents the KBA Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to blues music. The KBAs are awarded by a select panel of blues professionals to those working actively to promote and document the music.

The SBS promotes the local blues music scene, bringing internationally renowned artists to the region, and is an affiliated member of The Blues Foundation. More about us: https://www.sacblues.org/about-us.html