A Message from the Sidekicks
March 2020:
Hello, fans and friends. With the governor's order shutting down bars, wineries, brew pubs and indoor service for restaurants, we - and our fellow musicians - find ourselves without venues at least for the months of March and April. Beyond that is uncertainty.
We feel for the workers affected by this situation and hope it will soon be safe to go out in public and enjoy life again. In the interim, you can listen to our music on CD or on our website. We will post new performance dates as they develop.
Please be mindful and considerate of others' struggles. Be kind. Be safe out there. See you soon.
~ Marty Cohen and the Sidekicks (Jeff Sears, Ken Rabiroff and Tony Galioto)
2020 New Year’s Message:
Marty, Ken, Jeff and Tony wish to thank all our supporters – fans old and new and those of you who came upon us by accident (and stayed to enjoy the music!) – for a fabulous 2019.
The BIG NEWS of last year was the addition of Tony Galioto, renowned local drummer/percussionist, who joined us for 10 gigs during the year. Tony has an extremely melodic approach to drumming (being a songwriter himself), so his style perfectly complements Marty’s songs and enhances the Sidekicks’ arrangements. In performance, Tony adds that extra rhythmic flair that takes us to a new level. We look forward to playing many more shows with Tony in the future.
We played so many great venues during the year, including the Music at Noon Concert Series at Westminster Church in Sacramento (westminsac.org/music-noon) the National Night Out (at Gibbons Park), a Suburban Kiwanis fundraiser in Carmichael, the 40th Anniversary of Mansour’s Rug Gallery in Roseville, an Elk Grove House Concert, and a return to the Holiday Music Series at the Sacramento International Airport (our 5th year!).
In addition to regular monthly appearances at Ettore’s Bakery and Café (ettores.com), we returned to California Organics Market and Café (californiaorganics.com) in Nevada City, Fox and Goose Public House (foxandgoose.com) in Sacramento, Sundstrom Hill Winery in Davis (sundstromhill.com), Le Casque Winery (casquewines.com) in Loomis, Miner’s Leap Winery (minersleap.com) in Clarksburg and to Heritage Oak Winery (heritageoakwinery.com) in Acampo, near Lodi. We were grateful to add some new venues in 2019: Julietta Winery (juliettawinery.com) and Heringer Estates Winery (heringerestates.com) , both in Clarksburg. All these establishments are local family-owned businesses, and we urge you to support them throughout the year. We hope to be back to each of them in 2020, in addition to appearing at some new venues and returning to some we missed last year.
Sadly, in 2019 Bella Bru Café in Carmichael ceased having music and Acoustic Den in Roseville closed its doors. We were sorry to lose two venues that were such a favorite with both fans and the band.
In 2019, we were again nominated for a Sacramento Area Music (SAMMIE) Award in the “Folk/Bluegrass” category, which we won in 2018. Nominations for 2020 are in progress at www.sammies.com. Voting starts January 20, at the same link.
Our third CD, No Grudges (2017), is still very popular. You can acquire our CDs in several ways:
1. Get the actual, physical CD at our performances for $10.
2. Use iTunes: Buy individual tracks ($.99) or the full album ($9.99).
3. Use this website: Go to the “Music” page and order (CD or download) from CDBaby.
We are taking January off, but we will back performing February 1 at a new venue, Macchia Winery in Lodi (macchiawines.com). Come join us from 12 noon to 4 p.m. for Sidekicks music and great wine. We are in the process of booking Ettore’s for 2020, so look for future announcements for our appearances there and at many other fine venues.
We look forward to a fabulous new year, filled with music – both familiar and new – and with opportunities to bring Sidekicks music to a larger audience! We wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2020 and again, we thank you for your continued support.
~ Marty Cohen, Ken Rabiroff, Jeff Sears and Tony Galioto