By Scott Thomas Anderson

Blustery blues power meets a rollicking freight train of hill sounds when regional all-stars The Katie Knipp Band and Forever Goldrush hold their first show together at The Torch Club. Knipp has continued to build an audience around the operatic intensity of her singing and the emotional whiplash of her lyric-writing, a style that she somehow channels through an experimental, genre-blending evolution of blues, rock and soul traditions. Knipp’s musical approach recently prompted legendary Sacramento harmonica master Mick Martin to observe that “there’s really no one like her.” Last year saw The Katie Knipp Band constantly touring in support of its latest album, “Live at The Green Room Social Club.” That record earned critical acclaim from Blues Matters magazine and has landed radio play as far afield as The United Kingdom. Forever Goldrush, on the other hand, has spent the last 25 years as an eloquent boning knife that’s carved its way into Sacramento’s music identity. With songs about everything from Delta waves to mountain darkness, their poignant welding of roots tone and sharp imagery has cultivated fans across California and made them Hall of Famers for the SAMMIE Awards.