Boots, Buckets & Beats: Sactown's May 8-10 Weekend Rundown
Country In The Park returns to Cal Expo, Stomp shakes the SAFE PAC, and the River Cats salute Mom — here's your 916 weekend.
The 916 is loaded May 8-10. NorCal’s biggest country throwdown rolls back into Cal Expo for two days of boots and buckets, STOMP turns trash cans into theater downtown, Ace of Spades hosts an all-night cumbia rave, the River Cats salute Mom on Sunday, and the Homin Choir brings Ukrainian polyphony to the Crest. Let’s get into it.
🤠 Country In The Park 2026
Friday, May 8 & Saturday, May 9 @ 1:00 PM
Northern California’s biggest country throwdown turns 26 and rolls back into Cal Expo for a two-day stomp-fest. Jon Pardi takes the Friday headline slot, with Miranda Lambert closing Saturday — supported by Turnpike Troubadours, Chris Young, Dylan Scott, Kameron Marlowe, Ashley Cooke, Meghan Patrick, Shane Profitt and Atlus across both days. Expect mechanical bulls, free line-dance lessons, axe throwing, a rock wall, food trucks, and the kind of dust-cloud-and-Coors energy 105.1 KNCI has been building since the late ’90s. The Cove sits right on the Cal Expo grounds at 1600 Exposition Blvd — bring a hat, bring sunscreen, and pace your refreshments. Gates 1:00 PM both days; headliners after sundown. All ages welcome.
The Move: Hotboys Sacramento at 1115 21st St in Midtown is your Mon-Wed recovery move — swing by after the festival weekend to refuel on Nashville hot chicken before the line-dance soreness fully sets in. It’s a 10-minute drive from Cal Expo straight down Business 80.
🥁 STOMP
Friday, May 8 @ 7:30 PM (also Sat 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM)
The percussion phenomenon that turned brooms, trash-can lids, Zippos and kitchen sinks into a global theatrical language returns to the 2,400-seat SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center on 13th & L. Created in 1991 in Brighton, England by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, Stomp’s eight-strong cast builds rhythm out of literally anything they can grab — no dialogue, no melody, just full-body groove. Friday night’s 7:30 PM show is the headline slot, with a Saturday matinee and Saturday evening rounding out the run. Three performances across the weekend: Fri 7:30 PM · Sat 2:00 PM · Sat 7:30 PM. Park at SacPark’s PAC garage and you’re a block from K Street’s pre-show bites. All ages welcome.
The Move: The SAFE PAC is barely an eight-block walk from Hotboys Sacramento at 1115 21st St — file the address for your next Wednesday lunch when the shop’s actually open and you’re craving the exact opposite of theater snack mix.
🎶 Homin Choir — North American Tour 2026
Friday, May 8 @ 8:00 PM
Ukrainian conductor Vadym Yatsenko brings the Homin Choir to the K Street Crest Theatre for one of the few North American stops on their 2026 tour. Homin is one of Ukraine’s most charismatic vocal ensembles — expect polyphonic folk repertoire, sacred works, and contemporary Ukrainian compositions delivered under the Crest’s gorgeous Art Deco proscenium. The 1949 single-screen movie palace at 1013 K Street is a 730-seat room with phenomenal acoustics, which means even the quietest harmonic shift carries to the back row. A genuinely different Friday night option for anyone who’s already done a country fest and a Broadway show. Doors typically open one hour before showtime. All ages welcome.
The Move: The Crest sits on K Street, a quick rideshare or 15-minute walk from Hotboys Sacramento at 1115 21st St in Midtown. Hours are Mon-Wed 9am-10pm, so plan your post-show debrief for Monday lunch.
📍 Get tickets on crestsacramento.com
🪩 Cumbiatron — The Cumbia Rave (21+)
Saturday, May 9 @ 9:00 PM (doors 8:00 PM)
Ace of Spades hands the floor over to the Cumbiatron crew for an all-night cumbia rave — picture sonidero classics, digital cumbia, guaracha, and reggaeton blended on heavy rotation until last call. The historic R Street venue at 1417 R St is one of Sactown’s loudest small rooms, and a 21+ Saturday means it’s going to feel like a sweaty, glittery block party. Tickets start around $27, the Cumbiatron logo is everywhere on social, and the dress code skews ‘going out, but make it tropical.’ Best show of the weekend if you’d rather sweat than sit. Doors 8:00 PM, show 9:00 PM; 21+ only.
The Move: Ace of Spades is on R Street, less than a mile from Hotboys Sacramento at 1115 21st St — same Midtown grid, just a few blocks south. Make a mental note for a Wednesday lunch line-up the week the rave-fog clears.
📍 Get tickets on Ticketmaster
⚾ Sacramento River Cats vs. Reno Aces — Mother’s Day
Sunday, May 10 @ 12:35 PM
The River Cats wrap up a six-game stand against the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A club) with a Mother’s Day matinee at Sutter Health Park, just across the Tower Bridge from downtown. It’s the only holiday home game on Sacramento’s 2026 PCL calendar, so expect themed promotions, a packed concourse, and prime weather along the riverfront. Saturday night gives you a 6:37 PM under-the-lights option if Sunday’s brunch crowd is full. Sutter Health Park is also pulling A’s overflow crowds during the team’s temporary stay — meaning the ballpark is in midseason form with upgraded amenities. First pitch 12:35 PM; gates ~90 min before. All ages welcome.
The Move: Sutter Health Park is a 7-minute drive across the Tower Bridge from Hotboys Sacramento at 1115 21st St. The shop’s only open Mon-Wed, so save the move for the following week’s lunch — bring Mom, bring the box score.
The Hotboys Connection
Country In The Park kicking up dust at Cal Expo, STOMP rattling the SAFE PAC, the Homin Choir filling the Crest, Cumbiatron sweating out R Street, and the River Cats saluting Mom across the Tower Bridge — the capital is delivering from every angle this weekend. And Hotboys Sacramento is right in the middle of it.
- Sacramento: 1115 21st St, Sacramento, CA 95811 — open 9am–10pm Mon–Wed. Whether you’re recovering from two days at Cal Expo, walking eight blocks back from STOMP, debriefing the Homin Choir after a K Street stroll, sleeping off Cumbiatron, or rolling back from Sutter Health Park with Mom in tow, we’re right here in Midtown and ready for you.
See you in Sactown. 🔥