San Bernardino
Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar
When you look closely at the last 30 years of Southern California’s folk music scene, you’ll find one constant, soulful, and magnetically effervescent through line: the heartfelt artistry of Lisa Sanders. A Black Opry Review, San Diego Music Hall of Famer, and shape-shifting genre chameleon, Lisa has shared stages, co-created, and occasionally served as muse for artists like Bonnie Rait, Lucinda Williams, BB King, The Chicks, Sarah McLachlan, Mary Gauthier, Steve Poltz, and dozens more.
She’s collected thousands of stories on the long road to becoming herself—moments she’s more than happy to recount for audiences in belly-laugh stories and masterfully written songs. Solo or bolstered by the electrifying harmonies of her long-term partner, Karen “Brown Sugar” Hayes, Lisa’s songs are an infectiously hopeful account of coming up Black, queer, and folk at a time when both the country and the folk music industry are wrestling with what it means to honor the whole, unmasked, intersectional beauty of her identity and artistry.
Wherever Lisa Sanders goes, great stories, songs, and whole-hearted celebration follow.
