Grung3zilla revisits ’90s and 2000s favorites Friday before Hauler celebrates its debut album with Born and Raised and Beautiful Blood Saturday
From the unmistakable sounds of ’90s grunge to an evening of original heavy rock and metal celebrating a new album, The Boardwalk has two distinctly different nights of live music lined up this weekend in Orangevale.
The weekend starts Friday, Aug. 14, with another installment of the venue’s popular Free Friday series as Grung3zilla takes the stage with a set built around the grunge and alternative rock that dominated radio and MTV throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
Then on Saturday, Aug. 15, the focus turns to original music as Hauler headlines a three-band CD release show celebrating its debut album, “Red White & Black,” with Born and Raised and Beautiful Blood joining the bill.
Friday night belongs to the era of distorted guitars, gritty vocals and alternative rock anthems as Grung3zilla brings its high-energy tribute to the music of the 1990s and early 2000s to The Boardwalk.
Based in the Sacramento area, Grung3zilla has developed a regional following by revisiting the songs and sounds of an era when grunge broke out of the Pacific Northwest and dramatically changed mainstream rock music.
The band’s performances draw heavily from artists including Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, recreating the heavy guitar tones, raw vocals and intensity that became trademarks of the genre.
Rather than focusing on a single artist, Grung3zilla reaches across the grunge and alternative catalogs of the period, allowing the band to pack its performances with recognizable songs from an era that remains a favorite among rock audiences more than three decades after its breakthrough.
The group has performed throughout the Sacramento region, including appearances on local stages and at larger events such as the California State Fair. Its return to The Boardwalk gives fans another chance to revisit the music in a venue with its own lengthy history of showcasing rock and alternative acts.
Friday’s concert is part of The Boardwalk’s Free Friday series, making the night an easy opportunity for longtime grunge fans — or a younger generation discovering the music — to catch a live show without a cover charge.
Grung3zilla takes the stage at 8 p.m. Friday.
Hauler celebrates new album Saturday
Saturday night shifts from familiar grunge favorites to original heavy music as Hauler celebrates the release of its debut album with a three-band lineup featuring Born and Raised and Beautiful Blood.
Hauler originally formed in 2018, bringing together musicians who were already veterans of the West Coast music scene. Drawing inspiration from the hard rock and heavy metal of the 1970s and 1980s, the members have combined those influences into their own groove-driven brand of rock ’n’ roll.
The band has spent years performing original heavy music at venues across California while developing a sound that mixes the familiarity of classic hard rock with its own contemporary identity.
That work culminated in the worldwide release of Hauler’s debut album, “Red White & Black,” in March 2026. Saturday’s show puts that record at the center of the night as the band celebrates the release on The Boardwalk stage and brings the songs to a hometown-area audience.
The album marks a significant milestone for a group that has built its reputation through live performances and original material, giving Saturday’s concert the added feel of a celebration rather than simply another stop on the calendar.
Joining Hauler is Born and Raised, a four-piece California band that describes its sound as “Modern Blues Rock.”
Led by drummer and lead vocalist Will Daniel, the lineup also features Britton Daniels on lead guitar, Jason Parkerson on bass and Josh Williams on rhythm guitar.
Born and Raised draws from rock and blues while adding what the group describes as a distinctly California flavor. Each member contributes to the songwriting and composition process, bringing different musical interests into original material that has helped define the band’s sound.
The group expanded its presence in the music community through a busy stretch of performances in 2023 and 2024 and continues to emphasize collaboration as a central part of its music.
Beautiful Blood brings the heavier end of Saturday’s bill with a combination of soulful hard rock and metal shaped by a wide range of influences.
The band describes its musical collision as something akin to Sevendust meeting Godsmack at a Machine Head barbecue with Metallica bringing the sauce — a fitting description for a group that combines melody and soul with a considerably heavier foundation.
Members of Beautiful Blood also bring extensive live experience to the stage. Over the years, they have shared stages with an impressive roster of rock and metal artists including Machine Head, Sevendust, Anthrax, Testament, Godsmack, A Perfect Circle, Living Colour, Jackyl, Great White, Stuck Mojo and Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society.
Together, Saturday’s three bands offer different shades of heavy music. Hauler brings groove-oriented rock inspired by the ’70s and ’80s, Born and Raised mixes blues and rock with a modern California approach, and Beautiful Blood delivers the harder edge of the night with its hard rock and metal sound.
The Hauler CD Release Show with Born and Raised and Beautiful Blood begins at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15.
The two-night lineup continues a tradition that dates to The Boardwalk’s opening in 1987. The Orangevale venue has hosted generations of local, regional and national performers while maintaining its intimate live music setting.
Both Friday and Saturday’s events are open to all ages, with guests under 21 required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Friday’s Grung3zilla performance is free. All ticket sales for Saturday’s show are final.
The Boardwalk is located at 9426 Greenback Lane in Orangevale. Tickets for Saturday and additional information about both shows are available through The Boardwalk’s event calendar.
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