Steve Dunne and Sacramento Blues Society Hall of Famer Dana Moret bring their blend of blues, soul, funk and rock to Historic Folsom
Sunday afternoon at Powerhouse Pub will bring together deep Northern California music roots, original songwriting and a sound that borrows freely from blues, soul, funk and rock when Zenn Vudu returns to Historic Folsom.
The band takes the stage Sunday, Sept. 20, at 3 p.m. for Powerhouse of Blues, led by producer, songwriter and musician Steve Dunne of Lydia Pense and Cold Blood alongside vocalist Dana Moret, a Sacramento Blues Society Hall of Fame member who has also worked as a supporting vocalist with Cold Blood.
Together, Dunne and Moret are at the center of a project that doesn’t fit neatly into a single musical category. Zenn Vudu calls its sound “Stonegroove Soul,” bringing together the influences and experience of musicians who have spent years working in Northern California’s blues, soul, funk and rock scenes.
The roots of Zenn Vudu stretch back more than a decade to a songwriting partnership between Dunne and Moret. As their collection of material grew, the two eventually turned that collaboration into a band that could bring those songs out of the writing room and onto the stage.
The project also draws on songs written by Larry Davis of the Bay Area funk band McNasty, further adding to the funk and soul foundation behind the group. Rather than trying to recreate the sound of one particular period, Zenn Vudu uses those influences as the building blocks for its own material.
The band points to an eclectic collection of artists among its musical touchstones, including Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and Sly Stone. That combination helps explain a Zenn Vudu performance, where soulful vocals and blues roots can share space with funk rhythms, rock and more contemporary elements.
Moret brings a substantial résumé of her own to Sunday’s performance. In addition to her work with Zenn Vudu, she has performed as a supporting vocalist with Lydia Pense and Cold Blood and has long been part of the Sacramento-area music community.
Her contributions to the regional blues scene have also earned recognition from her peers. Moret is a member of the Sacramento Blues Society Hall of Fame, placing her among the musicians and contributors recognized for their impact on the area’s long-running blues community.
Dunne brings another direct connection to Cold Blood, the Bay Area group whose horn-driven combination of soul, funk, rock and R&B dates to the late 1960s. His background as a musician, songwriter and producer gives Zenn Vudu another link to the Northern California sound that helped shape the project.
But Sunday’s show isn’t intended as a look backward. While Zenn Vudu’s members bring plenty of musical history to the stage, the band puts original songwriting at the center of what it does, drawing from those earlier influences without functioning as a tribute act.
That makes the group a natural fit for Powerhouse of Blues, where Sunday performances regularly stretch the boundaries of traditional blues. Over the years, the series has brought touring veterans, regional performers and award-winning artists to the Sutter Street stage, often showcasing the many directions the blues has traveled through soul, rock, R&B and other genres.
For Zenn Vudu, those musical intersections are already part of the band’s identity. Its “Stonegroove Soul” description captures a show that can move from a soulful vocal passage into a blues groove or funk-driven arrangement without abandoning the songwriting underneath it.
Zenn Vudu performs Sunday, Sept. 20, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Powerhouse Pub, 614 Sutter St. in Historic Folsom. The Powerhouse of Blues show is for ages 21 and over, with tickets, VIP reservations and additional information available at PowerhousePub.com.
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