BG Phillips Photography

07/14/2025

I just learned that local (Sacramento, CA) Blues legend Mick Martin (Mick Martin And The Blues Rockers) has passed away. Mick is well known in the Blues community here for being a performer for decades, as well as being a mentor to many young players in the area. He also hosted Mick Martin's Blues Party on the local NPR station every weekend (https://www.capradio.org/programs/mick-martins-blues-party/) for many years, in which his encyclopedic knowledge of Blues history became evident to anyone who listened to the show. Photos here are from various shows from 2015-2019.

07/06/2025

It's been a few years since I've seen and photographed Aki Kumar, but he played last night at the Wild Eye Pub in Grass Valley, not far from my home, so my wife Shelley and I headed up there for a little grub and live music. He's a fantastic vocalist and blues harp player and does a mix of covers and originals. Aki brought his usual band members with him, all of them well known Bay Area Musicians: Rome Yamilov on the Gibson Flying V, Randy Bermudes on bass, and June Core on drums. I've also photographed Randy when he's played in a couple of other bands: The FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS and Charlie Musselwhite. They'll be playing tonight in Mill Valley, July 13 at Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz, and July 18 at Biscuits & Blues in San Francisco.

06/09/2025

Photos of The Ryder Green Band rocking The Boardwalk yesterday, in Orangevale, CA. Despite living in the area for over 25 years now, I'd actually never set foot in the Boardwalk before. I was surprised to find it was a much nicer place than I assumed from the exterior. And the lighting was actually pretty good for a small club. Far better than our infamous Powerhouse! Ryder Green on lead guitar and vocals, Nathaniel Chung on bass, and Mike Barker on drums.

03/10/2025

When I heard that my friend Ed was going to a private little motocross track yesterday at an undisclosed location, I eagerly invited myself along. It's been nearly a year since I'd taken any motocross photos, so I was afraid I might be getting rusty. Ed also let me take a quick spin on his '74 Husqvarna Mag 250. That bike was right up my alley, as that's the period of time when I raced similar bikes. Thing is, it's been about 48 years since I've ridden a motocross bike on a track, so those skills were definitely rusty. And hiking boots didn't really cut it, so I kept the ride really short, but it was nice to rekindle an old flame. Although I've been riding sportbikes (street) for over 30 years now, the hit of acceleration from a 2-stroke race bike is more of an eye-opening experience. There were about 15 guys there, all of them on newer bikes except for Ed on his Husky. Also in attendance was former factory Yamaha pro rider Danny Turner ( #37 on the yellow Suzuki in these photos). I found some kindred spirits there, as a few of the guys were also avid bicyclists.

01/09/2025

Went to the Empress Marquee Club in Vallejo last night to catch a couple of guys I know who threw together a little jazz/soul group that they call the W.M.P.H. Band. What Makes People Happy. These guys all have other music gigs but when they aren't busy doing something else, they get together for this sort of thing. David K. Mathews (Santana, Etta James, Tower of Power) on keyboards, Dewayne Pate (Tower of Power, Robben Ford) on bass, Kevin Hayes (Robert Cray Band, etc.) on drums, and Glenn Walters (HooDoo Rhythm Devils, Zazu Pitts) on vocals. They also perform together as The Ray Charles Project when they have Chris Cain and Tony Lindsay with them. A nice little intimate jazz club venue with good vibes all around. Music every Wednesday night there.

11/14/2024

One of my favorite things about many European towns is the incredible markets they have. Most Europeans have small refrigerators, but they shop daily for fresh produce. These markets put our California farmers markets to shame! Such an abundance of incredible edibles! This is a sample of what we found in Beaune, France. If these photos don't get your mouth watering, I don't know what will!

10/23/2024

Just returned after nearly three weeks in France which started in Paris. Here are a few shots taken from and around the Eiffel Tower. The lines to go up into the tower were long and the first stop for the elevator was at the platform nearly halfway up. You're required to get out of the elevator at that point and if you want to go up to the very top, you need to wait in another long line for that. Satisfied with the view we had, my wife Shelley and I elected to skip the line for the ride to the very top.

09/18/2024

Women's Cyclocross from 2016. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1195039493873220&type=3

Shots of the women's race from yesterday's Donn F. Tuttle Memorial Cyclocross Grand Prix. It wasn't exactly 'cross weather, but hopefully we'll have some cool cloudy weather soon. Katernia Nash ran away with the victory, with 2nd going to Emily Kachorek and 3rd to Karen Brems. https://www.facebook.com/NORCALCYCLOCROSS/

08/05/2024

A few more pics as part of my photo dump from Thursday's track day at Laguna Seca with Turn 2 Drivers Club and Hooked on Driving. Mostly BMW's in this set.

08/05/2024

More from the track day on 8/1/24 at Laguna Seca with Turn 2 Drivers Club and Hooked on Driving. There were more Mazda Miatas there than any other car, so this set features some of those machines.

08/05/2024

More pics from the track day at Laguna Seca on August 1 with Turn 2 Drivers club and Hooked on Driving. American Muscle featured in this set. Although various makes and models ran together on the track at the same time, I'm categorizing the images in this way just to give them a theme.

08/05/2024

More photos from Thursday's track session at Laguna Seca with Turn 2 Drivers Club and Hooked on Driving. This set features mostly Porsches, with a few Ferraris, McLarens, a Lotus, etc. thrown in the mix.