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LabRats

LabRats is a dynamic quartet of multi-instrumentalists specializing in many forms of popular American music. A year after the band’s formation, the band has proven itself to be an integral part of their hometown music scene. LabRats, performing all over Sacramento and the Bay Area, has their growing fanbase clamoring for more of their smooth yet psychedelic sounds. In addition to their many gigs and recording sessions, you can find LabRats at the Torch Club every Sunday night where they curate the “Sunday Sessions,” a free, inclusive and safe environment for musicians and other creatives to meet and perform with one another fulfilling the trio’s personal mission of giving back to the community that has shaped them.

LabRats: Groove Experiments and the Mwandishi Connection

by Steven Roby
September 2, 2025

LabRats didn't aim to fit neatly on a shelf. The Sacramento-based collective, led by drummer and bandleader Jacob Swedlow, moves wherever the groove takes them--through jazz fusion, hip-hop, and live improvisation--while maintaining a tight, communal vibe both on stage and in the studio. “LabRats was an idea I had about two years before I found the right people to help me recreate the sound in my head," drummer and bandleader Jacob Swedlow says. “It was formed right in ...

"LabRats - an extremely versatile jazz/hip hop fusion band that is both a stand-alone act and a favored companion to vocalists and instrumentalists of all genres."

- Jennifer Reason, CapRadio, NPR