A longtime figure in the Sacramento arts scene has died.
Charles Thomas, better known as Ground Chuck, passed away Sunday at the age of 56, after months of hospice care.
Thomas was known as a highlight of Sacramento's annual Chalk It Up festival, having created chalk art on the city’s sidewalks for years. He was also a musician and comedian, and recognized as an all-around “man about town.”
Word of his death drew widespread condolences and remembrances.
Punk musician and photographer Matthew Kadi told CapRadio Thomas’s death was a big loss for the local punk community. “I knew of Chuck before I moved to Sacramento and immediately felt comfortable when we first met in-person at a Cafe Colonial show,” Kadi wrote.
“He gave me that feeling, [this] ‘we’re all in this together’ vibe… and right away wanted to talk about music.”
Sacramento City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum adjourned the council’s Sept. 16 meeting in memory of Thomas, calling him “a key part of Midtown’s cultural heartbeat, spiked-up leather jacket and all.”
“To know him was to know his kindness, his warmth and inclusivity,” Pluckebaum said. “His impact wasn’t just in our music scene, but in all he encountered… He was universally loved by Midtowners young and old, janky or not, alike.”
Sacramento comedian Keith Lowell Jensen, a longtime friend of Thomas, spoke briefly with Insight host Vicki Gonzalez about his spirit and influence. He called Thomas “the heart of Midtown” and recalled his affinity for chalk, music, and more.
“Anytime he saw me, he would cross the street to come tell me a joke that he had made up,” Lowell Jensen said. “He was proud of himself. He did well… just a force of artistic integrity.”
Lowell Jensen acknowledged Thomas’s health concerns, but added, “everyday [he] was doing art and being creative… always quick with an ‘I love you’ and just encouraging the rest of us to be artistic, and to be hardcore.”
Lowell Jensen also remembered booking Thomas for the first night of his “Comedy Night” showcase at the former Luna’s Cafe in Sacramento.
Thomas was interviewed by then-Insight host Jeffrey Callison about that performance in June 2009, a year before being named as one of Sacramento’s 100 most interesting people by Sacramento News & Review.
Callison’s conversation also touched on Thomas’s music, as well as his connection to Sacramento’s creative scene and its artists.
Thomas’s death also drew hundreds of remembrances on social media from residents, artists and businesses.
The Chalk It Up festival wrote on Facebook Thomas had been a staple for 35 years. This year’s celebration paid tribute to the Midtown icon with a portrait from artist Tosh Poole, drawn in his trademark sidewalk chalk.
“Rumor has it that he was surprised to see his portrait and that he loved it!” the festival wrote. “Safe home Ground Chuck. Thank you for sharing your gifts with all of us for so many years.”
Charles "Ground Chuck" Thomas shows off one of his tattoos. The Sacramento arts community remembered Thomas for his spirit, creativity and warmth in messages following the news of his passing.Courtesy of Matthew Kadi
Thomas also performed at the 2025 Chalk It Up with the Sacto Storytellers music collective. The group said on Facebook, “he always reminded us to never forget our Sacto roots and always support the next generation of artists/musicians.“
“His spirit will always be a guiding light for us all in love, giving and UNITY. Let the Chuckster be the example,” they wrote.
Zelda’s Gourmet Pizza wrote “Rest in peace to a local legend, character extraordinaire, and all around great guy. Ground Chuck, see you on the sidewalks of the afterlife!”
Mattie Groves Brewery held a remembrance open mic Wednesday, noting Thomas had performed at a similar event there the week before, and Two Rivers Cider Company closed Monday to observe his passing. Two Rivers founder Vincent Sterne wrote he met Thomas bartending.
“Chuck would show up at the end of my shift always willing to help me clean and close the pub for a pint of beer or cider,” Sterne wrote. “I admired a t-shirt he was wearing one day and less than an hour [later] he returned and gifted me with the shirt right off his back!”
Even Sacramento rock and metal band Deftones weighed in, posting “RIP to a Sacramento legend. Rest easy Ground Chuck.”
A GoFundMe page was set up prior to Thomas’s death to raise money for his eventual cremation and returning the remains to his family. The fundraiser has collected over $6,000, more than four times its original goal.
Organizer Jamie Harrison Brown wrote that the excess funds would be used to sponsor Sacramento High School art students at the 2026 Chalk It Up festival, and potentially a permit for a celebration of life or a park bench.
“My wish is that we can raise enough money to also pay for a mural, wouldn’t that be great?” Brown wrote.
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