bakersfield sound

On the next Valley Edition: In 2020, more patients died at a psychiatric hospital in Fresno County than at many prisons three times its size. An FM89…

In the 1950s, a new style of country music, influenced by rock-n-roll, emerged from Bakersfield’s honky-tonk bars. Pioneered by music legends like Buck…

Buck and Bonnie Owens, Merle Haggard, Bill Woods - their names are forever associated with the Bakersfield Sound. But what about the lesser known artists…

On this week’s Valley Edition: When it comes to California’s overhaul of groundwater management, many small farmers are wondering: When will they get a…

For decades Trout's Nightclub has been a fixture in the Oildale neighborhood of Bakersfield. It was the musical home of people like the late Red Simpson…

It might be the most famous boxcar in Kern County, if not the entire state of California. The childhood home of the late country music star Merle Haggard…

Can you imagine Southern California without Hollywood? Or the Bay Area without Silicon Valley?No? History suggests that the identities of cities and…

This week on Valley Edition, we look at the the future of California’s state parks system. After years of budget cuts and closures, how should this…

Detroit has Motown, Seattle has grunge, and San Francisco has psychedelic rock. Just three examples of American cities where unique musical styles…

A new documentary film seeks to tell the story of one of the most influential figures in the development the Bakersfield Sound. But when the film makes…