Bakersfield

Twangy Telecaster guitars, rough-edged voices, and honky-tonk instead of Nashville gloss: the "Bakersfield Sound" of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard shaped country music in the 1960s. A trip to Bakersfield takes you to the heart of the southern Central Valley in California, where oil, agriculture, and music are closely intertwined.

Gold Rush, Oil, and Dust Bowl Heirs

The city grew up after the gold rush in the mountains along the Kern River and was named after Thomas Baker, whose field served travelers as a resting place. At the end of the 19th century, the oil boom began, which to this day makes Kern County one of the most important oil-producing regions in the U.S. In the 1930s, thousands of families from Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas arrived, fleeing the drought of the Dust Bowl – John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" tells their story. Their music later gave rise to the Bakersfield Sound.

Sights in Bakersfield

Buck Owens' Crystal Palace is a concert hall, restaurant, and museum all in one; costumes and guitars hang on the walls. Right next door, the old Bakersfield arch, which once stood over Union Avenue, spans the street. The Kern County Museum presents dozens of historic buildings and oil derricks on an open-air site. At the California Living Museum, a zoo with native animals, you can see condors, black bears, and desert foxes. The Kern River Parkway follows the river with bike paths through the city, and concerts are held at the Fox Theater, built in 1930.

Eating in Bakersfield: Basque Tradition

One specialty is Basque cuisine: sheepherders from the Basque Country settled in the valley in the 19th century, and their boardinghouses became restaurants where you sit at long communal tables. Meals are served family style, with soup, beans, tongue, lamb, or steak, along with the "Picon Punch," a cocktail made with bitter liqueur. Mexican taquerias and barbecue joints also shape the food scene. The surrounding farmland supplies almonds, pistachios, grapes, and citrus fruits, which you can buy at farm stands.

Music in Bakersfield Today

The Bakersfield Sound lives on: bands play at the Crystal Palace on many evenings, and musicians such as Dwight Yoakam explicitly cite the city's tradition. Mexican music such as banda and norteño is also everywhere. National acts perform at the Fox Theater and the Mechanics Bank Theater. If you're interested in the history of the Dust Bowl migrants, visit Weedpatch Camp near Arvin, south of the city, which served as the model for "The Grapes of Wrath" and now has a small museum. Murals downtown commemorate the country legends.

Getting Around Bakersfield and the Best Time to Visit

Little Meadows Field Airport has few connections; Los Angeles International Airport is about a two-hour drive to the south over the Tejon Pass. Amtrak San Joaquins trains run to Sacramento and the Bay Area. A rental car is practical, since the city is spread out. The best time to visit is spring, when wildflowers bloom in the hills, and fall; summers are very hot. Excursions lead to the Kern River Canyon for rafting, to Lake Isabella, and to Sequoia National Park with its giant sequoias.