Bakersfield Sound

The Bakersfield Sound emerged in the 1960s in California when a bunch of country musicians decided twangy guitars and a touch of rock 'n' roll magic were far more exciting than the overly polished Nashville offerings of the time. With distinctive honky-tonk rhythms and a penchant for heartfelt lyrics, it sounds like what would happen if a bar-room brawl broke out during a country fair, leaving everyone just a tad more gritty. This genre gave birth to a wave of rebellious sounds, proving you could wear a cowboy hat and still have a cheeky rock spirit underneath.