Southern California Country
From Bakersfield to Hollywood, SoCal has always been a country hotspot.
While it is almost universally agreed upon that country music originated in the American south, after the Great Depression and with the advent of radio shows like the Grand Ole Opry, it took very little time for the genre to spread like wildfire. In Southern California in particular, the music’s rapid rise in popularity coincided with a boom of Western films coming out of Los Angeles and, shortly thereafter, a burgeoning Bakersfield sound. Thus began the ever-flowing pipeline of music creators directly from Nashville to Los Angeles and back again. Nearly a hundred years later, flights out of Burbank or LAX heading to Tennessee are often packed with guitars in the overhead bins.
LA’s relationship with country runs up and down her city streets. Yes, there were many essential country records cut in the city’s studios, but so much of the real history lies within the walls of its venues, the actual scene that has long-hosted the genre in SoCal. In Hollywood, The Valley, Santa Monica, you name it, there has always been – and continues to be – spaces hosting some sort of country music every night of the week. The rich history of these spaces in LA tells a story that leads us to the present, amidst a major resurgence of country & western in the City of Angels.
Let’s take a look at some of the venues of lore and yore that paved the way for this modern-day country renaissance.
Arguably, LA’s preeminent country nightclub of yesteryear, the Palomino is the stuff of folklore. It is impossible to converse with anyone who cared about country music in Los Angeles without mentioning this hallowed ground. Opened in 1949 and situated deep in North Hollywood; from Merle Haggard to Linda Ronstadt to Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, most of country’s biggest stars made their way across that stage.
Pianist and producer Mike Utley, who toured with artists like Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, recalls experiences at the venue in the 1970s, “Driving down Lankershim, you passed Donte’s (jazz club) and then Nudies and then you hit The Palomino. It was a watering hole for locals that opened at 6 am and they didn’t close down the room for soundcheck, you were just on stage right there with the locals. One night, we were there with Kris and Rita, seeing Waylon Jennings play, and we were seated next to Phil Spector. The rumor was that Waylon had been up for six days straight. The crowd was always happy, but it wasn’t a honky tonk like Gilley’s back then; it was a listening room.”
Over time, the venue became the hub for the cowpunk scene of the 1980s, before closing its doors in 1995 after the death of the original owners. Singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale told the Joshua Tree Voice about the impact of the closing on his life saying, “I went to Nashville more and more after The Palomino closed, a venue that was a home base for so many musicians.” He eventually made Nashville his home, leaving Los Angeles and proving how important a community is in the life of a creator.
While less focused on country as a primary genre than its neighbor to the north, The Palomino, the Troubadour's impact on the country community at large is indelible. From Eagles’ frontmen Don Henley and Glenn Frey meeting in the front bar to Kris Kristofferson making his Los Angeles debut opening for Linda Ronstadt, the venue has been the catalyst for countless classic songs and collaborations – too many to count.
The venue continues to be a beacon for Americana, folk, and country artists cutting their teeth or for the nostalgia of returning to one of the most important stages in the country. Indeed, bands still hang out in the front bar after gigs, building on the deep history held within the Troubadour's walls.
It’s no secret that instrument stores can build great communities. McCabe’s Guitar Shop is a perfect example. Opened in 1958 by Gerald L. McCabe, the shop sells guitars, sitars, ukuleles, and more. Not long after opening, the store began hosting regular concerts featuring some of folk and country’s biggest guitar pickers, from Chet Atkins to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to Chris Hillman to Vince Gill. Known for its incredibly intimate setting, it is frequently listed as one of LA’s best venues, a favorite of locals and tourists.
Studio City was, up until very recently, home to a country & western bar that was also one of longest-running LGBTQ+ venues in the U.S.
Opened in 1968 on Ventura Blvd, Oil Can Harry’s became a welcome oasis that hosted line dancing, dance lessons, and disco nights for over 52 years. The bar was host to early AIDS fundraisers, protected its patrons from police raids with a peephole in the door, and provided a safe and secure place for members of the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate country subculture. Sadly, the venue was shuttered in 2021 during the COVID pandemic.
Opened in 1958 by proprietor Ed Pearl, The Ash Grove hosted some of the 1960s’ most revolutionary artists in roots music like June Carter, Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, and Flatt & Scruggs.
A fire ended the club’s impactful 15-year run in 1973, but the legend lives on in the memories and stories of the performers who graced the stage along Melrose Avenue (the space is now the Hollywood Improv). There was a short-lived effort to revive the venue in the mid-‘90s at the Santa Monica Pier, but it lasted less than a year. Another effort was put forth in San Pedro also in the late-‘90s that ultimately ended in closure as well.
One can’t talk about country music and the West Coast without mentioning its biggest yearly venture, Stagecoach, held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, using the same footprint as its big sister festival, Coachella.
Since 2007 (with a couple years hiatus during the pandemic), country and Americana’s biggest acts have packed the bill. Just as its predecessor Coachella is a fashion haven for festival goers to display their most creative outfits, Stagecoach has become a center for western wear fashion mavens. Like the downtown streets of Nashville and Austin, there is an element of cowboy-core cosplay going on. Whether the influence of shows like Yellowstone or Nashville, or the explosion of pop- and rock-stars-gone-country, the tack towards western wear continues to spill out of the desert into the heart of Los Angeles.
Pappy & Harriet’s proximity to both Coachella/Stagecoach and the LA city limits makes it one of the most popular venues in southern California for all things western. Founded in 1982 and nestled on a desert highway near Joshua Tree in Pioneertown, California, the part honky-tonk, part barbecue joint gives the impression the ghost of Gram Parsons might walk in and pony up to the bar at any moment.
If it looks like a perfectly designed set for a cantina, that’s because it is. The town was a working film set in the 1950s and Pappy’s turned into a high desert biker bar and music venue in the early ‘70s. In its current iteration, the stage has hosted such music royalty as Paul McCartney, Lucinda Williams, and the queen of Rockabilly herself, Wanda Jackson. Jim Lauderdale is a frequent performer, regularly hosting Jim Fest, and the current bill reads like a who’s who of the Americana world, past and present.
Switching gears to our current era, no one has a better seat to this groundswell than Blackbird Record Label founders Manda Mosher and her husband Eric Craig. Founded in 2017, the independent label supports artists in the country, Americana, and folk realms. Mosher and Craig also produce the Americana West Music Festival. The festival, which highlights upcoming and established West Coast and California artists, came together after a call to bring their annual California Country Show in Nashville to the local LA community.
Mosher says, “The scene has never gone away, but it’s seeing a strong resurgence with an increase in the overall popularity of the country and Americana genres, especially with young people.”
“It's a genre that supports musicians who play real instruments,” he continues, “And more people are gravitating towards country as a community that lifts up musicianship and songwriting. Most every venue in town at least has a country night with some venues being more dedicated to the genre for their overall bookings.”
Let’s look at the current venues and events serving to continue building this community.
Presenting a cosmic desert vibe where East Nashville and/or Austin emerges in the heart of Hollywood, Desert 5 Spot hosts everything from line dancing and karaoke to songwriter nights to western-themed Taco Tuesdays.
Frequently listed as one of the best rooftop bars in LA (a much sought-after accolade - IYKYK) the publicly listed dress code is as follows: “We kindly ask y'all to abide by the cowboy dress code at Desert 5 Spot. Cowboys don't wear athletic shorts, athletic tops, sweatpants, or flip-flops. It's boot country around here, partner!”
But scrolling through the venue’s Instagram reads like a Western wear Vogue party post-mortem. The make-up, the sequins, the fringe, the vintage cowboy boots, oh my! While the venue is heavy on the vibe, the hyperbolic style gets a lot of people through the door and into the community, exposing them to a thoughtfully curated roster of up-and-coming and diverse voices doing the country thing.
In 2021, Grand Ole Echo curator Ben Redell told BGS, “If you’re new to Grand Ole Echo, it’s the swinging Los Angeles country and roots show here in beautiful Echo Park on Sunday afternoons.”
It is clear from talking to those interested in country music in the city of Los Angeles that Grand Ole Echo has played an enormous role in this resurgence. LA Country scene veteran and guitar player Zachary Ross (Rose’s Pawn Shop, Heather Anne Lomax) muses, “Grand Ole Echo is one of the best things to happen to Los Angeles country music. From about April to October, they turn a famous modern rock club into a full country venue. This event is part of what started this all because everyone started hanging out there. The friendships, co-writing, and community that has come out of it is so open.”
Ross thinks it helps that the star-maker machinery part of the industry hasn’t caught on yet: “The industry isn’t super looking at us, and many people are self-funding and just making music for themselves.”
In the heart of Hollywood, Sassafras Saloon is modeled after an authentic New Orleans bar as “a warm, welcoming little piece of the South highlighting deep-rooted southern history.”
While the bar is genre-fluid, country promoters Grand Ole Country Bunker dedicate theme nights called “Honky Tonk and Vine” to country music. Think an “Bakersfield Sound,” paying homage to artists like Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakum, as well as Gram Parsons tributes sprinkled in.
Since its inception, country music has been inextricably intertwined with comedy. From Minnie Pearl on the Grand Ole Opry, to Hee Haw to The Porter Wagoner Show to The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, the combination has long been a hit.
In a nod to the variety shows of yore, BGS and Good Country recently launched the Good Country Goodtime, a monthly reverent revelry of established and up-and-coming country and Americana artists sprinkled with stand-up and sketch comedy.
Mick Utley (and son of the previously mentioned Mike Utley), leader of the Goodtime House Band, shared how important the venue and the event producers are to building this event: “Good Country Goodtime couldn’t ask for a better home than Dynasty Typewriter. The theater has a rich history and is the perfect place to combine music with comedy. The owners and team behind the theater are incredibly generous and supportive. Amy, Greg, and all the folks at Good Country are doing a fantastic job of curating this uniquely West Coast variety show in the country tradition.”
“Country music is best written when life sucks. Therefore, it is not easy to write country music in California,” says Fritz, when quizzed over his opinion of the LA country scene. “One must be determined and work hard every day to find their inner most depressed self, cultivate it, and let it fester. We need to focus on the traffic and ignore the sunshine and smoothies if we are to be successful.”
Despite Fritz’s charming sarcasm, there’s no denying that the sweeping western sunsets here have inspired many a cowboy song for centuries. Yet, despite the sunshine-y stereotypes, Sunset Boulevard can evoke its own tales of heartbreak and melancholy – just ask Dwight or Merle.
Los Angeles and Southern California have been and always will be a legitimate and vital part of the country music landscape and a jewel in its crown. Existing beyond the confines of Music Row, this region has a wholly unique and valid scene, unto its own and as just one part of the greater country whole.
Lead Image: The Palomino courtesy of the Valley Relics Museum.
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