Sunday, August 2, 2026

Question: In the 1950s and ’60s, the dance halls of one California city gave rise to a rougher, electric-guitar-driven brand of country music, a gritty answer to the polished “Nashville sound.” What is that style called?

Answer: The Bakersfield sound. Led by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, it traded Nashville’s lush strings for electric Telecaster twang and a hard honky-tonk beat. The gritty style turned Bakersfield into a country music capital and later helped shape country rock and the outlaw movement.