Longtime customer Heath came in recently to buy the new Tool CD. So funny to see him staring at the Ace Frehley concert poster with a mixed-up look on his face. Finally he pointed and said, "You know. I must have it wrong. I thought F-R-E-H-L-E-Y is how Ace Frehley of KISS spells his name. W…

Southern California-based singer-songwriter Chelsea Williams is one heck of a talent. With an impossibly clear voice and lovely, poignant songs, she’s the archetype of the gifted artist hovering on the fringes of greater attention, perennially expressing herself while the world makes up its mind.

Doyle Dykes is a monument to the country guitar and fingerpicking, in the lineage of his mentor Chet Atkins. Known as the "white wolf" in Nashville, he has played with everyone, and his virtuosity is matched only by his sense of well-articulated melody and unstoppable chord voicing. You coul…

Ever wondered what it would be like to be in a band with your daughter (assuming she wasn’t in the raging teenage stage)? With your mother (assuming she was not in the corrective interview stage)? Suzzy Roche and her daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche have done more than wonder, they’ve played t…

Singer-songwriter Andres Aparicio returns with another bag of tricks and treats for his new album, “Once Upon a Time in Bakersfield,” dropping on Halloween.

It’s always a good sign of a community’s cultural health when there are multiple events occurring on the same night. Friday is a good night for music lovers.

Jazz innovator Ralph Alessi and his quintet, This Against That, will join Bakersfield College jazz students Wednesday evening in the Indoor Theater.

Bakersfield College singers will add their voices to the college’s monthlong recognition of one of the towering figures of the 20th century.

I can still recall the first time I caught Los Angeles blues-rock country storytelling misfit Paul Chesne live at Fishlips in downtown some years back.

No artist can promise fans they will see a perfect show when he or she steps on stage.

The Count Basie Orchestra, the very same one that once counted such jazz luminaries as Lester Young, Billie Holiday, “Papa” Jo Jones, Sonny Payne, Thad Jones and the illustrious Count Basie himself in its collective, will perform at the Fox Theater this Saturday. 

Some music just stays in the background. And some music is destined to accompany you through life and help explain life itself.

Lzzy Hale was wondering if she had lost the magic. She was several months into songwriting for what eventually became the album “Vicious” by her band Halestorm and a moment of truth had arrived.

Several things impress about Scott B. Bomar's exhaustive history in word and song of Bakersfield's (mostly) post-war music legacy, but two stand out.

Bakersfield country musicians and fans have enjoyed some much needed attention since the release of Ken Burns’ "Country Music" documentary last month.

It might be impossible, but try with all your might to imagine being 8 years old, living in tiny Byrdstown, Tenn. You've been in love with bluegrass and playing the mandolin since you were a toddler. Your absolute idol in the whole wide world is Alison Krauss — the famous, fabulous, graceful…

Newsboys keyboardist/bassist Jeff Frankenstein knew there were pitfalls to the idea of the group reuniting with its original singer, Peter Furler when the idea surfaced in 2017.

The Dukes Memorial Concert Series begins its 14th season with a lot of new faces and broad range of musical styles.

This year marks the end of the road for Creedence Clearwater Revisited, and, oh what a road it’s been. Starting off as a band with a five-year plan (basically hoping to make it to five years), the group has lasted a quarter of a century.

If Simon & Garfunkel ever had a child, either collectively, individually or with other people, it would be The Milk Carton Kids, scheduled to play at the Crystal Palace on Oct. 3. Just as country is king in some quarters, then harmony, melody and lyrical excellence sits on the throne for…

Metalheads from Bakersfield and beyond did not hold back in showing their devotion to the ghastly gods of rock when Swedish horror metal act Ghost took the stage at Rabobank (now Mechanics Bank Arena, Theater and Convention Center) on Sept. 13.

In the 1970s, one artist who surely seemed to have his finger on the pulse of what type of songs would be hits at top 40 radio was Harry Wayne Casey.

All shows are at 8 p.m. at the Budweiser Pavilion stage.

Eddie Money wasn't a Bakersfield guy — not officially. He earned the honorary title, however. Just ask the waitresses at Zingo's.

Kansas is celebrating the 40th anniversary of their landmark 1977 album “Point of Know Return" by playing the album in its entirety. They'll be at the Fox Theater on Tuesday.

Bakersfield College alumnus Omar Murillo is “very excited” to perform at his old campus at next week’s Panorama Creative Music Summit, because he has a message to deliver.

Swedish horror metal act Ghost shows are a twisted medley of everything I love about a rock show experience.

One of the first entrants into the 2019-20 classical music scene comes from what is often referred to as the “King of the Instruments”: the pipe organ.

The late summer heat may be beating down on Bakersfield, but thankfully there’s just enough new local music to keep tempers cooled and feet moving.

The ubiquity of tribute bands isn’t anything new and this weekend provides us with ample evidence that they’re not going away anytime soon. We have four different tribute events (!!) from a variety of different genres happening around town.

Garth Brooks will play at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace on the second stop of his upcoming Dive Bar Tour, the country singer announced Monday night on a streamed video on his Facebook page.

Congratulations are once again in order for Bakersfield actress, dancer, and rapper, Prymrr LoBasso, for winning big at the Young Artists Academy Awards ceremony on July 14 at the Avalon in Hollywood.

This summer, Lyle Lovett is once again doing an extensive tour of the United States. This means he gets to experience one of his favorite aspects of being a musician on a nightly basis.

Honolulu native Jake Shimabukuro has had a ukulele in his hands since he was 4 years old and capable of pressing all four strings down on his own. At the age of 30, his extraordinary instrumental performance of The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” took the YouTube world by storm.

Honolulu native Jake Shimabukuro has had a ukulele in his hands since he was 4 years old and capable of pressing all four strings down on his own. At the age of 30, his extraordinary instrumental performance of The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” took the YouTube world by storm.

Turn on Top 40 radio or MTV in the late ‘80s and the odds were about 100 percent, you’d hear songs and see videos from New Kids on the Block, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Naughty By Nature and Salt-N-Pepa.