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The first town you come to across the rocky peaks north of Los Angeles, looming unappealingly out of a forest of oil derricks, is the flat and featureless BAKERSFIELD . This is the unlikely home of one of the liveliest country music scenes in the nation, stemming from the arrival during the Depression of Midwestern farmers, with their hillbilly instruments and campfire songs. In the mid-Sixties, the gutsy honky-tonk style of Bakersfield artists such as Merle Haggard and Buck Owens challenged the slick commercial output of Nashville, but hopes of luring the major country music record labels to "Nashville West" foundered with the emergence of rivals like Austin, Texas.
Nevertheless, the numerous honky-tonks of Bakersfield are still jumping every Friday and Saturday night. There's seldom a cover charge, and live sets usually entail one band playing for four or five hours from around 8pm, with a fifteen-minute break every hour. Stetson hats and Nudie shirts are the sartorial order of the day, and audiences span generations. Most venues are hotel lounges or restaurant backrooms; don't miss the country bar Trouts , 805 N Chester Ave (tel 661/399-6700). Closer to town, you might also try the Buck Owens Crystal Palace , 2800 Buck Owens (661/328-7560, ), where the $6 cover includes a show (Buck himself plays on Friday and Saturday nights), and a museum of Buck Owens memorabilia, or the clubbier Rockin' Rodeo , 3745 Rosedale Hwy (tel 661/323-6617), with a New Country or rock DJ every night.
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