Bakersfield Band

In late 2022 six seasoned Philadelphia area musicians with a deep love for rockabilly, honkytonk, and country rock music traditions joined together to form Bakersfield, a musical tribute to the country and country rock music coming out of California in the sixties and early seventies. The band takes its name from Bakersfield, California, the birthplace of much of this magical music with artists like Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Jean Shepherd, Bob Wills, Rose Maddox and many others mining their Texas and Oklahoma roots and coming up with a sound that was raw, sparsely produced, simple and pure, and above all danceable. This music has had a huge influence on decades of musicians all over the country from California to Texas to Nashville to Chicago to New York and in many of the rural communities and smaller cities in between. We love and celebrate all of it!

Featuring Deborah Massa on vocals, Bill Flemer on bass/vocals, Marc Morgandale on drums/vocals, Mike Clagett on keys/guitar/vocals, Rich Adler on lead guitar and Ted Russel on pedal steel, the band works hard to capture the authentic feel and sound of the material it covers and features strong lead and harmony vocals in everything that it does.  It revels in the musical melting pot that the Bakersfield scene helped usher in and intentionally blurs the lines it draws so that a rich and varied set of material from bands like the Byrds, Rick Nelson, Buffalo Springfield, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, Linda Ronstadt and a host of others can be brought into the mix.  Also fair game is music from the Austin, Texas scene with artists like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Rodney Crowell, Townes Van Zandt, and the Flatlanders.  And then Nashville itself came under the influence with many artists like Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Roseanne Cash, Kathy Mattea, and Patty Loveless helping blur even more the lines between country and rock, while still staying true to the simplicity and purity of their roots. 

Bakersfield treats its audiences to an evening of just great music, played with taste and ability.  Feel free to visit us at bakersfieldband.net/listen and have a listen for yourself.