Editing Bakersfield, California (section)

== Arts and culture ==
{{Main|Arts and culture of Bakersfield, California}}
Many of Bakersfield's oldest and most historic restaurants are [[Basque cuisine|Basque]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nabasque.org/Astero/A1-13-bakerfield-symposium.htm |title=Bakersfield Basque Symposium |access-date=November 18, 2006 |date=May 31, 2006 |publisher=John M. Ysursa |archive-date=May 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070519104443/http://www.nabasque.org/Astero/A1-13-bakerfield-symposium.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> including Wool Growers, [[Noriega Hotel|Noriega's]], Pyrenees, Benji's, and Narducci's.

The [[Kern County Museum]] on Chester Avenue just north of downtown Bakersfield holds a collection of regional artifacts. Permanent exhibits include {{citation needed|date=January 2013}} "Black Gold: The Oil Experience", a hands-on modern approach to showing how oil is extracted; and "The Lori Brock Children's Discovery Museum", a hands-on children's museum and a display on the influential "[[Bakersfield Sound]]" style of country music. Bakersfield is also home to the [[Buena Vista Museum of Natural History]], which has a collection of [[Miocene]] era marine fossils collected from the region as well as other displays.

The city gained fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Bakersfield Sound, an electric guitar-driven subgenre of country music that commercially dominated the industry for over a decade. [[Buck Owens]], [[Dwight Yoakam]], and [[Merle Haggard]] were its best-known stars.

=== Events ===
Bakersfield hosts year-round horse shows, including local, [[4-H]] and breed shows.

Every spring, Bakersfield hosts one of California's [[Highland games|Scottish Games]] and [[Scottish clan|Clan Gatherings]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kernscot.com |title=Kern County Scottish Society |publisher=Kernscot.com |access-date=November 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019192506/http://www.kernscot.com/ |archive-date=October 19, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the late summer, St. George's Greek Orthodox Church hosts an annual [[Greek festival|Greek Festival]].

Every year during the summer, Bakersfield hosts the Lowrider National at the [[Kern County Fairgrounds]].

Memorial Day weekend features the Kern County [[Basque festival|Basque Festival]], sponsored by the Kern County Basque Club.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kcbasqueclub.com |title=Kern County Basque Club |publisher=KCBasqueClub.com |date=March 20, 1944 |access-date=March 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228095155/http://www.kcbasqueclub.com/ |archive-date=February 28, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> This three-day festival features food, music, dance, and handball games.

In March, [[Famoso Raceway]] holds the annual [[March Meet]] nostalgia drag racing event. The event dates back to the U.S. Fuel and Gas Finals, held in March 1959.

Twice a year, the CSUB Indigenous Native American Club hosts a Native Gathering on the California State University Bakersfield campus at Runner Park.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://horse.robinson.googlepages.com/home |title=horse.robinson&nbsp;— Red Bear Circle Native Gathering |publisher=Horse.robinson.googlepages.com |date=April 28, 2007 |access-date=March 3, 2009 |archive-date=July 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725082048/http://horse.robinson.googlepages.com/home |url-status=live }}</ref>

In mid-to late September, Bakersfield holds the annual Kern [[county fair|County Fair]], which showcases the area's agricultural produce and animal husbandry. The fair also includes a rodeo, concerts, and a traditional carnival.

Previously every year and now every five years,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bakersfield.com/news/business/economy/x746310032/Bakersfield-Business-Conference-to-return-in-2010 |title=Bakersfield Business Conference to Return in 2010 |access-date=September 18, 2009 |archive-date=September 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923103514/http://www.bakersfield.com/news/business/economy/x746310032/Bakersfield-Business-Conference-to-return-in-2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bakersfield hosts a political conference known as the [[Bakersfield Business Conference]]. Since 1985, this conference has grown in attendance; as of 2007, the attendance numbered over 9,000. The Conference has had several notable political speakers to include [[Ronald Reagan]], [[Jimmy Carter]], [[Gerald Ford]], [[George H. W. Bush]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[Neil Armstrong]], [[Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.|Norman Schwarzkopf]], [[Colin Powell]], [[Mike Wallace]], [[Dan Rather]], [[Tom Brokaw]], [[Rush Limbaugh]], [[Sarah Palin]] and [[Paul Harvey]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bpcbakbusconf.com/new/index.php?Page=Conference |title=Bakersfield Business Conference 2008 |publisher=Borton Petrini Conron |access-date=November 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629074813/http://www.bpcbakbusconf.com/new/index.php?Page=Conference |archive-date=June 29, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Writers of Kern hosts their Spring Writers Conference<ref>{{cite web |url=https://writersofkern.com/writers-conference/ |title=Spring Writers Conference |publisher=Writers of Kern |access-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721014343/https://writersofkern.com/writers-conference/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in March or April each year. Edgar Award winner and internationally bestselling author [[Anne Perry]] was a notable speaker at one of these writer's conferences.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/writers-of-kern-create-ideas/article_2f32b9a4-1367-56b7-ac5a-307dd5ae19b8.html |title=Writers of Kern Create Ideas |date=March 30, 2016 |publisher=Bakersfield Californian |access-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-date=July 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722041410/http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/writers-of-kern-create-ideas/article_2f32b9a4-1367-56b7-ac5a-307dd5ae19b8.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Entertainment ===
[[File:2009-0726-CA-Bakersfield-FoxTheater.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Fox Theater (Bakersfield, California)|Fox Theater]]]]
Bakersfield has five movie multi-screen theaters: [[Regal Entertainment Group|Edwards Bakersfield Stadium 14]], [[Reading Cinemas]] Valley Plaza 16, Maya Cinemas Bakersfield 16, AMC Bakersfield 6, and a [[Studio Movie Grill]]. The historic downtown [[Fox Theater (Bakersfield, California)|Fox Theater]] has been renovated and is now a venue for concerts, musicians, comedians, and movies. The [[Bakersfield Community Theatre]] is the oldest "live" community theater in California. Others include "The Empty Space" (which offers some free performances).

=== Music ===
Due to the [[Dust Bowl]], Buck Owens and his family migrated west where they would travel from Phoenix to the San Joaquin Valley to pick crops, including cotton.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A95001712/OVIC?xid=6144bc2b |title=The Sound of Bakersfield: While picking carrots, peaches, potatoes, and cotton as a teenager, Buck Owens got the idea that picking a guitar might be more fun. |last=Will |first=George F. |date=December 9, 2002 |work=Newsweek |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-date=March 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330094216/https://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?userGroupName=&origURL=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.gale.com%2Fps%2Fi.do%3Fp%3DOVIC%26u%3D%26id%3DGALE%7CA95001712%26v%3D2.1%26it%3Dr%26asid%3D6144bc2b&prodId=OVIC |url-status=live }}</ref> At 16, Owens moved to Bakersfield in 1951, where he and other musicians began to create what is now known as the Bakersfield sound.<ref name=":0" /> In 1996, Buck Owens opened the [[Buck Owens Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]], a music hall, nightclub, bar, restaurant, and museum, in Bakersfield.

Musician Merle Haggard was born and raised in [[Oildale, California|Oildale]]. In 1962, Haggard completed his first single, "Skid Row," on Bakersfield's Tally label. In 1965, he went on to sign with [[Capitol Records]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite encyclopedia |chapter-url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002241384 |chapter=Haggard, Merle |last=LaChapelle |first=P. |title=Grove Music Online |date=July 25, 2013 |access-date=March 2, 2018 |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2241384 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |archive-date=March 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309120428/http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002241384 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of Haggard's early songs reflect his time spent in prison, farming, and working blue-collar jobs in Southern California, including Bakersfield.<ref name=":1" />

Bakersfield is often considered to be the birthplace of a unique strand of country music<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |url=https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A283293291/OVIC?xid=5f5654ea |title=Origin of country |last=Hauser |first=Ethan |date=March 18, 2012 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-date=March 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330094215/https://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?userGroupName=&origURL=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.gale.com%2Fps%2Fi.do%3Fp%3DOVIC%26u%3D%26id%3DGALE%7CA283293291%26v%3D2.1%26it%3Dr%26asid%3D5f5654ea&prodId=OVIC |url-status=live }}</ref> that has inspired many country artists, such as Dwight Yoakam<ref name=":2" /> and [[The Strangers (American band)|The Strangers]]. Yoakam, alongside Owens, paid tribute to Owens by covering his 1973 recording of "[[Streets of Bakersfield]]." The cover reached number one on the Billboard [[Hot Country Singles]] chart in 1988.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002263385 |title=Yoakam, Dwight |last=Stimeling |first=T. |date=July 1, 2014 |website=Grove Music Online |access-date=March 2, 2018 |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2263385 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |archive-date=March 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309182810/http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002263385 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sacred music composer, pianist and singer [[Gloria Roe]] was born in Bakersfield in 1935.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arkansas Democrat Gazette |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/obituaries/2017/jan/26/gloria-roe-2017-01-26/ |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=www.arkansasonline.com |language=en}}</ref>

==== Classical ====
The [[Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra]] has been performing since 1932.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.bsonow.org/about |access-date=July 10, 2022 |website=Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra |language=en-US |archive-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213104751/https://www.bsonow.org/about |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Country ====
Bakersfield is known for the [[Bakersfield sound]], "a twangy style of [[Fender Telecaster]] and [[pedal steel guitar]] music made popular by hometown [[country music|country]] [[crooner]]s [[Buck Owens]] and [[Merle Haggard]]" as well as [[The Strangers (American band)|The Strangers]].<ref name= LocationAffordability>[http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/01/01/3119253/bakersfield-finds-itself-booming.html Tracie Cone," Associated Press, "Bakersfield Enjoys Economic Vitality," ''Fresno Bee,'' January 1, 2013]</ref>

==== Doo-wop ====
Bakersfield is also known for [[Doo-wop]] music dating back from the early-to-mid 1950s to the early-to-late 1960s, consisting of Doo-wop vocal groups such as [[The Paradons]], [[The Colts (Vocal Group)|The Colts]], The Rev-Lons, and more.<ref>[http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2010/05/the-rev-lonsboy-trouble.html "THE REV-LONS ¬- BOY TROUBLE" THE REV-LONS (2010). White Doowop Collectors p.1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007204338/http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2010/05/the-rev-lonsboy-trouble.html |date=October 7, 2015 }} http:// whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com Retrieved January 29, 2016</ref><ref>[http://www.discogs.com/artist/884102-Paradons-The "The Paradons" Discography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622065127/http://www.discogs.com/artist/884102-Paradons-The |date=June 22, 2015 }} discog.com May 26, 2015, May 25, 2015</ref><ref>[http://www.mtv.com/artists/the-colts-1/ The Colts, MTV Bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717134351/http://www.mtv.com/artists/the-colts-1/ |date=July 17, 2015 }} mtv.com May 16, 2015, Retrieved May 18, 2015</ref>

==== Rock ====
In 1972, [[Bob Weir]] released the song "[[Mexicali Blues (song)|Mexicali Blues]]" on his first solo album, ''[[Ace (Bob Weir album)|Ace]]''. Not only does the sound of the song pay tribute to the Bakersfield sound, but the name of the city is referenced in the lyrics.

==== Metal ====
In the early 1990s, a group of friends from the lower and middle-class parts of Northeast and East Bakersfield formed the [[nu metal]] band [[Korn]]. The members of the band attended [[Highland High School (Bakersfield, California)|Highland High School]] ([[Jonathan Davis]] and [[Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu]]), East High School ([[James "Munky" Shaffer]] and lead guitarist [[Brian "Head" Welch]]) and South High School ([[David Silveria]]). Korn has sold over 34 million albums worldwide and were given the keys to the city. Bakersfield is also the home of fellow metal groups [[Cradle of Thorns]] and [[Adema]] (The band formed in 2000 with members vocalist Mark Chavez (half brother to Korn frontman Davis), guitarist Tim Fluckey, guitarist Mike Ransom, bassist Dave DeRoo, and drummer Kris Kohls). On February 24, 2006, Bakersfield mayor [[Harvey Hall (politician)|Harvey Hall]] declared February 24 "Korn Day". On the same day, the back road to the [[Rabobank Arena]] was named Korn Row.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1524956/korn-rock-hometown-have-street-named-after-them-on-official-korn-day/ |title=Korn Rock Hometown, Have Street Named After Them on 'Official Korn Day.' |last=Moss |first=Corey |date=2006 |work=MTV News |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-date=July 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722095901/http://www.mtv.com/news/1524956/korn-rock-hometown-have-street-named-after-them-on-official-korn-day/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Bakersfield is also the home of [[Deathrock]] group [[Burning Image]], one of the original bands of the early '80s Californian Deathrock scene.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/the-la-deathrock-starter-guide-2406832 |title=The LA Deathrock Starter Guide |date=November 4, 2009 |access-date=July 3, 2018 |archive-date=July 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703051959/http://www.laweekly.com/music/the-la-deathrock-starter-guide-2406832 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Further|Bakersfield Rock & Country Music & Art Festival}}