Happy last two weeks of productivity of 2024. Here is some new music.

Recently I was asked if I believe that there could be a revival of the Bakersfield country music scene, revitalizing what we want to remember of the mid-century honky tonk scene in California’s Central Valley.

I don’t see it coming back. But it could evolve into something different.

During the heyday of the Bakersfield revolt, media was consumed locally. TV and radio stations featured local acts to fill the airwaves with live music and other low-cost entertainment. Today, these mirco-markets are completely unsustainable — with perhaps the notable exception of some Texas markets.

However, even during the height of Don Rich and Buck Owens, Los Angeles was a critical component of the music ecosystem in Bakersfield, hosting most of the best players for session work during the day and seeing the gents run back home for nighttime gigs at The Blackboard Cafe, Trout’s and other wonderful establishments known for drinking, fighting and dancing.

For much of this period, Sonny Anglin was at the center of the action. One of the last living legends of this era, Anglin wrote music, played as a side man and helped foster the famous Bakersfield Sound. Local artist Devyn Brinsfield and regional guitar god Kyle Appleton joined forces with Anglin to release a modernized version of one of his greatest tracks, “I’m a Truck Driving Pool Shooting Son-of-a-Gun.”

Released on Thanksgiving as a tribute to Anglin, Brinsfield and Appleton’s version of this banger represents the potential I believe may bring about the evolution of the Sound. While the traditional sounds of California’s most distinctive country music subgenre, Brinsfield brings a cosmic vibe mixed with a touch of modern Appalachian styles.

Anglin, supported by Brinsfield and Appleton, came down to LA for a night of classic honky tonking at the most recent Grand Ole Country Bunker’s Honky Tonk & Vine event. The Bakersfield-Los Angeles country music connection seems alive and well — if a bit different.

There is no way a small market like Bakersfield can support anything like what it did in the mid-1900s, but with folks making old music new, like this single, there is hope that the music coming from the area will be relevant within a modern musical marketplace. And even if it doesn’t, this song is wonderful and deserves a place on your playlist.

Earlier this year, I spoke with Benjamin Tod for a Saddle Mountain Post feature about his latest, honky tonk inspired album. This winding interview included discussion of some of the folks we both enjoy and that brought us to Jesse Daniel. Tod then told me about his upcoming collaboration with the Son of the San Lorenzo. I was excited to see how these two seminal voices of alternative country music would blend together, how it would be produced and who’s style would reign supreme.

The casual listener will only hear an expertly recorded, produced and played duet. Those of us who have actively followed both artists will hear the respect both have for each other and their respective approaches to music.

Balanced in lyrics, themes and song — this is a true collaboration, which is all the more impressive when considering how different these artist individual projects seem. However, their life experiences provide similar source material.

“To me, it’s cautionary advice from somebody who has seen it all,” said Daniel in promotional materials. “Ben and I have that in common, we’ve both been through hell and back. When we recorded it, I had the intro lick already in my mind, and that’s exactly how it came out. It sort of drones and adds to the melancholy of this tune.”

Their collective experience with hell is what comes through here.

Until next Tuesday, whenever that may be.