Dwight Yoakam To Explore California’s Country Music History in Vegas Residency

The country music legend will do a deep dive into our state’s rich country music legacy

By kncitom on August 21, 2019

This, I want to see.

Dwight Yoakam has announced a short residency in Las Vegas that will be part concert, part play, part country music history lesson. “An Evening With Dwight Yoakam And The Bakersfield Beat” runs several nights between December 4th-12th at the Wynn’s Encore Theater and then it’s back for 3 more dates in March. It’s described as a “musical excursion” exploring the history of country music in California and particularly Bakersfield, from the Dust Bowl through the present day. Even though he’s a Kentucky native, Yoakam made a name for himself in country music only after coming out to California in the early 1980s as a result of being told by music executives at the time that he was “too country”. Yoakam drew attention to himself opening for so-called “cowpunk” bands like Lone Justice, Los Lobos and The Blasters in Los Angeles, all the while steeping himself in the music of his idol, Bakersfield native Buck Owens. The rest, no pun intended, is history, and Yoakam is now one of our genre’s most respected elders, he’s  also set to become one of the newest members of the Country Music Songwriting Hall of Fame in October.

Tickets for the shows go on sale this Friday, 10am via The Wynn’s website.