This weekend, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum hosted an interview with Chris Hillman and Bernie Leadon in support of the exhibition Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock, presented by City National Bank.
Hillman and Leadon discussed their time as bandmates in the influential country-rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers and their pivotal roles in the rise of Los Angeles country-rock. The two Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members spoke about their starts as teenage bluegrass musicians and the important bands in which they played. Hillman was a member of the Byrds, the Desert Rose Band, Golden State Boys, the Hillmen, Manassas, the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers and Souther-Hillman-Furay. Leadon was a member of Dillard & Clark, Eagles, Hearts & Flowers, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Run C&W, the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers and others. The program, which was hosted by the museum’s Senior Writer-Editor Michael McCall in the museum’s Ford Theater, was filmed and will premiere at a later date as part of the museum’s Live at the Hall digital programs series, available to stream on the museum’s website.
The Western Edge exhibit traces the Los Angeles-based communities of visionary singers, songwriters and musicians who, between the 1960s and 1980s, frequented local nightclubs, embraced country music, created and shaped the musical fusion “country-rock” and, ultimately, made a lasting impact on popular music. The exhibit, which runs through May 2025, surveys the rise of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Eagles, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and others who found commercial success with a hybrid of rock sensibilities and country instrumentation and harmonies. These trailblazers’ musical contributions were expanded upon by the next generation of Los Angeles roots music performers — the Blasters, Los Lobos, Lone Justice, Dwight Yoakam and others — who once again looked to traditional American music for inspiration. By blending hard-edged honky-tonk, Mexican folk music, rockabilly and punk rock, they provided inspiration to future generations of country and Americana artists.
The program was made possible in part by the Academy of Country Music.
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibitions, publications, digital media and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. The museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and is among the most-visited history museums in the U.S. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio B®, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive and CMF Press. Museum programs are supported in part by Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and Tennessee Arts Commission.
More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001.
