Dwight Yoakam
Pacific Amphitheatre | Aug 13
OC Fair Summer Concert Series
Dwight Yoakam is a legendary artist whose influence has reshaped the landscape of country music and beyond. With over 25 million albums sold worldwide, he is a 21-time Grammy nominee and multiple award winner. His catalog includes 12 gold albums and nine platinum or multi-platinum releases, with five topping Billboard country albums chart and 14 landing in the top 10. Nearly 40 of his singles have charted on Billboard, including 14 top 10 hits.
A recipient of the Americana Music Association’s artist of the year award and BMI Country Music’s president’s award, the highest honors bestowed by each organization, Yoakam was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019. His latest release, “Brighter Days” (Via Records/Thirty Tigers), marks his first new album in nine years. Released in November 2024, the album was written and recorded over a three-year period and features twelve brand-new songs written or co-written by Yoakam. It also includes three seemingly disparate covers: “Keep On the Sunny Side” by the Carter Family, “Bound Away” by Cake and “Time Between” by Chris Hillman of The Byrds, artfully woven into the same body of work in the unmistakable style that could only be Dwight Yoakam.
A passionate curator of musical heritage, Yoakam launched his SiriusXM channel “Dwight Yoakam and The Bakersfield Beat: Where Country Went Mod” in 2018, spotlighting the Bakersfield sound and its far-reaching influence. The channel celebrates the Bakersfield sound and those whom it has inspired. Guests have included Post Malone, Lukas Nelson, Beck, Chris Hillman, Jakob Dylan and Jackie DeShannon.
In 2016, Yoakam released “Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars…,” on Sugar Hill Records. Featuring a band of bluegrass luminaries, this album boasts a collection of reinterpreted favorites from his catalog, as well as a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” Produced by nine-time Grammy-winner Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton), Jon Randall (songwriter of “Whiskey Lullaby”) and Yoakam himself, and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, this album reflects the love for bluegrass music that Yoakam developed at an early age in Kentucky and that has inspired him for many years thereafter.
In 2018, Yoakam released two songs, “Pretty Horses” and “Then Came Monday” (the latter written with Chris Stapleton). Yoakam is a multifaceted artist, seamlessly blending his musical talents with a robust acting career. He has appeared in over 40 feature films, including notable roles in “Sling Blade” (1996) and “Panic Room” (2002). He later reunited with Billy Bob Thornton for David E. Kelley’s Amazon series “Goliath.” Yoakam portrayed Warden Burns in Steven Soderbergh’s “Logan Lucky” (2017) alongside Channing Tatum and Daniel Craig and took on the role of Howard Polk in Clint Eastwood’s “Cry Macho” (2021). Throughout his career, he has demonstrated his acting range alongside acclaimed actors such as Jodie Foster, Tommy Lee Jones, Jared Leto, Forest Whitaker and Matthew McConaughey. Whether on stage, in the studio or on screen, Yoakam continues to evolve as one of the most compelling and culturally significant artists of our time.
