Musician Spotlight: Rodney Dillard

Musician, writer and actor Rodney Dillard is the founder and lead singer of the Dillards. The influential West Coast bluegrass group portrayed the fictional Darling family on “The Andy Griffith Show,” and their early 1960s performances and recordings were foundational influences in the Los Angeles country-rock scene. At the end of the 1960s, the Dillards brought style and innovation to that same scene with their acclaimed albums Wheatstraw Suite and Copperfields. Dillard, the band’s lone surviving member, carries the group forward with his wife, Beverly, on banjo and harmonies. The Dillards’ latest album, Old Road New Again, includes guest appearances from Sam Bush, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Herb Pedersen, Country Music Hall of Fame member Ricky Skaggs and Cheryl and Sharon White. Offered in support of the exhibition Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock, presented by City National Bank. Program made possible in part by the Academy of Country Music.