Faces of Downtown: Monty Byrom

Some people are woven into the fabric of a place in a way that feels both grounding and alive.

Monty Byrom is one of those people. Downtown Bakersfield has known his voice, his guitar, and his presence for decades now. He is part of why certain rooms feel electric. You can catch him on stage at Woolworth’s on a Saturday night, then find him outside after the set talking with younger musicians, asking about their projects, offering encouragement, staying connected to the scene he helped shape.

What stands out most about Monty is not just the scope of his career, though that alone could fill pages. It is the way he continues to show up in downtown Bakersfield with genuine humility, curiosity, and care for the people around him. He views and treats music as something alive, something to be not only enjoyed, but shared. He uses music as a building block for connecting with those around him. . That presence is part of what makes him such a meaningful face of downtown right now. Not only because of what he has done, but because of how he continues to be here.

Where it all started

For Monty, music was never something he “picked up.” It was simply where he lived.

As a kid, while others were outside playing sports, he was in his room surrounded by instruments. Violin, guitar, drums, whatever he could get his hands on. His father was a singer, and those nights playing music together planted something early. Music was not about ambition yet. It was about connection. It was about being in the room with someone you love and letting sound be the language between you.

Then came the moment that shifted everything. Around 12 or 13, Monty discovered Jimi Hendrix, and it opened the world up in a new way. Growing up on country and classical gave him structure, but Hendrix cracked the door to something freer and more expressive. From there came Creedence, Janis Joplin, Deep Purple, the blues, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave. He never chose just one lane. All of those influences still live inside his sound today.

When the music comes back to you

There are moments in an artist’s life when the work suddenly reflects back at them in a way that feels unreal.

Monty tells the story of being on tour when one of his first music videos had just started airing. One night the crowd was small. The next night, after the video dropped, the band walked on stage and the entire front row was doing the choreography from the video back to them. Thousands of people mirroring something they created.

He talks about it with awe, not ego. Seeing your name on a chart is one thing. Hearing a room full of strangers sing your words back to you is something else entirely. That feeling stayed with him, and he experienced it again later in his career, stepping onto stages where crowds were already singing along. Those moments mark you. They remind you that music does not belong to you once it leaves you. It becomes part of other people’s lives.

Downtown, then and now

Monty’s relationship with downtown Bakersfield goes back to when he was 15 years old, playing his first club show in Wall Street Alley. He has watched downtown cycle through quiet stretches, growing pains, and periods of real momentum.

Right now, he feels hopeful.

He talks about eating lunch downtown and seeing people everywhere. Shops open. Streets active. Rooms full. He names Woolworth’s as a space that feels especially alive, a place where music, food, and community meet naturally. From The Hub’s perspective, that energy is exactly what downtown needs. Spaces where culture is not only consumed, but created. Rooms where different generations and scenes intersect. Nights where neighbors and artists share the same floor.

Monty feels connected to this moment not as a spectator, but as someone actively participating in it. He is not reminiscing about how things used to be. He is excited about what is happening now.

A scene that refuses to be one thing

When asked what defines downtown Bakersfield’s musical identity today, Monty does not try to narrow it down.

He speaks about diversity. About how Bakersfield has always been more than one sound. Country is part of the lineage, and the Bakersfield Sound still echoes through the city, but it does not exist alone. Rock, blues, soul, experimental sounds, and the rich influence of Latin music all shape the local scene. Monty is quick to give respect to the incredible level of musicianship in Bakersfield’s Mexican music community, praising the singers and instrumentalists who bring depth and range to the city’s cultural landscape.

Downtown is not one story. It is many overlapping ones. Monty embodies that openness. He honors the history without freezing it in time. He respects the past while making space for what is emerging.

Becoming the person others come to

In recent years, Monty has found himself in a new role.

He jokes that he feels like the godfather of the local music scene, the older guy people come to for advice. He takes that role seriously, in a grounded way. If he can help someone avoid a pitfall, make a process easier, or simply offer perspective without dimming their spark, that feels meaningful to him.

What stands out is how he speaks about other artists in Bakersfield. With respect. With admiration. With real belief in their talent. He collaborates. He shows up to shows. He stays in conversation with what is being built now. His legacy is not something he claims. It is something that lives in relationship with others.

Always adapting

Monty is currently working on a book, reflecting on a life spent moving through major shifts in the music industry. He has watched formats change, platforms rise and fall, and the entire structure of the business transform more than once. The world he started making music in no longer exists in the same way.

What he has learned is that if you want to keep making art, you have to adapt. You find new ways to share your work. You keep creating even when the systems around you change. That perspective feels especially relevant for artists in Bakersfield right now, navigating a fast shifting creative landscape. Monty’s career is a reminder that longevity is not about staying the same. It is about staying true while moving forward.

Still here, still playing, still building with family

One of the most beautiful parts of Monty’s presence in downtown Bakersfield is that his music life is not something he did. It is something he is still living.

Monty continues to play gigs around Bakersfield regularly, often downtown at spaces like Woolworth’s, helping keep live music rooted in the heart of the city. And sometimes those shows become something even more special. He shares the stage with his son, Jacob Byrom, and his wife, Ivy Byrom, along with their band Buddha’s Beef and other local collaborators. There is something powerful about watching multiple generations of the same family create together in real time. It feels less like a performance and more like being invited into a lineage.

Jacob, his son, in particular, has grown up surrounded by music, and you can feel it in the way he plays. He has developed his own voice and presence, shaped by growing up inside the process rather than just watching it from the outside. He is building his own path within Bakersfield’s music scene, and it is special to witness Monty standing beside him on stage, not as a shadow, but as a collaborator. Legacy here is not about being left behind. It is about being nurtured forward.

If you want a glimpse of where Bakersfield’s music culture is headed, keep an eye out for Jacob’s work. Follow along on his Instagram, and if you get lucky enough to hear him play live in a small room downtown, you will understand why people are paying attention.

A face of downtown, in the present tense

Monty Byrom is not a figure frozen in Bakersfield’s past. He is part of its present tense.

He is still playing. Still collaborating. Still showing up for the city that shaped him. Still investing in the rooms, the people, and the moments that make downtown feel alive.

That is what makes him such a powerful Face of Downtown. Not just the history, but the continued presence. The willingness to stay engaged. The generosity to keep making space for others. The way he treats Bakersfield not as a place he came from, but as a place he continues to belong to. Check out his music and stay tuned on whats to come.