Founder Of The Byrds Roger McGuinn Performs At Pepperdine This Month

The indisputable music icon Roger McGuinn returns to Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre in Malibu on Monday, April 25, 2022 at 8 p.m.

Tickets, priced starting at $25 for adults and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522 or visiting the event page.

As a founding member of the Byrds, Roger McGuinn delivers a mesmerizing evening of story and song. From his signature 12-string Rickenbacker sound, to his instantly recognizable vocals on hits like "Turn, Turn, Turn", "Eight Miles High," and "Mr. Tambourine Man," McGuinn didn't just make music-he made history.

McGuinn was already a veteran of the New York and Los Angeles music scenes when he co-founded the group that would become the Byrds with Gene Clark and David Crosby in 1964. Prior to forming the Byrds, McGuinn toured and performed with the Limeliters, Chad Mitchell Trio, and Bobby Darin as a guitarist and banjo player. He was also the musical director on Judy Collins #3. McGuinn, a Chicago native, studied at the Old Town School of Folk Music and was active on Chicago's folk scene. Within a few weeks of finishing high school, he was in California with the Limeliters, playing guitar and banjo on their album Tonight: In Person. He then toured with the Chad Mitchell Trio and recorded on their albums Mighty Day on Campus and The Chad Mitchell Trio at the Bitter End.

He toured with singer Bobby Darin, and then moved to New York to work for Darin's publishing company in the fabled Brill Building as a songwriter. He and Frank Gari co-wrote the song "Beach Ball" and performed it with Darin as the City Surfers in July 1963.

After hearing the Beatles for the first time, McGuinn began playing folk songs to a rock beat in the coffee houses of Greenwich Village. His experiments in merging folk and rock didn't please the folk purists, so he moved to Los Angeles to work at the Troubadour. It was after an opening set for Hoyt Axton that Gene Clark approached him with appreciation for his new musical blend. They started writing songs together in the folk den of the Troubadour. It wasn't long before David Crosby joined them and added his unique concepts of harmony to the duo, thereby completing the underpinnings for one of the most influential bands of the '60s.

Columbia Records signed the Byrds in January 1965 and they recorded their first number one hit, "Mr. Tambourine Man." The band worked together until 1973, when McGuinn, inspired by folk singer Pete Seeger, disbanded the Byrds to pursue his dream of a solo career. He made five solo albums on Columbia Records.

Since 1981, McGuinn has regularly toured as a solo singer-guitarist. In 1991, Arista records released Back From Rio, a rock album that included his friends, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, Chris Hillman, David Crosby, Michael Penn, and John Jorgensen.

McGuinn's one-man show, Live from Mars, was released on Hollywood Records in November of 1996. The album includes two studio tracks, "May The Road Rise To Meet You," and "Fireworks," recorded in Minneapolis with members of the Jayhawks.

McGuinn's 2002 record Treasures From the Folk Den, featuring duets with Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Odetta, Jean Ritchie, Josh White Jr., and Frank and Mary Hamilton, was nominated for a GRAMMY in 2002 in the category of Best Traditional Folk Album.

This GRAMMY Award-winning artist tours the world delighting audiences with the songs and stories from his long and continually productive musical career.

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people from over 800 zip codes annually through performances, rehearsals, museum exhibitions, and master classes. Located on Pepperdine's breathtaking Malibu campus overlooking the Pacific, the center serves as a hub for the arts, uniquely linking professional guest artists with Pepperdine students as well as patrons from surrounding Southern California communities. Facilities include the 450-seat Smothers Theatre, the 118-seat Raitt Recital Hall, the "black box" Helen E. Lindhurst Theatre, and the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art.