Former member of The Byrds to make stop in Vernon

Mar 6, 2024 | 6:30 AM

Folk-rock music pioneer John York, whose lengthy and impressive career included membership in The Byrds, is coming to Vernon’s Elks Hall on Sunday, April 7.

The Los Angeles resident will be in the midst of a solo B.C./Alberta tour that will find him presenting “An Evening of the Music of The Byrds & Bob Dylan.”

York, 77, joined The Byrds in the late sixties and he can be heard on some of the best Byrds studio recordings, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde and The Ballad of Easy Rider, as well as the great “in performance” album Live At The Fillmore. That edition of The Byrds was led by group founder Roger McGuinn and included the late, great Clarence White on guitar.

With the passing last year of another Byrds founding member, David Crosby, and with the Byrds original bass player and singer, Chris Hillman, retiring from touring recently, McGuinn and York are the only two members of The Byrds left from the group’s halcyon days still taking this timeless music to fans of all ages.

“When I was in The Byrds, we were playing lots of Dylan material. We cut Dylan’s This Wheels On Fire, It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, My Back Pages, and Lay Lady Lay in the studio and Mr. Tambourine Man and Chimes of Freedom ended up on live album,” says York, whose credits also included stints as a member of the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Mamas & Papas touring band.

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York was actually in another reconstituted edition of The Byrds over a decade later when two other founding members of the band, vocalist and songwriter Gene Clark and drummer Michael Clarke, brought him on board for two years of touring the classic Byrds hits.

“Gene was arguably the best songwriter of the original Byrds and I still include some of his material in my show, songs like Feel A Whole Lot Better and Have You Seen Her Face. Gene and I also used to perform around southern California as a duo. He was a force,” recalls York of his late musical pal.

York’s deep resume also includes a run in an all-star touring group with Rick Danko and Richard Manuel of The Band, and Rick Roberts of Firefall that, “had some great moments”. “But much of the last 15 years I spent working with my old friend Barry McGuire of Eve of Destruction and Green Green fame,” York said. “We took a show called Trippin’ The Sixties all over the world and you can guess what the song list was all about. It was all the music I just mentioned, and songs by the Mamas & Papas, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Tim Hardin, Crosby Stills and Nash, The Beatles and other great artists of that era. Folks love all those timeless songs, but after a great run, Barry decided to retire when the pandemic hit. You can still see us in performance on some of those PBS fundraisers,” says York with a grin.

Focusing on the music of The Byrds and Bob Dylan was a no-brainer for York as a solo performer, but he also tosses in a couple of new original tunes and trad folk songs for good measure at his shows.

Tickets for An Evening of The Music of The Byrds & Bob Dylan with John York cost $25 per person and are available at the Ticket Seller outlet or online at ticketseller.ca

The Elks Hall in Vernon is located at 3103-30 Street.

Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. and showtime is 7:30 p.m.

by Vernon Matters Staff

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