Music which originated in California between around 1964 and 1975, or music originating elsewhere or even at a later date with a similar style or emotion. Most closely associated with the 'hippie' era, music of this genre variously displays drug-related or other anti-establishment influences, but is best characterised by the amazing creativity and desire to experiment and stretch the boundaries of popular music which typified that period and culture. Inevitably this genre overlaps with a number of other rock subgenres, and indeed can be regarded as stimulating the emergence of many of those subgenres.

The West Coast music scene was primarily centred on 2 locations:

- the San Francisco Bay area - with bands such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother & the Holding Company

- the Los Angeles area of Southern California - with bands such as the Byrds, the Doors, Love and Buffalo Springfield

As the 'beat generation' (inspired by Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and others) began to die out in San Francisco, a new generation attracted by the bohemian culture began to gravitate to the Haight-Ashbury district, where the rents were cheap. So began the 'hippie' era, which brought with it acid, acid rock and psychedelic rock, as well as a dynamic artistic culture which spanned painting, poetry, performance art, comics, posters and literature of all kinds, including politicised 'underground' newspapers and magazines.

Early bands included the Beau Brummels, who were the first Top 40 pop group in San Francisco in the 1960s, with a Merseybeat-meets-folk style. Their record label, Autumn Records, was especially instrumental in promoting new psychedelic music. The We Five were a folk-oriented group which originated from the University of San Francisco. They disappeared after recording a Top 5 hit with You Were on My Mind/Make Someone Happy, but inspired Marty Balin to start the Jefferson Airplane with a similar musical and vocal style. The Mystery Trend were the first group to play the Matrix, San Francisco's first psychedelic music club, but never had a hit and soon disbanded.

The Haight-Ashbury music scene thrived with the music of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company (with Janis Joplin), Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Steve Miller Band and friends from Berkeley including Creedence Clearwater Revival and Country Joe and the Fish. And most owe their existence to the legendary, nearly-forgotten, first acid-rock-western band, the Charlatans, who were the first truly psychedelic band that actually played while on acid. The Charlatans started their career at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City near Reno in the high Sierras, drawing audiences from their friends in San Francisco (notably the original Family Dog commune and Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters). Later that summer they moved back to San Francisco and started playing at the Matrix and other newly opened venues, including the Fillmore. They were directly inspired by the Mystery Trend after seeing them at the Matrix's first show in 1965.

The first rock poster was drawn by George Hunter and Mike Ferguson of the Charlatans for their shows at the Red Dog Saloon. Wes Wilson, a printer and artist, developed many of the motifs of the early posters along with Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso and Rick Griffin. Many of the posters and handbills were produced quickly for hastily-scheduled concerts at the Fillmore and Avalon ballrooms. And yet, despite (or perhaps due to) the quick work and druggy atmosphere, the poster art of this period represented the pinnacle of 20th Century poster art, and the innovations inspired a cascade of rock posters and concert handbills produced all over the country by many brilliant artists.

The Grateful Dead (initially as the Warlocks) played up and down the Bay Area and became the main attraction in a series of Acid Tests put on by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters (including Neal Cassady), which evolved into the Trips Festival. While the Grateful Dead's music continued to evolve over the next 3 decades and absorbed many musical idioms, it always remained rooted in what was eventually called the 'San Francisco Sound'.

Jefferson Airplane were the most popular of the San Francisco Haight-Ashbury bands and the first to sign to a major label and have a hit record (White Rabbit - which, along with Somebody to Love, Grace Slick brought from her previous band, the Great Society, who were also regulars at the Matrix). They were followed soon after by Sopwith Camel.

Moby Grape were a group of SF and LA musicians. Less than 6 months after being discovered by Columbia Records' David Rubinson, the group released its first album, whereupon the label released 6 singles from the album at once and rented out the Avalon Ballroom for a huge party. All the music elite were there, including Janis Joplin who got up to sing with the band.

The various youth movements of the Bay Area came together in one particular event, the Human Be-In in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, in January 1967. Bands included Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and Quicksilver Messenger Service. Poets including Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure and Lawrence Ferlinghetti read, chanted and sang. Timothy Leary gave his most memorable speech, telling everyone to "turn on, tune in, and drop out". The hippie lifestyle came together with the radical left of Berkeley, represented by Jerry Rubin, and the Diggers, who were the social conscience and backbone of the Haight.

Meanwhile, Southern California had also experienced a musical awakening. Hollywood's Sunset Strip area produced bands like the Byrds, the Doors, Love and Buffalo Springfield. Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, both from Antelope Valley, started their more experimental music careers during the late 1960s.

McGuinn had moved to LA in late 1963 and begun gigging at clubs such as the Troubadour in Hollywood. He put together a band (initially called the Jet Set) after hearing the Beatles, seeing what he saw as a gap in the market for a mixture of the Britsh sound with American folk elements (notably Dylan). The band signed to Columbia Records in 1964 and renamed themselves as the Byrds. By the end of 1965, the band had exhausted the folk rock sound, and began to experiment. Eight Miles High is often considered the first psychedelic recording.

Arthur Lee formed a band initially called the Grass Roots and later Love after seeing the Byrds perform in 1964. Love started playing the LA clubs in April 1965 and after signing to Elektra achieved significant success before effectively falling apart after the release of Forever Changes in November 1967.

Buffalo Springfield was formed in early 1966 and also debuted at the Troubadour in April. A few days later, they began a short tour of California as the opening act on a bill featuring the Dillards and the Byrds. When the tour ended, Buffalo Springfield effectively became the house band at the Whisky a Go Go for a couple of months and started recording. However, personality issues and drug busts caused the band to fold in May 1968.

The Doors were formed in 1965 and also quickly graduated to the Whisky a Go Go and were signed by Elektra on the recommendation of Arthur Lee.

The Summer of Love in 1967 was the peak of the Haight-Ashbury experience, with an amazing outpouring of innovative music and other forms of artistic expression. This all came together in the Monterey Pop Festival, which featured many leading Bay Area and LA bands of the period including the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Moby Grape, Big Brother & the Holding Company (with Janis Joplin) and Country Joe & the Fish. But eventually overcrowding and the negative reaction of police and the San Francisco city government combined to make life in the Haight miserable for everyone.

West Coast music then transformed into a number of sub-genres including country rock (with the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo and bands such as the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Eagles) and folk rock (notably Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young). The early 1970s was also the period of the singer-songwriter, especially in the LA area, with artists such as Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell.