Courtesy of EpixPart one of the new two-part Epix docuseries Laurel Canyon, which profiles the music scene that centered around the Los Angeles neighborhood of the same name during the late 1960s and early ’70s, premieres this Sunday, May 31, at 9 p.m. ET.

The program focuses on such legendary artists as The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, The Mamas & the Papas, The Monkees, The Doors, Love, The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles and Jackson Browne, and features new and archival interviews with many musicians who were part of the scene.

The series’ director, Alison Ellwood, tells ABC Audio that she’d wanted to do a Laurel Canyon documentary 20 years ago, but the complicated music rights made it “an impossible project to take on” at that time.

“I was always a big Doors fan, and realized that they had a story in the canyon and all these other artists that they interacted with,” Ellwood explains, adding, “[W]hen [the project] came back to me all these years later…it was a gift.”

Alison notes that among the interesting aspects about the scene she hoped to convey was “how these artists were able to share with one another and create with one another, and how one band would form and break up…but from those breakups, other bands would form.”

Two examples of this were CSNY, which included members of The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, and The Eagles, which was formed by members of Ronstadt’s backing band.

The documentary also shows the music artists in the Laurel Canyon were connected to and affected by some historic events of the time, including Woodstock, Altamont, the Manson murders, and the Kent State massacre.

Part two of Laurel Canyon premieres Sunday, June 7, at 9 p.m. ET on Epix.

By Matt Friedlander
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