For Las Vegas Locals that love country music, we have a love-hate relationship with the city. On the one hand, we attract some of the top country music acts in the world, but if you’re looking for local country bands or a local country Honky Tonk bar, then that’s where the frustration comes in.
If you’re looking for a place where somebody might play Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard or Jerry Reed without immediately following it up with whatever pop song country radio decided to put a steel guitar on this week, your options narrow pretty damn fast.
Depending on the night it’s really hit and miss; there are a few good bands and a few good places to hit, but you’re going to have to put in some work to find the right spot. Or, you could just grab a bottle of Jack, throw on some David Allan Coe, head Downtown, and hope for the best.
Top Honky Tonks & Country Bars in Las Vegas
A warning before we get into the list: “country bar” can mean just about anything these days. I’ve walked into more than a few supposedly country bars, listened to whatever the hell was coming out of the speakers, finished half a drink and walked right back out.
That’s not entirely a Las Vegas problem. Country music has been having an identity crisis for decades.
Still, if you’re looking for boots, booze, live bands, line dancing or something reasonably close to an old-school honky tonk, these are the places worth knowing.
Ole Red
3663 S Las Vegas Blvd, Grand Bazaar Shops in front of Horseshoe
Blake Shelton’s Ole Red is probably the biggest full-time country operation on the Strip. It’s multiple levels, has a legitimate showroom stage, a rooftop overlooking Las Vegas Boulevard and live bands running through much of the day and night.
The music is also better than you might expect from a giant celebrity-branded Strip bar. They book working Nashville musicians and touring acts, so even when the place feels heavily engineered for tourists, the people onstage can usually play.
Is it a real honky tonk? Depends on how generous you’re feeling.
Calling Ole Red a divey honky tonk is sort of like calling the Hard Rock a neighborhood bar. It’s polished, expensive and very much designed for visitors. But the live music is good, there’s enough room to move around, and if you’re staying on the Strip and don’t feel like heading twenty minutes away from the tourist corridor, this is probably your safest bet.
Check their schedule before you go because the lineup and showroom schedule change constantly.
Losers at MGM
3799 S Las Vegas Blvd, inside The District at MGM Grand, 21+
The Vegas location is the local version of the Nashville bar and sits tucked inside MGM Grand near the Grand Tower elevators.
It’s not huge and it’s not pretending to be.
You’ve got a bar, a small stage and live country acts coming through every day. There isn’t a giant fake Western town built around it, nobody is trying to turn your whiskey into a $29 “craft experience,” and the room feels more like somewhere you would actually stumble into to hear a band.
They stay open late, particularly on weekends, and football Saturdays and Sundays can bring table minimums and a different crowd. But for somebody staying on the Strip who wants something smaller and less Disneyfied than some of the bigger country attractions, Losers is worth checking.M.
Gilley’s Saloon, Dance Hall & Bar-B-Que
3300 S Las Vegas Blvd, inside Treasure Island
Gilley’s has been doing the Vegas cowboy-bar thing forever, and unlike some guides that still describe it as basically a weekend operation, there is something going on here almost every night of the week.
They run live music daily, mechanical bull rides every afternoon, line dancing lessons Monday through Thursday, Tuesday karaoke and their Thursday night bull riding competition. The saloon opens at noon, with the later-night crowd building as the evening goes on.
Musically, you’re going to hear a little bit of everything. Depending on the band, that might mean Waylon, Willie and Merle one minute and the kind of pop country that makes me question most of my life choices the next.
If you can tolerate that part of it, Gilley’s is still one of the better all-around country nights on the Strip. There’s a real dance floor, plenty of two-stepping and line dancing, the mechanical bull, Gilley’s Girls, saddle seats along the bar and a patio overlooking Las Vegas Boulevard.
Stoney’s Rockin’ Country
6611 S Las Vegas Blvd, Suite 160, Town Square
Stoney’s is the big country club in Las Vegas. The place is around 20,000 square feet, with a 2,500-square-foot dance floor, mechanical bull, pool tables, beer pong and a giant American flag made out of more than 2,000 beer cans hanging behind the bull pen.
They’ve been doing this since 2007, which in Las Vegas nightlife years makes them practically ancient.
The schedule runs mainly Thursday through Sunday, with dance lessons Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, Ladies Night on Thursday and live country acts on Fridays. Friday is also 18+, which makes Stoney’s one of the few realistic options for younger country fans who can’t get into the 21-and-over rooms.
I’m not going to pretend Stoney’s is my favorite place musically. They lean pretty heavily into modern country, and if that’s your thing you’ll probably have a great time. If you’re looking for Billy Joe Shaver at midnight, this probably isn’t where I’d send you first.
That said, they do occasionally surprise you. We’ve caught Whitey Morgan there, the dance floor is easily one of the best in town, drinks are far more reasonable than they are on the Strip, and the crowd is generally friendly and there to have a good time rather than spend three hours taking pictures of themselves pretending to have one.
Stoney’s is also working on another location at Sunset Station in Henderson, so check their current information before heading out.
Stoney’s North Forty
4949 N Rancho Dr, inside Santa Fe Station, 21+
For anybody living in the northwest, North Forty saves you from having to deal with Town Square or Strip traffic just to get your country fix.
It’s a little smaller than the original Stoney’s but still a big room, with a dance floor, mechanical bull, pool tables, beer pong and a covered patio with a fireplace. Station Casinos even dragged out one of its mirrored armadillos to hang over the dance floor, because apparently every good country bar needs a giant reflective armadillo.
Doors open Tuesday through Saturday, and line dancing lessons run most nights. They also do happy hour early in the evening, Ladies Night on Wednesday and rotating live Nashville and regional acts.
The biggest advantage is that North Forty actually feels convenient for locals. You aren’t paying Strip parking prices, you aren’t walking half a mile through a casino to find the place, and on slower weeknights you can actually get on the dance floor without fighting through 200 people filming TikTok videos.
If you’re learning to line dance, this is one of the better choices in town.
Hogs and Heifers Saloon
1 S Main St, inside the Plaza, Downtown
This one needs some explaining because a lot of outdated Vegas guides still have the old information.
The original Hogs & Heifers on Third Street closed on July 5, 2025 after twenty years Downtown. It didn’t disappear for good. The bar came back in January 2026 as Hogs & Heifers Outpost, taking over the old Sand Dollar Lounge space inside the Plaza while owner Michelle Dell works on a permanent new location on South Main Street.
So what you’re drinking in right now is basically the temporary version.
Thankfully, they didn’t clean up the vibe to fit in.
Hogs is still part biker bar, part dive, part outlaw-country madhouse. Bartenders yell through megaphones, climb onto the bar, insult customers and generally do all the things that would send the average corporate casino HR department into cardiac arrest.
The soundtrack bounces through classic country, outlaw country, Southern rock and barroom music, and the crowd is usually far more interesting than what you’re going to find standing in line outside a Strip nightclub.
It’s cash only, stays open until 4 a.m., and if somebody asked me which place in Las Vegas currently comes closest to the attitude of an actual honky tonk, this would probably be my answer.
Go while the Outpost still exists. Once the permanent location opens, this particular version of Hogs & Heifers becomes another weird little chapter of Vegas history.
The Hideaway Bar & Grill
3369 Thom Blvd, Northwest Las Vegas, open 24 hours
The Hideaway is one of those Vegas bars that people who have lived here forever know about and most tourists will never find.
That’s part of why I like it.
The place dates back to 1962 and has been remodeled over the years, but it still feels like an actual locals bar. There’s a full kitchen, a large stage, a proper dance floor, plenty of parking and enough space for live bands without feeling like somebody converted a casino conference room into a “country experience.”
The Hideaway is also one of the places where local Vegas country bands get a chance to play before anybody outside the scene knows who they are. You’ll find line dancing, karaoke, open jams and live music throughout the week, usually without the huge covers or ridiculous drink prices that have become normal elsewhere in town.
The burgers are good, the drinks are cheap by Vegas standards and they’re open around the clock.
When somebody asks me where the actual locals country bar is, this is usually the place I point them toward.
They Ain’t Country Bars, but sometimes they attract some Damn Good, REAL Country Acts!
Some of the best country shows I’ve seen in Las Vegas didn’t happen in “country bars”.
Over the years, Vegas dive bars and smaller music venues have brought in everyone from Hank III and David Allan Coe to Scott H. Biram, along with local bands like The Rhyolite Sound. These places might be hosting punk or metal the night before, but when they book a country act, it’s often the kind of country the bigger places won’t touch.
- The Dive Bar – 4110 S Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89119
- Backstage Bar & Billiards – 601 Fremont St, Las Vegas, NV 89101
- Soul Belly BBQ – 1327 S Main St. Las Vegas, NV 89104
- Dustland – 1433 S Commerce St, Las Vegas, NV 89102
- Sand Dollar Lounge – 3355 Spring Mountain Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89102
- Neighborhood Bar – 6138 W Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89107
Where to Learn Line Dancing in Las Vegas
If you’ve never line danced before, go during the week.
Seriously.
Trying to learn your first dance with a packed Saturday-night floor behind you is a good way to spend an hour apologizing to strangers while getting kicked in the ankle.
Gilley’s offers lessons Monday through Thursday around 7 p.m. Stoney’s North Forty runs lessons Tuesday through Saturday around 7:30, while Stoney’s at Town Square has lessons Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. The Town Square location also runs couples dance lessons on Sundays.
The Hideaway has lessons as well, although its schedule can change, so check ahead before driving over.
For complete beginners, I’d look at a Tuesday night at North Forty or a weeknight at Gilley’s. The floors aren’t nearly as packed and you’re far more likely to actually learn something before the weekend crowd shows up.
Local Las Vegas Country Bands
Las Vegas doesn’t have the country scene Nashville or Austin has, but there are some very good musicians here if you know where to look.
And no, I’m not talking about another cover band playing “Friends in Low Places” to a casino lounge full of conventioneers.
Paige and the Overtones
If you want honky tonk that actually came out of Las Vegas instead of being shipped in from Nashville, Paige and the Overtones should be on your list. Frontwoman Paige Overton is a Las Vegas native who spent 14 years leading local alt-country staple The Clydesdale, sharing stages with artists including Wanda Jackson, Junior Brown, Dick Dale and Link Wray before launching the Overtones with guitarist Jake Shepard. The newer band leans hard into classic country and honky tonk: twangy guitars, big vocals, songs about bad decisions and broken hearts, and enough energy to get people off the barstools.
They’ve become a familiar sight around the Vegas country scene, with appearances at Ole Red on the Strip, Circa’s Legacy Club, Ellis Island and downtown events, while also taking their honky-tonk sound on the road. Circa describes them as a band dedicated to keeping the classic country sound alive, which is probably the easiest way to sum them up. This isn’t polished pop-country with a cowboy hat thrown on top. Paige and the Overtones sound much closer to the smoky barroom side of country music, with a little Vegas attitude mixed in.
The Rhyolite Sound
Formed in Las Vegas, NV in 2013, The Rhyolite Sound is one of Las Vegas’ only true Honky Tonk Bands. They can usually be found at Dive Bars throughout Las Vegas playing the greats as well as their own unique desert style country.
Jake Shepard
If your idea of country music starts with Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Jerry Reed instead of whatever is getting pushed on country radio this week, Jake Shepard is one of the Vegas players worth looking for. His sets lean heavily into the classics, pulling from the outlaw country, Bakersfield and old-school honky tonk songbooks that built the genre long before country music started sounding like pop with a Southern accent.
He’s part of Paige and the Overtones but also plays around town in other configurations, so keep an eye on the local calendars.
The Tony Marques Band
I’m convinced Tony Marques plays more shows than just about anybody in Las Vegas.
You can catch the band playing Fremont Street, casino bars, country events and private gigs all over the valley, sometimes seemingly on the same day.
If you’re Downtown and hear live country coming from somewhere on Fremont, there’s a decent chance these guys are responsible.
The Best Time of the Year for Country Music in Vegas: NFR Week
If you’re coming to Las Vegas specifically for country music, December is when the city goes completely cowboy.
The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo brings ten days of cowboy hats, Wranglers, boots, belt buckles, rodeo watch parties and more country shows than you could realistically attend even if you gave up sleeping.
For years, one of my favorite parts of NFR week was watching the Mirage sportsbook basically turn into a temporary honky tonk. That disappeared when the Mirage closed in July 2024 to begin its transformation into Hard Rock Las Vegas.
Now the party is more spread out.
Gilley’s, Stoney’s, Ole Red, South Point and bars all over the Strip and Downtown load up their calendars during NFR. You’ll also find temporary stages, viewing parties and country shows inside casinos that don’t normally have much to do with country music the other fifty weeks of the year.
The downside is that everyone knows this now. Covers go up, hotel rooms get expensive and the good shows fill up.
If there’s somebody you actually want to see during NFR, don’t wait until you’re standing in a casino drinking a $17 beer to figure out where they’re playing.
As we get closer to December, check out our calendar for a full list of NFR events and Country Music Concerts.
