New York! Goodbye to Radio but Howdy to Honky Tonks
Inside Skinny Dennis, some walls are faded exposed brick and others are covered in wood panels. Not in the way every modern farmhouse in America has white shiplap in the first floor bathroom, but in a way that makes every worn piece of wood look like it has been there for decades. Plastered to the wood panels are a smattering of neon beer signs, framed sepia photos of old Texas school classes, and portraits of Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. And of course, in the corner a jukebox glows. A wooden beam rising from the center of the dance floor is covered with stickers left behind by customers and musicians. Fifteen feet away is the American flag, lit by faded yellow Christmas lights.
That night’s performer, Brit Taylor, wearing cowboy boots, stands in the corner floor level stage strumming her Gibson guitar and singing: “And as far as I can see, til you come back to me, I’ll be Kentucky Blue.”
A patron sits by himself at the bar. Wearing a cowboy hat, boots, jeans, and a black western button down shirt tucked into an abnormally large belt buckle, he nurses his whisky, his back facing the longhorn hanging from the ceiling. Through the dim light you might wonder to yourself, “Am I in Texas? Nashville? Kentucky, feeling blue?”
Surprisingly, you are in New York City. Skinny Dennis is a honky tonk bar in Williamsburg that boasts live country performers every night. Even one year after the last New York City FM country radio station left the grid, country music manages to stay alive in the city partially due to dive bar culture.
Historically, radio has been vital to the country music industry. FM and AM country stations created huge fan bases for the outlaws of the 70s to spread the style across the country. The closing of WNSH-FM 94.7 “New York’s Country” October of 2021 came as a shock to its one million listeners. Today, 94.7 is a hip-hop throwback station. Media companies don’t see New York as a viable moneymaker in the radio world. Other FM country stations in New York City have closed, and Joel Raab, a media consultant who specializes in country radio, has seen this firsthand. But last year’s closure left New York without any FM country stations for the first time.
“It does have an impact, because frankly, that’s almost a million less people are able to listen,” said Joel Raab. “I don’t think the impact is as great as say when, WYNY went away or even when WHN went away, because now there are other ways to listen to country music.”
94.7 “New York’s Country” currently exists on the Audacy app which anyone can listen to live, or with HD radio which is accessible if your car is equipped with a built in HD radio tuner. HD radio simulates an analog radio, but is not as easily accessible as radio or other music platforms. Streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, and iHeart Radio have had a profound effect on live radio including country music stations. Those services are often curated by algorithms and produced for multiple radio stations across the country. This has resulted in a loss of smaller local stations.
Local radio often features the artists touring around the area. While touring makes up a large part of the country industry, it exists in tandem with radio. According to Raab, most radio listeners won’t go see live music.
“20,000 People might go to a Kenny Chesney concert. Well that’s 20,000 out of a million,” said Raab. “Most people are just kind of living their lives and enjoy the music from time to time when they have a chance to listen to it. That’s why it’s called “broad casting”, you know, it’s a broad reach medium.”
Listening to live FM country radio during her childhood in Queens made current 94.7 DJ Sabrina Sergio, 26, fall in love with country music. The accessibility of the state entirely changed her perspective of the genre.
“And [the station] was kind of a gateway. And plus, with radio, you don’t just hear the new music, you don’t just hear the old music as well,” said Sergio.
While Sergio recognizes that the radio station leaving the main FM grid is unfortunate, she believes that if you are passionate about country music you will still listen. “I feel like, if, if you really want it, you will find it,” said Sergio. “We had and we still have so many passionate listeners here in the tri-state. If you go to a show, even on a Tuesday night at Gramercy Theater, the place is sold out.”
Although the closing of 94.7 erases the “broad casting” of a wide reaching station, communities of country fans continue to thrive in New York. While many popular country artists like Willie Nelson, Kacey Musgraves, and Reba McEntire still tour through New York City or the surrounding areas of New Jersey and Long Island, smaller artists are now able to find audiences in the city with the rise of honky tonks.
Over the past ten years, over a dozen honky tonks have opened across the city. The Waylon, Dolly’s Swing and Dive, and Skinny Dennis all promote live performances and the Southern culture of country music. But is this dive bar culture enough to keep the spirit of country music alive in the city?
Traditionally Honky tonks are places to see cheap entertainment, and emphasize country music and dancing. These establishments have existed as long as country music itself, often emphasizing the democratic nature of the genre. A place where all working class people can see live music and enjoy themselves.
New York City is often deemed the opposite of the South. Musician Brit Taylor had never been to New York before her tour stop at Skinny Dennis in early December. She spoke highly of audiences in the Northeast and credited their love of country music to the songwriting.
“Most of my songs are about my life. I love storytelling,” Taylor said. “I mean, I do exaggerate but it’s all about my life or telling a story.” Country music is known for its “three chords and the truth.” There is a universal relatability captured in the lyricism and storytelling that defies geographic borders.
Taylor emphasized how New York City ultimately didn’t feel any different to her than shows in Texas or Kentucky. “I immediately felt right at home,” said Taylor. “It was a honky tonk and just as honky tonk as any of the other ones.”
This idea of “being home” while listening to country music is a shared connection among fans. Stephanie Wagner, 32, founded Country Swag in 2015 as a way to create a space to share information about live music and create a home base for the country community within New York City. She used to partner with 94.7 to host tailgates and ticket giveaways.
While that collaboration still exists, much has changed for her company since the radio went online. “I pray it comes back,” said Wagner. “Just again, for the presence of it. And having again, that home base.”
For now, New York City has lost its easily accessible country radio, but fans of the genre can still immerse themselves in country culture. Skinny Dennis in Brooklyn has live country music every night with artists such as Brit Taylor, C.C. and The Boys, and Sterling Drake gracing their stage.
You don’t have to dress up in boots and a hat to embrace your inner cowboy. Get out there and line dance in honky tonks. And maybe someday, if enough of us hoot and holler, country radio will return to New York City.
