Southington and Terryville are Connecticut’s Honkytonk Heaven

Howdy there sweetheart, you may be new to Connecticut, but don't worry, even in this land of Damn Yankees, you can find a good old fashioned honky-tonk bar playing your favorite country songs, and even a mechanical bull, but you have to travel to Southington, or Terryville, soon.

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If you want to experience a country bar in Connecticut, your choices have dwindled recently, but there's good news on the horizon. I just found out that Terryville's famous  Chute Gates Steakhouse has shut down as of February 18, 2024. That's not the good news though, the better news is that the new owner of the property is not going to mess around with the heritage concept. According to the Bristol Press, a new country and Western establishment, dubbed "Nash in the Ville' will rise out of the renovated remains of Chute Gates sometime in Fall 2024.

If you spin the radio dial anywhere in Connecticut, you might notice that there are only a couple of stations playing Country music. The all-powerful Country 92.5 has kept the Lady A blanketing the state forever, and we even play some on the Wolf 105.5 right here in Danbury.

As much as Connecticut residents identify with the New England lifestyle, there are millions of transplants that have just moved here. Good thing that Southington's Cadillac Ranch exists. You may be able to find a random group of people line dancing in a bar somewhere in Hartford, but Cadillac Ranch is packed every night. Most of my country music loving friends that work at nearby ESPN have ridden the mechanical bull, but I'm no Urban Cowboy.