Country fans aren’t left out on the Strip

If you prefer cowboy boots to stilettos, Jason Aldean to Justin Bieber and Pabst Blue Ribbon to Cosmopolitans, the Strip has got you covered.

Country-style bars are bringing the popular combination of line dancing, live music, cheap beer and a laidback atmosphere to Las Vegas Boulevard.

“We’re gonna have a good time tonight, that’s for sure,” Erin Evans, also known as “KJ Vegas Babe,” shouted to the crowd at Double Barrel from the DJ booth.

On Tuesday nights, Evans works with employees of radio station 102.7 the Coyote to corral diners and pedestrians on the Strip into the Monte Carlo restaurant for karaoke.

It worked in February, when about a hundred people filled the bar at 3770 Las Vegas Blvd. South to eat, drink and sing.

“This is ‘Liquid Courage Karaoke,’” Evans called out. “Drink more, sound better.”

On a scale of Celine Dion to Will Ferrell, most singers were somewhere in the middle.

That didn’t stop Evans from hailing signs that read “clap,” or “so hot” to get the audience cheering for whomever was performing alongside the cheesy, mullet-ridden music videos.

“If you suck, own the suck.” If it’s your first time singing in front of people, she’s the one you want to “pop your cherry-oke,” she said.

Singing Miranda Lambert for everyone on the Strip to hear isn’t for everyone.

For those that would rather steal the stage in a different way, there’s always bull-riding — “Bikini Bull Riding,” if that sounds like your cup of sweet tea.

At Gilley’s inside Treasure Island, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. South, locals and tourists come together under neon lights every Sunday for a the scantly-clad riding competition and on Fridays and Saturdays for live country music.

The bar is a hometown favorite for those in the “country” scene, two patrons agreed.

Follow the lead of well-versed two-steppers every weeknight, so you can learn the “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” properly before hitting the floor. Line dancing lessons are offered free at 7 p.m.

Another place to show off or learn those new moves is further south on Las Vegas Boulevard at Stoney’s Rockin Country bar.

Stoney’ is a “rowdy honky-tonk” located at Town Square, 6611 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

“You’ll see that the other places are nothing like Stoney’s,” spokeman Jeff Higginbotham said. “We are a country bar, year round, not food first, but country music first.”

The dance floor is larger than those at other country bars in town, and it’s not uncommon to see it packed with dancers wearing Wrangler’s, plaid shirts and Daisy Dukes.

Rounding out the list of Stoney’s offerings: Tuesdays are “The World Famous Ladies Night,” with drinks as cheap as $1; on Saturdays, there’s no cover for anyone with a military, police or fire department identification; and up-and-coming country musicians perform every Friday.

If you’re looking for a good place to kick back, relax and enjoy a game or a fight, PBR Rock Bar, inside the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, might be just the place.

The Professional Bull Riders-affiliated bar, at 3663 Las Vegas Blvd. South, says it “truly epitomizes the phrase ‘a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n roll.’”

Patrons can play beer pong, chess, checkers or flip-cup in an area just behind the restaurant while listening to live music or DJs.

“Country Night” takes over the bar on Mondays with go-go dancers in cowboy hats to help set the mood, and “Beer Pong Wars” takes over on Thursdays.

Beer pong? You’re not going to see that at a typical Las Vegas club.

Contact Kimberly De La Cruz at kdelacruz@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Find her on Twitter: @KimberlyinLV