Little Red Hen: A Country Bar With Few Peers

One Friday last summer, the Little Red Hen was nearly empty and the bartender was visibly grumpy. She wasn't upset because it was slow. She just wished she could be where her customers were that night: seeing country superstar Kenny Chesney entertain nearly 46,000 fans at Qwest Field. Yeah, 46,000! The Little Red Hen, you see, is one of Seattle's few bars for country music fans (and no, the Tractor does not count as a country music bar). I'm talking about that too-slick Nashvillian concern, popular country, the thorn in the side of "real" country musicians like Wayne Hancock and Dwight Yoakam. Six nights a week (Wednesday is karaoke night), some pretty good bands take the narrow stage at the Hen to dust off covers of Faron Young, Ray Price, and those present-day country stars. The crowd on the dance floor often consists of blue-collar types in work boots, college kids, slow-moving senior citizens, and poofy-haired women who just wanna dance all night. But the Hen is really a place for today's serious country music fans, and these people have some moves. In their tight-fitting denim, belt buckles, unironic snap-button shirts, and cowboy hats, they hit the dance floor and rarely stop for a moment's rest. Even if you're not a country music fan, the Hen is a must-visit-once kinda joint. Outside of a Kenny Chesney show, it's likely the only place you'll find so many country fans gathered under one roof in this city. After all, pretty much it's all they've got.