Country music in Nassau County this week

It has been a good last couple of years for LI country music fans. Since 2011, a number of taverns on the Island have added nights that feature live music, line-dancing and an opportunity to wear cowboy boots (and then scoot). The Nutty Irishman in Bay Shore (60 E. Main St., 631-969-9700), Middle Country Beer Garden (1702 Middle Country Rd., Centereach, 631-696-1111), The Emporium (9 Railroad Ave., Patchogue, 631-627-8787) and Dublin Deck (325 River Ave., Patchogue, 631-207-0370) – all these places have a night dedicated to the honky-tonk sound.

In fact, those spots have two things in common: all of them are located in Suffolk County.

Of course, there are plenty of Nassau County residents that listen to country music and enjoy its culture, but for reasons unknown most bars and clubs situated between Route 110 and the Cross Island Parkway pass on doing anything involving the Southern-styled musical genre; even Long Island’s sole country radio station (“My Country” 96.1 WJVC-FM) is located in Center Moriches, making signal reception in western LI difficult and unlikely.

However, this week Nassau’s dedicated fans can take heart, as there are two separate hoedowns happening that will put some country into their home county.

The first is actually a weekly affair, held at the Who-Ville Bar & Grill in Bethpage (339 Broadway, 516-931-9296). Called “Boot Scootin’ Wednesdays,” it starts at 7 p.m., and features line-dancing and live bands, with this week’s (April 24) performers being the Long Island-based act County Line (county-line-band.com). Then this weekend, the popular pub Faddy Malone’s in Levittown (3120 Hempstead Tpke., 516-470-1944) welcomes The Joe Bayer Band to its stage on April 27. The Bayer Band (joebayerbandmusic.com) is also from the Island, and should supply some serious energy with its signature vigor, starting at 9:30 p.m.

Then again, if either of these two events don’t mesh with your schedule, Tuesdays at the Nutty Irishman of Farmingdale (323 Main St., 516-293-9700) are also dedicated to country, with live music, line-dancing and a session from DJ Cowboy Ben-E kicking off at 7 p.m. – so while Nassau County might not exactly be at a Nashville-like level of recognition, those among us whose area code is 516 have a few upcoming ways to stay a bit closer to home for a country fix.