Ron’s Honky Tonk Is Building a Home for Grassroots Country in London

Country music has rarely been more visible in London. The biggest names in the genre can fill arenas and stadiums, while major festivals draw thousands of fans every summer. Yet between those headline moments, finding somewhere to simply spend a Friday night listening to live country music can still be surprisingly difficult.

It is precisely that gap that Ron’s Honky Tonk founder Phil Hawkins is trying to fill.

After putting on shows at venues including The Water Rats in King’s Cross and The Social in Fitzrovia, Ron’s has found a more permanent home at Fabal Beerhall near London Bridge, where a monthly residency is bringing grassroots country to the capital on the last Friday of each month.

For Hawkins, the concept is deliberately straightforward: good artists, an intimate room and affordable tickets.

“I’m a massive country fan myself and I felt there was room for something between going to see a major touring artist at an arena and waiting for the big festivals to come around.”

“Ron’s Honky Tonk is basically my attempt to bring a bit more live country music to London,” Hawkins tells CountryMusic.co.uk. “We have such a wealth of country music talent in the UK and very few dedicated venues to host them.

“The idea therefore has always been to put on really good artists in smaller, more intimate venues, keep tickets affordable and hopefully introduce people to artists they might not otherwise have come across.”

Somewhere to hear country on a Friday night

The inspiration inevitably owes something to Nashville, where live music can be part of an ordinary night out rather than an event planned months in advance. Hawkins, however, has little interest in creating a Nashville-themed experience for its own sake.

“The live music is definitely at the heart of it,” he says. “I don’t want to pretend we’re in a honky-tonk on Broadway, but I do want some of that spirit.

“It should be informal, fun and somewhere you can grab a beer, stand close to the stage and discover three or four great country artists in one night.”

What I’d love is for people to get to the point where they know the last Friday of the month means Ron’s is on, regardless of whether they already know every artist on the line-up.

And, just in case anyone was wondering how far the Nashville recreation might go: “You definitely won’t see a bucking bronco at one of our shows… we are all about the music.”

The name itself has a more personal origin. Ron is Hawkins’ son, while organising the nights is a passion project away from what he describes as a challenging day job.

Making the last Friday mean Ron’s

The move to Fabal Beerhall offers something previous standalone shows could not: consistency.

Situated in the railway arches close to London Bridge, the venue provides a bar, stage, intimate atmosphere and what Hawkins describes as “unreal acoustics”. Its central location also makes it readily accessible from across London.

“With standalone shows you are basically starting from scratch every time,” Hawkins explains. “What I’d love is for people to get to the point where they know the last Friday of the month means Ron’s is on, regardless of whether they already know every artist on the line-up.”

That discovery element is fundamental. Rather than expecting audiences to buy tickets because they already know a particular performer, Hawkins hopes people will eventually trust the night itself.

“You don’t need to know the line-up inside out,” he says. “You can just come along because you trust that the night will be good.”

Giving emerging artists a stage

There is no rigid formula for choosing the artists. Hawkins listens widely, receives approaches from performers and tries to give each evening some variety.

“Country is such a broad genre now, so you can have someone playing very traditional country alongside an artist with a much more modern sound, then someone who leans towards folk, Americana or bluegrass.”

Supporting UK talent remains central, particularly artists who may not yet be appearing at London’s larger country events, although Ron’s is also open to international performers passing through the capital.

“There’s so much talent in the UK country scene, but artists need stages,” Hawkins says. “You can release brilliant music online, but there’s no substitute for playing in front of an actual audience.”

From the Ron’s Honky Tonk stage

Previous Ron’s shows have featured artists including Outpost Drive, Hannah Anders, Jonny Morgan, Rhiannon Paige and Savannah Gardner, all highlighted by Hawkins as performers who have made a particularly strong impression.

“For me, one of the best things about Ron’s is being able to put someone on who people in the room perhaps haven’t heard before and watching them win the crowd over.”

From stadiums to grassroots

There is an interesting contradiction at the heart of British country music’s recent growth. The audience is demonstrably here, but that does not automatically mean those fans are finding their way into smaller venues.

Hawkins is candid about the challenge.

“Well… we are still trying,” he says. “Attendances are up and down and we carry on trying our best to get people through the door.”

For Hawkins, the huge audiences now attracted by country’s biggest names demonstrate the potential. The challenge is persuading even a small proportion of those fans to explore what is happening further down the ladder.

“The growth at the top end has been crazy, with the likes of Luke Combs or Zach Bryan selling out huge arenas, but there still aren’t that many places where you can just decide you fancy going out to hear live country music on a Friday night.

“That’s the gap I’d like Ron’s to help fill.”

“You shouldn’t necessarily need to know who is touring six months in advance or spend £80 on a ticket.”

Regular grassroots nights can also offer something fundamentally different from festivals and major concerts.

“Regularity gives you the opportunity to build a community around it,” Hawkins says. “Festivals are brilliant and the bigger concerts have obviously played a huge part in growing country music here, but grassroots nights give artists somewhere to actually develop.”

Looking towards 2027

Hawkins hopes the residency will continue into 2027, although he is deliberately cautious about expanding too quickly. Special shows at other London venues remain a possibility, as does eventually taking Ron’s elsewhere in the UK — and perhaps, one day, establishing a permanent venue.

For now, the ambition is simpler.

“A busy room every month. That’s the ultimate goal,” he says. “I’d love to have a packed venue with a brilliant atmosphere every month and for it to become a place country music fans talk about and get excited about each month.”

His pitch to anyone contemplating their first visit is equally uncomplicated.

“It’s £7, you get three live country artists in central London and we’ll even give you a free pint if you get there before 7.30pm. I’m not sure I can make a much better case than that!”

At a time when country music’s biggest stars are playing some of Britain’s biggest stages, its continued growth also depends on what happens at the other end of the scale: small stages, emerging artists and audiences prepared to discover somebody new.

Ron’s Honky Tonk is trying to make sure London has somewhere for exactly that to happen — on the last Friday of every month. Advance Tickets Here.