Three bars...

Carol's Pub
If the rebel flag on the bass drum belonging to house band Diamondback didn't clue you in, the sassy little singer Reba will remind you that she's being backed by a crew of good ol' boys. The band gets started around 9pm each weekend night, and within an hour the floor fills up with a mix of old and young folks tearing it up with some two-steppin' and the occasional line dance. Thursdays is your chance to live out your Loretta Lynn or Johnny Cash fantasies with country-western karaoke. 4659 N Clark St between Wilson and Leland Aves (773-334-2402).

Horseshoe
You may think you're in Austin, Texas, when you walk into this year-old honky-tonk decked out in rusty steel and chicken wire. Nightly specials are easy on the wallet and seem tailor-made for a tobacco-spittin' crowd ($2 PBR tall boys and $3 Jameson shots on Wednesdays, small drafts for a quarter on Tuesdays). The North Center locale and the well-behaved regulars might not be hard-core Hee Haw, but the Tuesday-night band Siderunners is about as moonshine-mountain folk as it gets. 4115 N Lincoln Ave between Belle Plaine and Warner Aves (773-549-9292).

Danny's Tavern
If you've been inside this bilevel Bucktown house-turned-tavern before, you're probably thinking the DJ-driven dusty-funk vibe is about as far from honky-tonk as it gets. But a couple of dudes calling themselves the "Beer-Lovin' Texans" aim to change that. On the third Tuesday of the month, they host a night called Tender Tuesdays, when the only vinyl that gets played is '40s to late-'70s country. The old-school twang lovers are pretty good about taking requests, but if you just shut up and sit a spell, you'll hear some of the best country this side of the Mason-Dixon Line. 1951 W Dickens Ave between Damen and Winchester Aves (773-489-6457).