Why Not Have Fun, Jake Owen Asks

I might not go down in history, but I’ll go down to the honky-tonk.

It’s such simple lyric, but sometimes, simple just works. And that’s exactly the case with Jake Owen’s new single “Down To The Honkytonk,” and the video he (and a few hundred fans) made to go with it.

“I love going down to the honky-tonks in Nashville and around the country. It’s all about a place to have beers with friends, a place to listen to good country music and catch up on great stories,” Owen said in a press release. He’s right about the country music part of it. This new tune sounds a lot like the country you might hear if you popped into any one of the bars up and down Nashville’s Lower Broadway.

“The video was so much fun to make,” he added, “and why not have fun, right?”

The video has walk Owen leading a group of lucky fans — or maybe they were paid extras, but either way, very cool — on a walk through Tootsies Orchid Lounge, the legendary back alley, with a little line dancing and a few bachelorette parties.

The song was written by Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird and Shane McAnally, and the video was directed by Justin Clough and Ben Skipworth.