I finally made it to the Dusty! My best friend came here quite a few times in college and we went here to drink to celebrate my birthday! I went to a college in a very small town much like Rootstown, so it brought back all the nostalgia for me from those days. I was so happy I could finally bust out my old boots! The exterior is nothing to look at from the road in the middle of nowhere. It seriously looks like your typical small dive bar. However, when you walk in, it's so much bigger than it looks from the outside! The bar has your typical selection of hard liquor that can be found in this type of bar, as well as a vast selection of bottled beer to choose from, which I was very impressed with. The bartender was very friendly and whipped up the drinks super quick, which was also a plus. We had already eaten a huge dinner before coming so we weren't hungry, but I took a look at the food menu and they had some tasty looking bar eats! The dance floor is also way bigger than you would think, complete with a stage, and concerts/events are often held here. It seriously looked a country nightclub! So cool! Unfortunately the evening we went was pretty slow, what with college kids not being back in school yet, so there wasn't many people dancing. That didn't bother me tho and I still had a great time dancing and drinking with my best friend! I would definitely like to come back if I'm down in that area cuz I like the relaxed, yet fun atmosphere! read more

I LOVE THE DUSTY! I have been coming here for years and it never disappoints! I have been able to see many great artists in concert and enjoy every event I have gone to!! Drinks are delicious and they used to have a great Long Island iced tea PITCHER for like $11! read more

The food, music, and fellowship of almost everyone talking to you is AWESOME. Hands on GREAT place to get out and dance, or have a few beverages of your choosing. I've been there sever times, and never seen any fights, or problems at all. Also they run several concerts at this venue ( Garth Brooks even played there on his small Dive Bar Tour a few years back ), and do an awesome job. Keep in mind, there is limited seating for the club and also on concert nights, so jf you want a seat, you need to get there early. Otherwise its standing room only. Congratulations to the owner Shawn, and his staff, for allways promising to keep it country, and they have done do and honored this for 20+ years. Truthfully Submitted " Hoss, from the old Boot Scoot'n Saloon ! " read more

A fun place for a night out or a great show! Friendly staff and great atmosphere. Highly recommend!!

The food, staff, and people are great. Everyone made me feel welcome from the first day I went there.

Dont trust this place with your credit card. They seem to be double charging and charging for days I wasn't there. Something weird is going on. Im going to call them, but my guess is they won't admit it. I go by myself and drink two drinks the first hour and don't drink anymore. Somehow they charged me around $100 for two drinks and two charges were on days I wasn't there and are close to the same amount they charged when I was. All Im saying is, be careful. Look closely. Never thought a country bar would have to be checked. This seems like some LA or NYC bullshit move, not Rootstown, OH. I will update once I talk to them read more

Kicked me out for drinking a Coca-Cola in a plastic cup because I wanted ice in it and didnt want to carry a can

Wednesday night college nights are absolutely awesome! i went for the first time this week and enjoyed hanging with friends. almost every song has a line dance to it and nobody judges you for trying to catch on!! as someone who is under 21 i promise you can still have fun! great time and wonderful hang out or date idea!! read more

It's a bit boring at first when you start coming but once you get to learn the dances, it truly does become something you can't live without each week. read more

Went with my friends last night to go to the line dancing lessons. Debbie was the instructor and she taught us an easy dance. It was easy to catch on and learn. There was a good amount of people learning the dance as well, so a great atmosphere of people. As the night went on more people showed up and it got busier. The service and kindness of the workers wasn't very good. Right when you walk in they say "can I see your ID?" not like hello and how are you and then ask for your ID. Not very kind on the service end. Also some of the bartenders aren't very helpful/kind either. Overall great time ! But the service and kindness of workers could be better. read more

Long story short- I was kicked out because a security guard lied to the manager. I am 20 years old. We drove an hour to get here with 10 people who were from out of the country, they're here for the summer and I wanted to show them the part of America they pictured. I walked in with my real ID, had a large X drawn in both my hands and went to the dance floor. One of the people I was hosting brought me a drink and told me to try it. I took one sip realized there was alcohol and put it down (In their country you have to be 18). Not only was I DD, but I don't drink. 5 minutes later security came and took our IDs and kicked us out. We asked many times to speak to the manager and after refusing and threatening us with the cops, we found the manager and explained. He was reasonable after I explained what happened and he went to discuss with the original security guy. He came out and explained that our stories didn't match and that the security guy said I had been "drinking for a while". I insisted it was one sip, and that he could breathalyze me. He explained that it wouldn't matter and he told me I had to leave. I wasted my night driving there, getting threatened by security, and driving back. Don't go here. Not even angry I was kicked out- just that a stupid security guard was on a power trip and decided to lie to his boss. read more

Been to this place a lot this summer while working out here, and have a couple of things that prompted me to write a review while sitting in the damn bar. First of all, I'm with a group of people who are all out of state, and none of us are even close to underage - the door monitors checking the IDs are legit the worst. In the past they had really questioned whether our IDs were real and pulled out the manual but tonight the gal at the front BENT my real ID IN HALF, enough that I'm going to have to pay to replace it. I'm out of state for work for a couple more months and I can't believe I have to deal with this now that they basically damaged my drivers license. Secondly, they charged $2 for water cups, when they haven't done that the whole summer, and didn't mention the surcharge until after we were served. Thirdly, when the bar allows underage kids, great but be consistent in making sure they're not drinking. There were some sketchy dudes going after some teenage girls, and passing them drinks. Not. Okay. All this being said, I usually enjoy the venue and the dancing, but stop damaging IDs. It's just not okay. read more

Went to the bathroom to take a big poop, found no cowboy boots too use! Outrageous. I cannot believe that my pardners At this establishment would neglect to give me a proper poop-boot. Please fix this issue immediately. read more

I have no idea whether this place is still in business. All I know is that it was the site of one of the most miserable nights of my life. All right, that's not technically true, as my former place of full-time employment was the site of at least the 50 most miserable nights of my life. But considering I came to the Dusty Armadillo voluntarily, didn't get paid to do so, and had to participate in country line dancing while I was here, it was pretty bad. Some background: When I lived in Cleveland, one of my roommates loved country line dancing. Since she had been nice enough to do whatever the rest of us wanted on our birthdays, we decided to go with her wherever she wanted for her birthday. Little did I know what a sacrifice I would be making by driving all the way out here just to feel humiliated. And it's really far away. Granted, none of us really knew our way around Cleveland at the time, but even if we hadn't taken the circuitous route we did (adding a full half-hour to our drive time), it still would have been a haul to get here. I knew we were in for trouble when more than half of the license plates in the parking lot were from Pennsylvania. In fact, I wasn't exactly sure that we weren't in Pennsylvania. My male roommates and I stood out as maybe the only men in the entire place who weren't wearing cowboy hats. We did our best to stand around and make fun of everyone dancing, but at some point, in order to satisfy our roommate and live up to our end of the bargain, we had to join in. And we did. A few times. It was painful. And awkward. And kind of skeezy in a wholesome way. But I lied earlier in this review because I never actually felt humiliated. Humiliation requires other people who can somehow compare one's behavior against some sort of standard behavior. Just like it's not embarrassing to take off your clothes in front of a cat, it's not embarrassing to go country line dancing in front of a bunch of other people who have no idea that you don't go country line dancing. I spent a great deal of the hours-long night people watching, and I can guarantee that out of the hundreds of people there, we were the only five who didn't fit in, and we were also the only ones who knew this. Once we got home, our roommate asked us whether we had had fun. We didn't even bother lying; but I think that actually made her happier that we had come along, danced, and stayed. We definitely took one for the team, and I have vivid, if not fond, memories of it more than ten years later. read more

If you don't like country you probably won't like this bar, but if you want to hang out ad have a great time line dancing this is a great place to go. I've even gone with non dancers and they enjoyed themselves! Everyone is really friendly and it's a great atmosphere. Food is also yummy and they have a whole outdoor area with a bar and bonfire and plenty of places to enjoy the fresh air. read more

Dear darla. I hate your stinkin guts. You make me vomit. You are scum between my toes. Love alfalfa. But seriously, that is the weakest show I've ever seen at your venue. We waited 2 years years to see your show and it took us longer to drive to the show than he played. I love Riley but 60 mins is pathetic. read more

I wasn't sure if I would like this place but when I went in Thanksgiving weekend, I kinda felt nervous and don't know why because I usually go to country clubs without any problems but later on, I felt like myself and met a few people there. This place is pretty good, I didn't know a lot of the line dances done there being that I was visiting from Middle Tennessee, the dancing is different and trying this place out for the first time. Love the dancing and the place, kinda looks like you're going to the VFW from the outside and the inside a bit. I would try this place again but need to learn the dances they do there. read more

Unless you grew up farming corn you're going to feel like you don't fit in the minute you walk into the Dusty Armadillo. Put on your big girl pants, have a little sense of humor, buy a drink, and pretend to be a cowgirl for 2 hours. You still own all of your Tim Mcgraw cassette tapes don't you? Personally, I'm not a self proclaimed cowgirl, but I still managed to have a good time. If you don't know how to line dance you can take classes. I'd rather eat deep fried food and watch from the sidelines. The opportunity to be front and center during the show is totally up to you. We bought drinks and stood our ground up front until the show started. It gets a little smelly up front, but there's a nice patio outside with a fire pit. Tickets are cheap and sometimes they sell out quick depending how many farmers take a vacation day to visit the Dusty. Yeehaw! read more

Definitely know some of the line dances before you come here so you're not on the sidelines all night! This place is so much fun and it has a rowdy redneck atmosphere, but also a nice bar feel. Music is loud and so are the dancers, nothin quite like the dusty. read more

I'm trying to expand my horizons -- I've kind of developed a taste for country music starting my junior year in college. I'm originally from the suburbs, not the country. So I felt a wee bit out of place here as it is VERY country. But I had an absolute blast. So beforehand, they have a lesson which was really helpful. I was amazed at how complicated some of the dances were. At first it was pretty patchy as far as how many people were there, and there definitely more gals than guys... at least at first. Once the lesson was over and the night REALLY began, there were tons of guys who showed up. It was so cool! You don't normally get to see a lot of guys dance, and it was super fun to watch them. By 10:30pm or so (on a Friday = Ladies' night) there were at least as many guys as there were gals. The regulars were really supportive and nice. It definitely feels a bit awkward, I'm not gonna lie... but the more you get used to it the easier it gets! Three things I learned: 1.) If you dance on the dance floor with a drink, a little woman comes out of nowhere to yell at you. It's a rule that makes sense, but one that I had no idea of beforehand. So consider yourself forewarned. 2.) If you dance around the outskirts, you are in the path of the couples who dance around the outskirts. A little woman will come out of nowhere to notify you of that as well. (I think it's the same woman.) 3.) If you are courageous enough to jump right in and try to learn stuff during the actual song, like, completely cold... then my word of advice is to go in the middle so you are surrounded on every side. You'd think being on the outskirts is safer, but that is not the case. When you're in the middle, no matter which direction everyone is dancing, you have feet to watch and imitate. Warning: do not try this with really complicated or jumpy dances -- they can have disastrous consequences. Ask a regular to tell you when an easy song is coming up and the dance floor is all full and THAT'S where you make your move. And having a drink or two beforehand helps give you some liquid courage. ;) Overall, it was super, super fun and I'm totally going back -- even though the drive was really long for me and my friends. [Note: that was the most severe drawback -- it is VERY FAR for us to drive, especially during rush hour to get there in time for the lesson!] But regardless, we are hooked. One more tip: I found out that there is a channel on youtube where one of the regulars goes through a bazillion different dances -- so I've been learning them from the comfort of my living room. So next time I go, I'll be ready! read more

This is the best bar I have ever been to in my life the workers r great the owner is amazing everyone is friendly! Great music amazing food and drinks:) the only place I will go on Wednesday Fridays and also Saturdays I love this bar!! read more

First of all... The name fits. It is Dusty. The bouncers here were absolutely rude. My friend rented out some of the place for her birthday and the costumer service we received was ridiculous. The ignorant and incompetent staff ruined the experience for everyone read more

Best place around to dance and listen to loud country music. Very strict about underage drinking so it is seriously not even worth the effort. Have a pool table and 3 bars. Great atmosphere and people!!! read more

The Dusty is a great place! Fun people, great music, and free line dance lessons! They have a great patio, nice big dance floor, good security, and just a fun time all around! read more

Awful music venue. The acoustics were terrible. I asked if I could grab my jacket out of my truck, so I could go out on the patio. I was told I would have to purchase another ticket to get back in! After the money I spent on beer, food and the tickets I all ready paid for. Would never recommend this place for a concert. And I will definitely never go back. read more

I have been to the Dusty multiple times in high school and never had a problem. Go there tonight and the bouncers are the rudest people in the world. I've lived in a big city for the last 5 years, been to dozens of reputable downtown bars, and I've never experienced anything quite like tonight. One of the bouncers comes up and interrogates me on the middle of the dance floor, all but yells and screams at me and then kicks me out for not having a wrist band on, even though I am clearly over 21. There is no excuse for the lack of respect he showed towards me. I will never go back to this "country bar". The very uneducated bouncers and management need to get a grip. read more