Professional Bull Riders return to Madison Square Garden as country culture expands in NYC
NEW YORK - New York City is in the midst of a country bonanza.
Professional Bull Riders have returned to Madison Square Garden, and has New Yorkers getting cozy with cowboy culture.
City slickers are trading skyscrapers for bullpens, crowding into Madison Square Garden through Sunday to see the cowboys with the PBR.
"It's the greatest bulls in the world against the greatest guys in the world," bull rider Mason Taylor said.
Taylor is with the New York Mavericks. He started bull riding in his native Texas when he was only 4.
"We all walk around with bumps and bruises. You know, we ride bulls for a living," Taylor said.
Country culture making inroads in NYC
Country bars in the neighborhood, including Waylon and Flaming Saddles, are getting some company. More and more place in New York City are opening so customers can come and get countrified.
Noah Aussems, co-owner of Common Country on Third Avenue in Kips Bay, is from Hackettstown, N.J.
"Post-COVID I realized there was a major need for it," he said. "It's a big revival. I think country music is coming right back on to the mainstream."
"Country is not just for cowboys anymore," Phoebe Siegel said. "I think it's also for New York City slickers."
A country-themed off-Broadway musical called "Music City" is about two young songwriters trying to catch a break in Nashville. It's playing at the West End Theatre through Feb. 2.
