AZDCMA Spotlight: 2025 Winner ~ Best Indoor Music Venue – Northern AZ

Give it up for Matt's Saloon, crowned Best Indoor Music Venue – Northern Arizona at the 2025 AZDCMA Awards!

For decades this iconic Whiskey Row spot in Prescott has been bringing live country music to life, delivering unforgettable nights of dancing, singing, and community connection. From classic country bands to line dancing and live local acts, Matt’s is a place where music lovers gather… and stay awhile.

Whether you’re heading out for a live show, grabbing drinks with friends, or celebrating your favorite performers, Matt’s Saloon continues to be a cornerstone of the Arizona music scene.

Thousands gathered at Whiskey Row in Prescott for the 15th annual New Year’s Eve Boot Drop, featuring a 6-foot-tall illuminated cowboy boot descending from the historic Palace Restaurant.

The event, which included drops at 10 p.m. and midnight to ring in 2026, has grown from 2,000 attendees at its debut to more than 20,000 in recent years.

Matt's Saloon is a classic dive bar that embodies the essence of Whiskey Row. With its dimly lit, flag-adorned interior and cow skull above the entrance, it offers a hideaway for those seeking an authentic Wild West experience. Established in 1960, this iconic bar and restaurant near The Palace has a rich history and is known for attracting both locals and visitors.

“We wanted to do something different for the row and just had a blast.” Matt says. The duo already had a taste of the entrepreneur spirit, and Doc Holliday’s quickly became known for live music, and events for a varied age demographic.

Anytime you have the opportunity to visit a Historic Location I encourage it...  If you drive about 1.5 to 2 hours from Phoenix, you will find one of the original capitals of Arizona...  Historic Prescott. If you make your way towards Downtown, you will find yourself near the courthouse and facing the infamous "Whiskey Row" on Montezuma Street.  With several bars on this row, you will find one that is the go to for Live Country Music .  That's Matt's Saloon.  Which was one of the Voted Top 5 Country Bars of Arizona for 2019.  

When you walk into the building be prepared to be taken back in time to the late 1800's. There is so much nostalgia, from the main-bar itself, ceilings and so on.  You truly are absorbed into the Old West.

From the cow skull above the front door to a dimly lit, flag-draped interior that invites day drinking, Matt’s Saloon is more hideaway than tourist destination.

It also claims what would be one of the Row's most dubious stories — rock ‘n’ roll star stops in for a beer, jams onstage, sends bartender substantial "tip".

Their journey as friends and then business partners began in the early 2000s while bartending for Matt’s Saloon. Brassard, who came to the area from Vermont in 1998, was studying at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with the hope of one day becoming a commercial pilot. Espitia, a seventh generation Prescottonian, wasn’t sure what his life’s ambition was yet, but he had studied architecture and then interior design at Yavapai College.