Well, ok, maybe not an actual tequila worm, but the early bird does get its choice of bar beverages, breakfast, and an earful of live music.

And for those who really arrive early enough…a barstool.

The Rooster Club, an annual event hosted by Dana Armstrong, owner of the Dirty Drummer Bar, regularly pulls in a large crowd at 6:00 A.M. on the dot.

Sunday was no exception, patrons lined up in front of The Dirty Drummer Bar bright and early. No one amongst the familial, jam-packed crowd seemed to mind the heat, the early hour or that there were very few of the coveted barstools remaining.

The annual event is an homage to the original gathering that occurred in 2010, when Arizona repealed its “blue law.”

The law had outlawed the sale and purchase of alcohol before 10:00 A.M. on Sundays.

That first Sunday after the repeal, Armstrong, who was then running country night “Valley Fever” at the Yucca Tap Room, and her friends decided to rally for an early morning drink as a joke.

“We thought it would be funny…we CAN meet at 6 on a Sunday now, so let’s just do it,” Armstrong, current owner of the Dirty Drummer, said, “It was like a little novelty thing.”

The joke had such a strong turnout, they decided to make it an annual event. The Rooster Club was born.

The following year, The Rooster Club  included Armstrong as a DJ and a smattering of live bands, including FlatHead and Hash Knife Outfit, the latter who was in attendance yesterday.

The patrons – many of whom were wearing “Rooster Club [insert year here] member shirts- were regulars of both the event and of Armstrong’s concepts in general.

Eventually, the venue for the Rooster Club transitioned to the Dirty Drummer when Armstrong bought out Dirty Dave- the former owner and her mother’s remaining share in the bar.

“We tried to recreate the space in a way that was true to the original Dirty Drummer’s, but then bring it into the future.” Armstrong said.

It’s a transition not without a nod to the past.

“This bar has a lot of history and I’m so grateful to work here.” Shea Crawford, current employee, said, “We have an old menu inside that we displayed. It’s so fun to see history and how far we’ve come.”

The renovated Dirty Drummer, much in the spirit of the Rooster Club, is host to friends, both old and new.

“I can come day and night. This is my home. I feel safe here.  I’m 74 years old and I feel very safe.” Caren Prover-Kogan, long-time regular and previous employee, said.

The Rooster Club followed Armstrong into the future, too, from Tempe to east Phoenix. Many of the folks in the crowd have attended the Rooster Club from its inception at the Yucca Tap Room to its current home at the Dirty Drummer.  

“I love Dana and try to support everything she does, and I used to work at the Dirty Drummer so it’s even better now that it’s here,” Casey Beaird, former employee and friend, said of the annual event.

Armstrong milled about, greeting everyone by name with plenty of hugs to go around. It seemed that it wasn’t the event so much that brought people out, but perhaps the lady behind it.

“I feel like she is the only person who could get this many people out of bed this early,” Brea Burns, event booker for the Dirty Drummer, said of Armstrong.

“I think to just be out of your house at 5:30 A.M. and into the bar dancing, drinking, eating, and hanging out just like it’s 9pm, just feels so funny,” Armstrong continued, “People seem to like it.”

“The best part is just saying that you did it at 6:00 A.M. - pretty random!” Beaird said.