Karen Collins & The Backroads Band - Honky Tonk Country Music One of the Washington, DC area's top honky tonk groups, Karen Collins & the Backroads Band play real country music. Their original shuffles, two-steps, and buckle-polishing slow tunes project an authentic vintage sound. The twang continues with a list of covers that range from Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb, to Buck Owens and Loretta Lynn—with dashes of Bob Wills and Chuck Berry thrown in. The band is lead by Karen Collins, a coal miner’s daughter from Southwest VA (vocals, rhythm guitar)) and features Ira Gitlin (lead guitar and vocals), Geff King (bass and vocals) and David Lopez (drums). The Backroads Band’s natural habitat is the DC- and Baltimore-area clubs where the dance floors are crowded and the beer flows freely. They also play at concerts, dances, festivals, weddings, and private parties throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The band is currently promoting the release of their second CD, “No Yodeling on the Radio”. The new CD features ten originals penned by band members and two well chosen covers. Their 2007 release, “Tail Light Blues” received airplay and enthusiastic reviews in the US, Canada, and Europe. "It doesn't get any more country than Karen Collins. She offers straight ahead country in the style of the classics with twangy guitars, emotional pedal steel and a cry in her voice". - Sing Out Magazine, Autumn 2007 "For the country fan, Tail Light Blues is a cut above even what is called roots music these days. Karen Collins is an authentic country voice in the style of Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, and her band can rock like Sun Records, with virtuoso picker Ira Gitlin nailing notes all over the place" – The Muse’s Muse, February 2008 No Yodeling On The Radio - The players : Karen Collins & The Backroads Band: Karen Collins - Lead and harmony vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar, fiddle, mandolin Geff King - Electric and acoustic bass, lead and harmony vocals Ira Gitlin - Electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, harmony vocals (11), organ Drums : David Lopez - Drums (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12) Rob Howe - Drums (1, 7, 11) Special Guests: Mike Auldridge - Resophonic guitar, pedal steel Bill Starks - Piano Brian Simms - Accordion Ann Porcella, Lynn Healey - harmony vocals (11)