Where can you find a honky tonk in Iowa?
Katie Sires, the lead singer and chief songwriter of the Cedar Valley country band that bears her name, asks that question on the closing track of the band’s forthcoming debut album.
The answer, it turns out, is anywhere in Iowa where Katie and the Honky Tonks happen to be playing.
Every show offers Sires and her bandmates a chance to show off their honky tonk vibe, from their vintage sound to their Western stage attire and their two-stepping moves. The band's new album, titled Ain’t No Shame, delivers a heaping of 1960s country goods, with twanging guitars, pedal steel and Nashville-influenced vocal harmonies.
The band's commitment to classic honky tonk means they stick out like a sore fiddle in a regional country music landscape more likely to favor Morgan Wallen lookalikes over Loretta Lynn devotees. Sires hints at that dilemma on the album’s final track, titled “Honky Tonk in Iowa.”
“I-O-W-A you know I’m here to stay, but I pray you’ll have a honky tonk someday,” she laments. The lyrics note that Iowans have to drive a few hours to Chicago or Nebraska to find an honest-to-goodness honky tonk club.
“What I was thinking when I wrote that was, man, I wish there was a cool live music venue in Iowa that specialized in traditional old-school country music, with two stepping and bluegrass and things like that, that drew people from outside of Iowa,” Sires shared during a recent interview.
Perhaps no such place exists on Iowa soil, but a Katie and the Honky Tonks gig is a pretty good substitute.
Sires and her bandmates, which includes husband Luke on drums, are so devoted to building a honky tonk culture they sometimes offer free two-stepping lessons before their shows. They learned the basics of the two step from Emily Nenni, a nationally touring country artist who has shared performance dates with Katie and the Honky Tonks.
Katie also scours vintage clothing stores and websites for authentic Western attire for each member of the band. She keeps track of everyone’s size to make sure each pearl-snap shirt and cowboy-cut jean hits just the right spot. After all, an act’s look can make a difference — especially at festivals where fans have multiple stage options vying for their attention. Sometimes having an interesting look can draw a second glance from passing concertgoers. Then it’s up to the music to keep their attention.
The new 11-track album was recorded at Catamount Recordings in Cedar Falls, with Travis Huisman engineering and co-producing. The album includes four songs previously released as part of a 2024 EP, along with seven new tracks.
Among the highlights of the album is “Dance Hall,” which tells the story of a rendezvous between a lonely narrator and a mysterious cowboy at a rowdy honky tonk. Harmony singers repeat the last words of each verse in an uncanny imitation of the Jordanaires.
“I said ooh I think you’re gonna like it, so come on and step this way,” Sires flirts during the chorus. “If a-honkin’ and tonkin’ don’t come naturally, don’t worry daddy, hold onto me.”
The band has undergone a steady series of personnel changes since its inception, but Katie and Luke Sires have remained constant as the nucleus. While the lineup carousel has kept the band from booking as many shows as they would like, Luke feels that the current personnel seem to have gelled, and they're ready to make a splash supporting the new record.
“The new lineup is really awesome because we can finally go out and say yes to every show we want to,” Luke Sires said. “We just want to get the honky tonk out there because we think you really need to see it to get that definitive experience.”
Katie added, “I just want to show people that country music can come out now and not sound like what you hear on the radio ... I want people to feel Loretta Lynne vibes, Patsy Cline vibes, Margo Price vibes. But really we’re trying to just get that really old school sound.”
Katie and the Honky Tonks will celebrate the release of Ain’t No Shame with a release show at the Cedar Basin Music Festival in Cedar Falls June 27. Vinyl copies of the the album will soon be available online and at live performances.