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Karley Scott Collins on Finding Her Voice Through Six Strings

Guitar Thrills Magazine
Posted: September 24, 2026
“Karley Scott Collins represents what happens when an artist refuses to let genre define her. The guitar may not have been part of the original plan, but it has become an essential part of her voice—connecting her country roots with the rock influences that shaped her musical identity.” — Guitar Thrills Magazine

Photo credit: Matthew Berinato

Guitar Thrills Magazine

MEDIA PUBLISHING COMPANY | GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE TAMPA, FL U.S.A.

Guitar Thrills Magazine

Founded in 2021. GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE of Tampa, FL Guitar Thrills Magazine of Tampa, FL U.S.A. The GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE is excited to bring you some of the music industries finest talent. Including the world of entertainment. Our focus includes the long term goals and aspirations of artists of all sorts. We are an unbiased reporting platform. You are getting insight into the world of music. No, we are not your fathers website for music news. We have grown into our own, and rely upon decades of music experience and knowledge. Guitar Thrills Magazine is a hard act to follow.

For Karley Scott Collins, the guitar wasn't part of some carefully designed career plan. It started with an acting audition that required her to play the instrument. What began as preparation for a role eventually became something much more important—a way to express herself and discover her identity as an artist.

Growing up in Florida, Collins was exposed to a wide range of music. Her father introduced her to rock and metal, including Guns N' Roses and Alice in Chains, while artists such as Stevie Nicks, Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan also became part of her musical world.

Those influences help explain why Collins doesn't fit neatly into one musical box.

Today, she's building a career in country music while bringing a distinctly rock-influenced perspective to her songwriting and guitar playing. Her debut album, Flight Risk, showcased that combination while establishing Collins as more than just a vocalist. She's a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has become increasingly interested in understanding every part of the music-making process.

And the guitar remains at the center of that evolution.

Collins has even begun working with Black Label Society guitarist Dario Lorina, with the goal of developing her technique and learning to shred. It's an interesting direction for an artist working within country music—and one that reflects her willingness to explore beyond traditional genre boundaries.

But perhaps the most important part of Collins' guitar journey isn't how technically proficient she becomes.

It's what the instrument allows her to say.

The guitar gave Collins a way to turn experiences into songs and eventually helped her find a musical identity of her own. Her influences may come from very different places, but the guitar gives her a common language through which she can bring those worlds together.

What started as something she needed for an audition ultimately became something she couldn't imagine making music without.

The guitar wasn't the plan. It became part of who she is.

INTERVIEW WITH KARLEY SCOTT COLLINS AND GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE

Guitar Thrills: Your relationship with the guitar began almost by accident when you needed to learn for an acting audition. When did you realize the guitar had become something much bigger than that?

Karley: it is so interesting that I kind of just fell into something that ended up becoming my whole life, but I think that God will always guide you to your purpose one way or another. At such a young age I hadn’t found my dream, or the thing that I knew “when I grow up this is what I want to do” until I picked up guitar. I started taking lessons with a different end goal than becoming a guitar player, but once I started I just really didn’t want to stop. I begged my parents to get me a guitar; I never wanted to put it down. Once I got a taste of something I was genuinely passionate about, I saw my whole future and put all my time towards making that happen.

Guitar Thrills: You grew up listening to artists like Guns N'
Roses and Alice in Chains, alongside country and Americana influences. How have those different musical worlds shaped the way you play and write today?

Karley: My dad used to play all the old rock legends for me when I was growing up, and they were some of the first songs I ever learned on guitar. It made learning guitar fun for me because I was learning things I really loved and was excited about. Then when I started singing my dad would tell me, “put some Axl on it”, still does. Country music is such a beautiful way to tell stories, and I’ve always loved a good story. When I’m writing music, I’ve always loved bringing together a good story and a cool riff and I think that’s probably a combination of growing up on both rock and country.

Guitar Thrills: Do you remember the moment when you felt like you had stopped simply learning songs on guitar and started using the instrument to express your own ideas?

Karley: honestly that moment came very quickly for me. When I was little, I used to write “books” for my parents. I’ve loved creating stories and characters and their worlds my whole life, so as soon as I learned how to string chords together and what works and what doesn’t work, I started putting stories to songs.

Guitar Thrills: Your music sits comfortably between country and rock. How important is it for you to avoid being boxed into one genre?

Karley: Honestly, I never think about this. I think it’s a really good way to put a bottle stopper on creativity if you sit down to write a song and think, “Well this is too country, or this is too rock,” or whatever it is. I try to never put a limit or guideline on what I allow myself to write or create, and whatever the idea is that day, and what comes out comes out. I try to follow whatever I’m feeling inspired by at the time and trust that it’ll sound like me because I am a combination of all the things I love.

Guitar Thrills:  What attracts you to the more technical side of guitar playing?
Karley: it’s just fun for me! I have this instrument that I can always get better at, and I can always grow, and learning a cool guitar part, or incorporating a solo into the live set or playing it on a record feels good. We play a cover of “Welcome to the Jungle" in our set, and the crowd always loses their minds when I start the intro riff, and that’s a lot of fun.

Guitar Thrills: When you're writing a song, does the guitar usually come first, or does the song itself determine what the guitar needs to do?

Karley: There really isn’t a set path that songs go down for me. Sometimes, like when I was writing a song called “Denim” on my debut album Flight Risk, the guitar will come first. That intro riff came to me before anything else did and I wrote the words later. Sometimes, I’ll just have a melody pop into my head, sometimes just a title or some lyrics, and I just go from wherever the starting point is.

Guitar Thrills: Looking ahead, what do you want the guitar to become in your music that it isn't yet?


Karley: I’ve been playing a lot more lead guitar rather than rhythm in my live shows, and I’d love to keep doing that. I really enjoy that, and it’s so exciting to see the crowd reaction, so I think that’s something I’ll do a lot more of going forward.

 Karley Scott Collins' story is a reminder that sometimes the most important parts of an artist's journey aren't planned. What began as learning a few guitar chords for an acting audition eventually became a passion, a creative outlet, and an essential part of her identity.

As Collins continues to develop as a songwriter and guitarist, she's also proving that country music doesn't have to stay inside traditional boundaries. With rock influences behind her and a desire to keep pushing herself forward, the guitar may ultimately take her places she never expected to go.

The audition may have introduced Karley Scott Collins to the guitar. Music is what made her stay.

PRS Standard 24 Review from Guitar Thrills Magazine Tampa, FL The World of Rock and Blues Magazine.

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