Caroline Jones is a singer/songwriter who truly understands her craft at a granular level. Not much escapes her quick wit or fine-tuned ear. Because of this, Jones has a storied career full of acclaimed records and star-powered collaborations. (Jimmy Buffett is just one artist who took Jones under his wing, and Jones opened for Buffet’s tour in 2018 and 2019.)
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And as steadfast fans of the New York-hailing artist, we caught up with Jones right before her CMA Fest Nissan Stadium performance with Zac Brown Band.
“I love what I do more than anything,” Jones tells American Songwriter. “Inspiration just comes naturally to me, it always has, as long as I give it time and space. I think trying to force too much in too little time is the only time where you really feel creatively blocked or pressed.”
Jones continues to say that she’s always had a close relationship with her creative side. Ever since she was a little kid, she’s been drawn to storytelling in some form or another. Jones specifically recalls writing poems and stories and making up songs all throughout her childhood. The only difference now is that she shares her stories with millions of people… and that she’s got a few years of experience on her younger self.
“In terms of evolving, I spend a lot of time working on my craft,” she says. “I spend a lot of time working on different instruments and trying to get better. [I’m] working different parts, different songs, and trying to get better at my live show as a songwriter [and] as a singer.”
One song to come out of this careful dedication is her recent hit, “Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable)” off of her 2021 record Antipodes. As Jones explains it, this particular song was inspired by her idea to flip the common colloquialism “come in and make yourself comfortable.”
“It’s like come in, but don’t make yourself comfortable,” she says about flipping the phrase. “That’s one of the oldest country lyric tricks in the book is taking those often used phrases and twisting them around, making them clever. So I just had that idea, I was like someone should write that as a really sassy country song. And that song just kind of fell out. It’s just sassy. It’s fun. It’s a little bit rockabilly. It’s pretty exciting the way that people have resonated with it and that it’s had success on TikTok and on country radio.”
Come in but don’t make yourself comfortable
‘Cause I don’t know if I’m going to like you for long
Come in but park your truck facing out
‘Cause I wouldn’t want to be you when I want you gone
In addition to “Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable),” Jones tells us that she was excited to play “Everyone’s a Rebel ‘Til They Fall in Love,” another song off of Antipodes, live for her fans. She also has a particular fondness for her collaboration with Joe Bonamassa on “Don’t Talk to Me Like I’m Tiffany” from the 2021 record, as well as her collab with Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion on “So Many Skies.”
Overall, though, Jones tells us that she’s skill basking “in the afterglow of Antipodes.”
“I think I’ll always look back and really love this record,” she says, “because it’s about meeting my husband and falling in love with him and that whole process. So I think we’ll both look back on these songs as just a really cool special chapter of our lives. I’m still super proud of this record.”
And as far as what’s next for the singer/songwriter, thankfully, it’s more music. She recently put out her latest track release, “Being A Woman (Is Like Being The Sun).” It’s a delightful, bluegrass-leaning track with lyrics that shines a light on some of the difficulties women face in day-to-day life. It’s a truly stunning track that Jones debuted rather appropriately right before Mother’s Day.
As Jones continues to grow her career, she has no shortage of mentors to learn from. When asked about learning from her peers, the New York native says, “It just happens through osmosis.
“I owe the career that I have thus far to touring and to mentors who’ve taken me under their wing and taken me on tour. Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett and Kenny Chesney and Faith Hill and Tim McGraw and The Eagles,” she adds. “These are all people who have decades-long careers, and I want to have a decades-long career. I want to be doing this when I’m in my 60s and 70s. I want to be touring around hopefully in my 80s like Willie Nelson. This is what I love to do.”
Photo by Laura Tait
