Have you heard of Caroline Jones? If not, you soon will. Rolling Stone magazine has noticed her talents and included her on their list of “10 Country Artists you need to know.” She was also named one of the “15 Country Artists to watch in 2018” of Billboard. She has also released a new single “Chasin Me.” The music video of her single-featuring Cody Walker- has over 3.5 million views. On July 4th she is coming to perform on Fort Stewart for its Independence Day Celebration. Jones is multi-talented; she sings, writes, plays several instruments and produces. Jones describes her music as a blend of country and pop. “It has a lot of organic elements of country like the banjo, the guitar, Dobro, a lot of drums but I also love stacked vocals and synths,” she said.
Jones was born in New York City and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. She began to take singing lessons at the age of nine. As a vocal student she was classically trained to sing opera and jazz. She also studied piano throughout her childhood. By the age of 10 she wrote her first song. When she was young she never listened to country music. Instead she was more influenced by R&B, rock, and pop music. When she was in her late teens she visited Nashville, Tenn., for the first time and fell in love with country music.
During her visit to Nashville Jones said she had found the missing part of her artistry when introduced to country music for the first time. Never mind that she wasn’t originally from the South. When asked if she was ever concerned about not being authentic enough for country music she said, “I believe that authenticity is a state of heart and mind. It’s the dedication to your craft and the song in your soul. It wasn’t necessarily about a dedication to a certain lifestyle even though that plays a big role lyrically. I’ve never pretended to be something that I’m not and I never will. I’m authentic to myself and I have a lot of country influences in my music. So I just stick with that and try not to worry too much. People get too worried about judging the music instead of feeling it and listening to it.”
After she was introduced to country music she began to learn the guitar at 17. After that followed other instruments such as the banjo, mandolin, harmonica, and Dobro. She learned the other instruments because she felt it was necessary for the development of her craft “Learning other instruments is something that I have become more dedicated to. When I got into production I was interested in how instruments fit together in a record setting. I also wanted to make my performances more compelling while on tour.”
Not only is she known as a multi-instrumentalist but she also writes her own music. She’s produced all of her last four albums except for her last one “Bare Feet” in which she coproduced with Ric Wake.
In 2017 Jones caught her big break: she opened for Zac Brown Band. For a considerable part of the year she was on the road with the band which helped her reach new audiences. It was a special time for her. “He [Zac] was the first headliner to take me out on tour and invite me to sing with him. It was a huge deal for me and it’s still a big honor to this day,” Jones said. In 2018 she sung a duet with Jimmy Buffet which resulted in a partnership with his Mailboat Records. After that she’s been an opening act for other artist and bands such as Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, One Republic, and many more. The last tour that she came off of was Kenney Chesney’s tour Songs for the Saints. Now she is on tour with the Zac Brown Band once again, who she not only considers as mentors but as friends.
Currently Jones has new music on the way which will feature some of her “heroes” that she toured with. If you want to catch one of her performances, come to the Marne Independence Day Celebration. She’s opening for Lady Antebellum at Donovan Field on Fort Stewart starting at 7 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. Make sure to catch her; you won’t want to miss this legend in the making.
Fort Stewart public affairs reminds members of the public who are without Department of Defense identification to access the installation at Gate 3 on Old Sunbury Road on July 4th; the gate will open for traffic at 3 p.m. Those with DoD identification should access Fort Stewart at the Main Gate on General Screven Way. Parking and the venue are on Donovan Field; installation law enforcement will direct traffic to the correct location. More information is available at https://stewarthunter.armymwr.com/programs/marne-independence-day.