Caroline Jones Embraces 'Innovative’ Inspirations, Sets Out On The Road

Caroline Jones is gearing up for a full schedule of summer tour dates, performing for a mix of massive crowds in arenas and stadiums and intimate audiences at local venues with capacities of a few hundred people. That’s why she loves to release “a steady stream” of “fresh” music, she said on the heels of her latest 5-track EP and leading up to her full-length project later this year.

Jones released Superpower last month, marking the occasion with her first-ever headlining show in Nashville, Tennessee, taking the stage at a historic venue hours before debuting the collection (that performance preceded the first headlining concerts she’s played recently in Austin, Houston, and Dallas, Texas). The EP including Jones’ “most raw” and “honest” title track, the “sassy” “Normal Person,” a stunning cover of Cry Cry Cry’s “By Way of Sorrow” with Vince Gill, and the previously-released “Lawless” and “Keep It Safe” featuring Alyssa Bonagura. Those five tracks blend Jones’ wide array of stylistic influences in their own unique way, and “it’s been really fun to start playing the songs live and see what fans latch onto,” Jones recently told iHeartRadio.

As Jones hits the road — performing as a headliner and as a member of Zac Brown Band — she also recently returned to Nashville to play writers rounds with some “songwriters at the top of their game.” That performance format that inspires and fascinates her with the storytelling behind the music, “because I just love knowing the inside of the creative process,” she said. Jones, a multi-instrumentalist (playing the guitar, banjo, piano, dobro and harmonica), emphasized the opportunity that comes with blending songwriters and musicians to “come up with things completely off the wall creatively and something that’s really innovative.”

Jones witnesses that blend of songwriting and musicianship as she co-writes for her solo projects in addition to music with Zac Brown Band. She became an official member of the award-winning group in late 2022 (after previously opening for them, in addition to other legendary artists like Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney and the Eagles, to name a few), and recently spoke with iHeartRadio about each band member’s skill when creating music: “Zac’s an incredible musician in himself, but the way that everyone adds to it and the little riffs and musical arrangement ideas that they add, that’s what makes their song characteristic and unique. So, I’ve tried to kind of follow that tradition (and) fall in those footsteps.”

“I take a lot of pride in whatever crowd I’m in front of and whatever performance that I’m doing, giving it 100% and bringing my A game. It really doesn’t matter to me how many people are in the crowd, or if it’s my own show, in my own name or it’s supporting Zac Brown Band and bring in service to that music. I bring the same passion and commitment to all of it. I love it all, and it matters a lot to me.”

Looking ahead to her upcoming headlining dates and Zac Brown Band’s “From The Fire Tour,” Jones promised that new music is on the horizon. That includes an “exciting collaboration” and more, leading up to her full-length album in the fall. Jones previously said her forthcoming body of work will offer “sonic diversity” and collaborations that “pushed” her as a musician. It’s a project she already deems “my best work ever.”