The Sit Down with Caroline Jones
My first introduction to Caroline Jones came at C2C: Country to Country in 2019 around a year after the release of her debut album “Bare Feet” where I was instantly inspired by the commitment to her craft as a musician and more importantly the wholesome aura that she has as a human being. Seven and a half years later, she just released her fourth studio album “Good Omen” earlier this year, she weathered a global pandemic in New Zealand, received her first Academy of Country Music Awards nomination and not only manages to continue to combine her own career as poignant and blissful singer-songwriter who is also one of the finest multi-instrumentalists in the business with motherhood, but she still finds time to tour extensively as the only female member of the GRAMMY Award winning Zac Brown Band.
Whilst Caroline, Zac and the rest of the guys were back in the UK to join Garth Brooks at this year’s American Express presents BST Hyde Park and their own headline show at the brand new British Airways ARC at Olympia, Caroline decided to take the opportunity to put on a show of her own at The Social which we headed along to and got to catchup with her before the gig.
Whilst Caroline, Zac and the rest of the guys were back in the UK to join Garth Brooks at this year’s American Express presents BST Hyde Park and their own headline show at the brand new British Airways ARC at Olympia, Caroline decided to take the opportunity to put on a show of her own at The Social which we headed along to and got to catchup with her before the gig.
Firstly, it’s so nice to see you again and I came to see you and the guys last night.
“Did you, wasn’t it awesome?”
It was an incredible show, what did you think of the ARC? It’s a brand new venue for us.
“It’s beautiful, great sound and very similar to a new venue in Nashville called the Pinnacle that we have and I loved it, but, you know, honestly, the crowd is what made it. It was a crowd that you could tell how much the music meant to them and Zac was so happy, like, I don't see Zac that happy on stage all the time. He was just so connected to the crowd, we all were but you could just tell how much the music means over here in the UK in general, but also because it was a smaller crowd for us, everyone there was a real fan, you know?”
I thought it was so cool because it basically you guys just played all the classics that everybody wanted to hear but also so much for people that had been fans for a long time. I remember seeing them before you were playing with them and doing that Stevie Wonder and John Mayer cover mashup which the fans know that Clay (Cook) wrote “Neon” and then doing “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” where Jimmy (De Martini) gets to really shine where things like that where you all had your own moments too was something a lot of people around me were saying they really appreciated.
“Wow, really? Well, that's just the Zac Brown Band. We've always been diverse musically, we play a real range in our own music, like from rock influence to bluegrass or to reggae, but the covers that we choose are just as diverse. We'll come out and do the Beastie Boys then do bluegrass cover and that's what makes our shows so special as we have such a loyal fan following in the live sector and in 2026 it's a real blessing to be able to play live. I'm glad you guys liked the show and you know, I'd been a fan way before I was a member of the band and that's what drew me to them as well.”
And it's a tiny little crowd again tomorrow as well.
“Yeah, oh, my God, so how many people are gonna be there?”
It seems to vary depending what you read or who you ask. It's either sixty-five thousand or eighty thousand. I think it might be sixty-five now and goes up to eighty next year or something like that, so if it is bigger next year, you’ll have to come back.
“Oh, you don't ask us twice. It's gonna be so cool, Garth is obviously a hero of all of ours and he’s at a place in his career where he's obviously very selective about what he does, so, this is just iconic and it is gonna be epic.”
How's it felt coming over and kind of bringing the family with you? Nowadays for you, it's not just a case of like coming over here and battling jet lag on a short trip, you’ve got someone else that takes a lot to consider so how are you finding bringing a little one on international travel and a tour?
“It’s beautiful, it's very special, he's only been international a couple times in his life I think they've all been because of my touring, which is just such a blessing. He's never been over here and he's loving it. I mean, he doesn't really know the difference, he's too young but he's loving it and we're loving the experience.”
How do you find juggling playing a lot of shows with Zac and the guys then you're a massive workaholic that seems to play a show of your own on any day between the band shows and then also you've got a young family into the mix of two musical careers really.
“Well, it is a lot to juggle because I think of myself as having three full-time jobs with being in the band, having my own music and then being a mom, which is my most important job. I try to organise it so that I'm never doing Zac Brown Band and my stuff at the same time anymore, I used to do that but now I kind of spend the first half of the year touring my own stuff or vice versa and I actually find that I have a pretty good balance right now. I have a lot of help, I have a village, I have a husband, who's an equal partner in raising our son and we have help, like we have nanny and we have our family, so you don't do it by yourself, it's physically impossible. That's important to really shine a light on my village and the people who help me to be able to manage those things, but it's a joy and I'm so glad my son gets to be part of music. He came to the show last night, he was running around on stage and everyone was cheering for him, like, it was just so cute. It's so special and such an amazing way to grow up.”
“Did you, wasn’t it awesome?”
It was an incredible show, what did you think of the ARC? It’s a brand new venue for us.
“It’s beautiful, great sound and very similar to a new venue in Nashville called the Pinnacle that we have and I loved it, but, you know, honestly, the crowd is what made it. It was a crowd that you could tell how much the music meant to them and Zac was so happy, like, I don't see Zac that happy on stage all the time. He was just so connected to the crowd, we all were but you could just tell how much the music means over here in the UK in general, but also because it was a smaller crowd for us, everyone there was a real fan, you know?”
I thought it was so cool because it basically you guys just played all the classics that everybody wanted to hear but also so much for people that had been fans for a long time. I remember seeing them before you were playing with them and doing that Stevie Wonder and John Mayer cover mashup which the fans know that Clay (Cook) wrote “Neon” and then doing “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” where Jimmy (De Martini) gets to really shine where things like that where you all had your own moments too was something a lot of people around me were saying they really appreciated.
“Wow, really? Well, that's just the Zac Brown Band. We've always been diverse musically, we play a real range in our own music, like from rock influence to bluegrass or to reggae, but the covers that we choose are just as diverse. We'll come out and do the Beastie Boys then do bluegrass cover and that's what makes our shows so special as we have such a loyal fan following in the live sector and in 2026 it's a real blessing to be able to play live. I'm glad you guys liked the show and you know, I'd been a fan way before I was a member of the band and that's what drew me to them as well.”
And it's a tiny little crowd again tomorrow as well.
“Yeah, oh, my God, so how many people are gonna be there?”
It seems to vary depending what you read or who you ask. It's either sixty-five thousand or eighty thousand. I think it might be sixty-five now and goes up to eighty next year or something like that, so if it is bigger next year, you’ll have to come back.
“Oh, you don't ask us twice. It's gonna be so cool, Garth is obviously a hero of all of ours and he’s at a place in his career where he's obviously very selective about what he does, so, this is just iconic and it is gonna be epic.”
How's it felt coming over and kind of bringing the family with you? Nowadays for you, it's not just a case of like coming over here and battling jet lag on a short trip, you’ve got someone else that takes a lot to consider so how are you finding bringing a little one on international travel and a tour?
“It’s beautiful, it's very special, he's only been international a couple times in his life I think they've all been because of my touring, which is just such a blessing. He's never been over here and he's loving it. I mean, he doesn't really know the difference, he's too young but he's loving it and we're loving the experience.”
How do you find juggling playing a lot of shows with Zac and the guys then you're a massive workaholic that seems to play a show of your own on any day between the band shows and then also you've got a young family into the mix of two musical careers really.
“Well, it is a lot to juggle because I think of myself as having three full-time jobs with being in the band, having my own music and then being a mom, which is my most important job. I try to organise it so that I'm never doing Zac Brown Band and my stuff at the same time anymore, I used to do that but now I kind of spend the first half of the year touring my own stuff or vice versa and I actually find that I have a pretty good balance right now. I have a lot of help, I have a village, I have a husband, who's an equal partner in raising our son and we have help, like we have nanny and we have our family, so you don't do it by yourself, it's physically impossible. That's important to really shine a light on my village and the people who help me to be able to manage those things, but it's a joy and I'm so glad my son gets to be part of music. He came to the show last night, he was running around on stage and everyone was cheering for him, like, it was just so cute. It's so special and such an amazing way to grow up.”
Then you’ve got a mutual friend of ours as a pretty cool support act and you’ve just done a run of shows together in the States too.
“We’re just really close friends. I love Alyssa (Bonagura) and I think she's one of the most talented people that I know but she's also just a very sweet, special heart and we kind of felt that way the first time we met, then since then, we've just been friends. She's a real musician too, so it's just easy to fall in with her, like she is jamming on my whole show tonight and she put together this whole band. When she's like, I've got it, I'm like, okay, good, I know she's got it with putting together the band over here. We just met these people and we're about to play a show, you know, so you can only do that with someone like Alyssa. She's amazing.”
Then with the show, I’m guessing we’re getting a lot of “Good Omen” tonight.
“I'm so proud of that record and we're playing a lot of it tonight, so I'm really excited that this is the first headline show I've done here and I'm really excited to meet my UK fans in London fans and it's gonna be fun. It's a very intimate venue so it's gonna be special.”
What do you hope that people take away from that record when they hear it? This is now the fourth record you've put out and obviously you're a mother now and you're doing a lot with your other gig but what do you think people take away from the record about who Caroline Jones is and what she has to say at this point in time?
“That's a beautiful question. This record is a lot about growth, grit, resilience and finding your inner strength and especially a song like “Good Omen” but there's some songs on there that really speak to I think some darker themes that I haven't tackled before. “No Tellin’” or “Divorce In A Small Town” and even “All The Things” talks about some of the fears that I had around becoming a mom in this industry. It's just more raw and honest than I've been before which I just credit motherhood with them, because you just have less time and patience or space for bullshit, so you just become even more honest and raw. I think as a songwriter, that's a super power, so I found it to be actually really wonderful for my art.”
Just to highlight one of the songs on there, the one I really love is “Becca”. I think it's so cool and it’s such a sweet song.
“Thank you, I love it so much, it’s about my best friend and I wrote it for her and about her. She's a farmer out in California, she's homeschooling her four kids, they live and work on an organic farm there and they just kind of live this life that's very of a time gone by, you know what I mean? They live this very picturesque life where all the kids like, run around naked in the creek all day and barefoot in the ground, but it's really special and they grow all their food, it's just amazing. I wanted to write someone that pays tribute to her, because she's an amazing person and just a badass, but also that pays tribute to the stay at home mom because I feel like stay at home mothers don't really get their flowers out in the world. They don't get promotions, they don't get awards or accolades but they're doing the most important work, so I wanted to write a song for her and our friendship and for the stay at home mom.”
“We’re just really close friends. I love Alyssa (Bonagura) and I think she's one of the most talented people that I know but she's also just a very sweet, special heart and we kind of felt that way the first time we met, then since then, we've just been friends. She's a real musician too, so it's just easy to fall in with her, like she is jamming on my whole show tonight and she put together this whole band. When she's like, I've got it, I'm like, okay, good, I know she's got it with putting together the band over here. We just met these people and we're about to play a show, you know, so you can only do that with someone like Alyssa. She's amazing.”
Then with the show, I’m guessing we’re getting a lot of “Good Omen” tonight.
“I'm so proud of that record and we're playing a lot of it tonight, so I'm really excited that this is the first headline show I've done here and I'm really excited to meet my UK fans in London fans and it's gonna be fun. It's a very intimate venue so it's gonna be special.”
What do you hope that people take away from that record when they hear it? This is now the fourth record you've put out and obviously you're a mother now and you're doing a lot with your other gig but what do you think people take away from the record about who Caroline Jones is and what she has to say at this point in time?
“That's a beautiful question. This record is a lot about growth, grit, resilience and finding your inner strength and especially a song like “Good Omen” but there's some songs on there that really speak to I think some darker themes that I haven't tackled before. “No Tellin’” or “Divorce In A Small Town” and even “All The Things” talks about some of the fears that I had around becoming a mom in this industry. It's just more raw and honest than I've been before which I just credit motherhood with them, because you just have less time and patience or space for bullshit, so you just become even more honest and raw. I think as a songwriter, that's a super power, so I found it to be actually really wonderful for my art.”
Just to highlight one of the songs on there, the one I really love is “Becca”. I think it's so cool and it’s such a sweet song.
“Thank you, I love it so much, it’s about my best friend and I wrote it for her and about her. She's a farmer out in California, she's homeschooling her four kids, they live and work on an organic farm there and they just kind of live this life that's very of a time gone by, you know what I mean? They live this very picturesque life where all the kids like, run around naked in the creek all day and barefoot in the ground, but it's really special and they grow all their food, it's just amazing. I wanted to write someone that pays tribute to her, because she's an amazing person and just a badass, but also that pays tribute to the stay at home mom because I feel like stay at home mothers don't really get their flowers out in the world. They don't get promotions, they don't get awards or accolades but they're doing the most important work, so I wanted to write a song for her and our friendship and for the stay at home mom.”
When you look through the credits of the record, you've got quite a few pockets of co-writers that you worked with, like Lauren McLamb is a name you see quite a lot, Eric Pasley, Brandon Ratcliff on there and other people on there too. In terms of writing songs, are you at the stage of knowing your people where if you've got something, do you save certain ideas for certain people?
“One hundred percent. That's really what it's been the last album cycle for like finding my tribe of writers, you know? Lauren, I mean, I don't really write songs anymore without Lauren, she's become kind of my right hand man. She just gets me and I feel I have found, like you said, these pockets of people Sarah Buxton, Joy Williams and these people who I just really feel sensibility wise, really understand what I'm going for, level up my writing and also are just wise souls because lyrics and messaging in my music is extremely important to me. Like, there's not a word that goes in a song that is not there really intentionally, so I'm really picky about lyric writing, I mean, I'm really picky about the whole process, but really finding my people and my writers in this last album cycle has been great and I'm excited for the next one now because I know my village more.”
With this being the first headline show over here, we've obviously got an album that we have been talking about but how hard has it been to put the setlist together for tonight? As much as you want to push the new record, there are people that are coming to see you as a headline show for the first time that will have been fans since “Bare Feet” so was it a different process for putting a set together for tonight compared to the set you're doing when you're touring at home?
“Not really because I kind of have the same problem at home but hopefully the venue's so small tonight, like people can just yell out and if I remember them, I'll play them. It is hard though because people love the old stuff and I do too but I'm focussed on the new album now for the “Good Omen” tour, so I mean, it's just how long people want to see me play because I could do a two or three hour show.”
I’m sure you could have done even longer last night as well.
“Yeah, but I think Zach really wanted to save his voice for tomorrow because that's gonna be big.”
And it's gonna be hot again but thank you as always for hanging, I appreciate you coming back and taking the time so have fun tonight and again with the guys tomorrow.
The latest album “Good Omen” from Caroline Jones is out now and available HERE. You can find out more about Caroline and any future tour dates on her WEBSITE whilst you can keep up to date with all that she is up to on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
“One hundred percent. That's really what it's been the last album cycle for like finding my tribe of writers, you know? Lauren, I mean, I don't really write songs anymore without Lauren, she's become kind of my right hand man. She just gets me and I feel I have found, like you said, these pockets of people Sarah Buxton, Joy Williams and these people who I just really feel sensibility wise, really understand what I'm going for, level up my writing and also are just wise souls because lyrics and messaging in my music is extremely important to me. Like, there's not a word that goes in a song that is not there really intentionally, so I'm really picky about lyric writing, I mean, I'm really picky about the whole process, but really finding my people and my writers in this last album cycle has been great and I'm excited for the next one now because I know my village more.”
With this being the first headline show over here, we've obviously got an album that we have been talking about but how hard has it been to put the setlist together for tonight? As much as you want to push the new record, there are people that are coming to see you as a headline show for the first time that will have been fans since “Bare Feet” so was it a different process for putting a set together for tonight compared to the set you're doing when you're touring at home?
“Not really because I kind of have the same problem at home but hopefully the venue's so small tonight, like people can just yell out and if I remember them, I'll play them. It is hard though because people love the old stuff and I do too but I'm focussed on the new album now for the “Good Omen” tour, so I mean, it's just how long people want to see me play because I could do a two or three hour show.”
I’m sure you could have done even longer last night as well.
“Yeah, but I think Zach really wanted to save his voice for tomorrow because that's gonna be big.”
And it's gonna be hot again but thank you as always for hanging, I appreciate you coming back and taking the time so have fun tonight and again with the guys tomorrow.
The latest album “Good Omen” from Caroline Jones is out now and available HERE. You can find out more about Caroline and any future tour dates on her WEBSITE whilst you can keep up to date with all that she is up to on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.