Zac Brown Band has welcomed a new member.
Country singer/songwriter Caroline Jones has officially joined the band full-time, according to ET Online. Jones is also the band’s first and only female member, the outlet indicated.
Prior to becoming a full-time member, Jones opened up for Zac Brown Band while they were on tour multiple times. In addition, Jones served as a guest member of the band, joining them at the 2021 CMA Awards, this year’s CMA Fest, and when they opened for the Rolling Stones at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, ET Online reported.
Jones reacted to the news she was joining the band full-time, telling the outlet it was “the greatest honor of [her] career so far.”
“Joining Zac Brown Band as an official member is the greatest honor of my career so far,” Jones said. “To be validated not only as a singer and songwriter, but as a musician and member of the family, means more to me than I can put into words.”
“Exciting (and busy!) times ahead as I perform and create with ZBB,” Jones added in a statement she posted on Instagram. “Thank you all for your support.”
Lead singer Zac Brown expressed a similar sentiment.
“It feels like Caroline has been part of Zac Brown Band for years. She has done a few tours with us and has also been in the recording studio creating with us. She is family and a badass musician,” Brown told the outlet. “She sings the highest and works the hardest.”
Jones, who was a solo artist prior to joining the band, teamed up with Brown and Old Dominion’s Matt Ramsey on her song, “So Many Skies” (from her 2021 album, Antipodes). Brown co-produced the track, while Ramsey’s vocals were featured.
In reflecting on her solo days, Jones shared that Brown was the first “superstar mentor” to take her under his wing. “As an independent artist, I owe my career to Zac [Brown],” Jones explained.
The song is far from their last collaboration. Jones teamed up with the band to co-write their single, “All of The Boys,” according to CMT. They’re also working on new music together.
“We’ve been working on some new songs,” Jones told CMT. “I don’t know how much is a secret and how much they want to keep private, but they are definitely in the process of writing a new record.”
Although she’s working so closely with the band, Jones said she doesn’t plan to give up her solo career anytime soon.
“I want to clarify that I will be continuing to build my own career. I don’t view these two projects as mutually exclusive, I view them as mutually beneficial. Being in the band makes me a better musician, a better performer, a better singer and songwriter,” Jones explained to the outlet. “The two projects hold hands, and I’m going to give it all the proper respect and weight that a role like this deserves,” she added.
Up next for Jones? She and her fellow members of Zac Brown Band will be performing at the 56th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday (Nov. 9). Marcus King and Jimmie Allen will be joining the band for the performance.
