Two weekends ago, the multi-talented, accomplished singer-songwriter, Caitlyn Smith, took the Stagecoach stage by storm for the first time. Her ethereal voice delivered a soulful set that was nothing shy of spectacular. Her performance caught the eye of more than a few thousand people, as Rolling Stone just named her one of 10 new country artists you need to know for May 2016. She is definitely one vocal powerhouse to keep an eye out for in the next couple of years.
From a young age, Smith has always known that she wanted to go out into the world and captivate audiences with her intense vocals. She was the tenacious, confident and driven individual every musician aspired to be at a young age. She was a little ambitious virtuoso trying to make it into the industry any way she could.
"I was about 8 years old when I started singin’ in church, and I grew up writing songs about that time," she tells me. "My parents sat me down at 15 and they were like ‘hey, we’ve got this college fund for you, but you’ve been really diligent with this music thing and we noticed you really like it, so would you want to use your school loan to make a record?’ and I said, 'yep, I wanna do that!"
She also had various profound inspirations to draw from that made her into the skillful artist she is today.
"I have a lot of musical influences," she says. "I’m such a music fan, so I'm constantly listening to different genres of literally everything. I grew up on Alison Krauss, and I love Patty Griffin, Ray
Ever since her parents let her go off and pursue her true passion, she took her career into her own hands, steadily progressing and making her way to stardom.
"I went up to Minneapolis and cut my first record, booked my own shows and toured that enough to pay them back and make another record," Smith says. "I did three Indie records before I was 20, and then I started coming down to Nashville in that time, too. I started co-writing and then about six years ago, I signed my first publishing deal as a staff songwriter."
Smith is one solo artist that has definitely earned her place and made a name for herself in the music industry. She released her most recent EP back in October 2014, "Everything to You," which featured seven beautifully crafted country tracks. "Everything to You" and "Wasting All These Tears" was two frontrunners that ranked the most post popular on the EP amongst iTunes listeners.
No new albums have been released since then, but this Minnesota native is working on a killer new record that will not leave you disappointed. The record is said to be released later this year.
"As far as the new record, I’ve been writing for it for about two years now, and writing for other people," she says. "As I'm writing, I'm going, ‘yeah, I'm going to try this for myself,' and also trying new songs out in live settings and really finding which ones fit the best. I feel really, really excited about this group of songs, and excited to share them."
In the midst of making her brand new record, Smith has also been preparing for the arrival of her first child, which she revealed to me that she will be having a little baby boy! To say the very least, life has been a little hectic for Smith at this point in her career.
"We cut 10 songs this spring, and we’re going to release a few new songs before baby, so, pre-mid-summer," she says excitedly. "The goal is to release the record after baby, so it’s really all going to depend on how that goes. Being a first-time mom, I have no idea, so we’re kind of leaving it open a little bit."
This songstress is not only a creator of her own music but is also a writer for other artists as well. You may know her as the musical mastermind behind songs of stunning originality like "It Ain't Easy" by Jason Aldean, "Let it Hurt" by Rascal Flatts and "Wasting All These Tears" by Cassadee Pope. Some of the other artists that have cut her songs are among the likes of country legends such as Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton and Lady Antebellum.
One of her most notable co-writes is that of Meghan Trainor and John Legend's recorded song, "Like I'm Gonna Lose You," which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Pop Song's chart back in January.
"It was really just another day for all of us. It was before Meghan got a record deal, so it was a few years ago, and she had just been coming to Nashville as a songwriter," Smith says. "
She continues, "She didn’t have a deal, so we're like let’s write the best song we can write. We had a really, super fun time creating something beautiful, and it ended up randomly becoming a No. 1 song, no big deal."
When Smith is not in the studio or playing around with lyrics, she likes to unwind by spending time outdoors with her husband and their dog.
"I have a black lab named Walter, and my husband I adore him; he’s our child right now," she says jokingly. "We love taking him on hikes, he’s our little child for now, and then I love being outdoors. I’m such a nature girl. If I can go garden or just go on walks, runs, hikes; anything outside. I love to, when I’m not pregnant, drink wine and listen to records, so that’ll be this fall where I’ll be doing more of that."
Catch up with Smith on Twitter and Instagram to stay updated on her tour dates and any new releases regarding her music. You can also catch a glimpse of her new music from her upcoming album on her SoundCloud.
If her previous releases are any indication as to what will be in store for us all next, then we know that her new record will certainly live up to its expectations.
Be sure to check out the "Everything to You" EP, which can be purchased in the iTunes store. You can also subscribe to her YouTube channel where you can find all of her "#CaitCoversCait" segments of her "covering" her own songs that she has written for other artists.