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Zac Brown Band is marking a new era as the group welcomes its newest band member, who is also the first female artist to officially join “the ZBB family.” Caroline Jones is now officially a member of the group, Zac Brown Band shared on their social media channels on Thursday (November 3), though Jones is no stranger to performing with the GRAMMY award-winning artists.
“It feels like Caroline has been part of Zac Brown Band for years,” frontman Zac Brown said in a statement as the band shared a few onstage photos with Jones. “She has done a few tours with us and has also been in the recording studio creating with us. She is family and a bada** musician. She sings the highest and works the hardest."
“After 3 years as their opening act and 2 years touring in the band, I am honored to announce that I’ll be joining the [Zac Brown Band] as an official member,” Jones gushed as she shared the news on Instagram. “Exciting (and busy!) times ahead as I perform and create with ZBB while continuing to build my own career. Thank you all for your support. Playing with ZBB makes me a better musician, vocalist, songwriter, performer, and human. I live for each of those things and I am humbled that they believe I add to the outfit.”
The “Out In The Middle” group has previously welcomed Jones to the stage as an opening act on a few of their tours, and as a special guest at other events, including at CMA Fest in Nashville and when Zac Brown Band opened for The Rolling Stones in Atlanta, Entertainment Tonight noted in a report on Thursday. Jones said in a statement to the outlet: “Joining Zac Brown Band as an official member is the greatest honor of my career so far. 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. …As an independent artist, I owe my career to Zac and other superstar mentors who have taken me under their wing, but I will never forget that Zac was the first.”
Jones went on to recall her “first time as a wide-eyed, nerve-wracked opening act” during a Zac Brown Band show on June 22, 2017. She “never would have believed” that she would become a permanent member of the band years later, she said, per ET. Jones added, in part: “I am extremely proud to share the stage with such a diverse and gifted group of musicians, each of whom brings craftsmanship and unique strengths to the band.”
Zac Brown Band recently released their 21-track The Comeback Deluxe album, expanding on the project they released last year with star-studded collaborations on previously-released fan-favorite songs. Some artists to appear on the extended album include Jimmy Buffett (“Same Boat”), Cody Johnson (“Wild Palomino”) and Blake Shelton (“Out In The Middle”), among others.
Zac Brown Band bass player Matt Mangano and drummer Chris Fryar previously spoke with iHeartRadio about each band member adding their own “twist” and musical influences to The Comeback, particularly after spending “an enormous amount of time apart” because of the pandemic. Fryar said at that time that “everyone had a new little twist to their musical personality, which was really cool to be able to try to incorporate all of that into the mix.”
Brown said during an exclusive iHeartRadio Album Release Party in October 2021 that The Comeback is “the best album that I’ve ever made, start to finish. All the guys, everybody on the team just killed it.” He added later: “Music’s so powerful… My favorite part is that connection that I get, that energetic connection with all those people.”
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