Lucinda Williams. Emmylou Harris. Patty Griffin. It’s time to add another woman’s name to the alt-country pantheon: Caroline Spence.
I saw Caroline and her ace band live a few days ago. There were four folks on stage, and only about 24 folks in the audience.
But that audience count is going to keep going up, because Caroline is going places. Her new album Mint Condition is a stellar collection of tunes. It’s her third full-length release, and the first one on a legit label (kudos to Rounder Records for signing her).
Here are a few tunes from the album that showcase her range… first is an uptempo, rockin’ tune:
And here’s a live, acoustic version of the title track, a sweet song she wrote for her grandparents:
Finally, another beautiful ballad, with great lyrics, that reminds me so much of Lucinda and Emmylou and Patty:
Caroline and her band are on tour now, on an East Coast swing. Get off the couch and go check them out… and bring 25 of your closest friends.
Awwww, this is great! Thanks so much for writing about Caroline. I just saw her in NYC last week and I agree wholeheartedly with everything you wrote. In the interest of full disclosure, I work for her label. We’re all genuinely smitten with her and her music. LMK if I can send you a vinyl copy of her album: I’ll be happy to.
Hi Regina, thanks for reading. Rounder Records is great! I bought a vinyl copy of the new album at the show and got Caroline to sign it, so I’m all set, but I do appreciate the offer. Thank you for promoting great artists like Caroline, and I look forward to hearing more great things from her, and about her, in the future.