Songwriters provide the foundation for the music industry and Caitlyn Smith has proven this by penning many songs that we all know and love. I sat down with her backstage at the Country Music Hall of Fame before her show and we discussed the balance of being a songwriter and artist, her influences, and her latest music.
Influences
Smith has such a unique style behind her songs that I just had to ask about her influences. The first cassette she owned was by Alison Krauss and the songs inspired her to begin writing music. Others also contributed to her sound. “I’m a child of 90s country,” she explained and listed Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill as artists she listened to constantly. She also drew inspiration from the songwriters her parents loved, like Paul Simon and Carol King.
Additionally, she expanded her repertoire beyond country and songwriters. In the garage, her family would play heavy metal music and she also noted that the local music scene played a big part in her upbringing. “Minneapolis has an incredible music scene that I was born and raised on.”
The culmination of influences shaped Smith’s sound and she loves writing so much that she makes it a practice to fit it in each week. “It’s really my therapy,” she said. “If I’m not writing songs, at least once a week or once every two weeks, I really crave it.”
Country Music Hall of Fame Show
Smith performed for an intimate audience at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. The venue provided the perfect place to showcase her powerful vocals and personal stories. She sang some of the songs she’d written with other artists, like “You Can’t Make Old Friends” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, “High” by Miley Cyrus, “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” by Meghan Trainor, and “Wasting All These Tears” by Cassadee Pope. Not surprisingly, the last two are each artist’s most-streamed Spotify song, with almost 830 million and 82 million streams respectively.
Smith took time to describe her journey through her career and discussed the stories behind some of her songs. Since she started as a songwriter, she admitted how difficult it was to pitch music for herself, rather than another artist. When she’d present a song to a record label, they’d love the song and suggest that another artist record it. While that’s a huge compliment to her writing, it didn’t allow her to explore her desire to perform.
After hearing “no” repeatedly, she returned home one day, flopped on the couch, and the chorus for “This Town is Killin’ Me” instantly came to her. Smith’s story of perseverance was inspiring, especially when the public doesn’t necessarily see the struggles of an artist’s life, only the success. Smith encouraged everyone to believe in themselves and “just show up,” since you never know what might happen.
High
For Smith’s latest record High, she decided to produce it herself. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It was a little bit scary,” she admitted. The stakes are higher when an artist adds production in addition to writing and recording their album, but it’s definitely worth it when they successfully pull it off. Smith described the incredible feeling, “It feels freer, it feels more womanly, stronger, because it’s more vulnerable.”
I asked about her approach for the album and how she decided which songs would make the cut. She explained, “As I grow as a human and an artist, it becomes more clear what songs are mine and what songs are for pitch.” For this album in particular, she said, “I just had more of a vision of what stories I wanted to tell.”
“I’m really proud of this last record,” she said.
What’s Next for Caitlyn Smith
Low, the next volume of the record, features several emotional songs, but the mix of songs isn’t necessarily representative of feeling low. Smith doesn’t have a release date yet, but I’m definitely looking forward to hearing it.
For more information on Caitlyn Smith, visit https://www.caitlynsmith.com/.