“Good things come to those who wait” is a mantra that can often be overused, but sometimes, there’s things that prove it true. Six years ago, Caroline Kid began writing songs after a fateful night singing karaoke. In the time that followed, Kid chronicled her time in Music City and put her life on paper, building to what eventually became her debut EP.
Having solo-written each of the EP’s six songs herself, Kid admits feeling both relief and the ability to claim the titles of “songwriter” and “artist” with the EP released into the world, an EP which has already received support from major outlets like CMT, ET, E! and ACM.
We chatted with Kid all about her EP, as well as her journey to writing songs, what she’s learned along the way and more!
Pro Country: You told a story in a previous interview of how a night singing karaoke got you started with writing lyrics. Can you tell us that story and how pivotal that night was for you?
Caroline Kid: Sure! I was out at karaoke and I had just sung Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’.” When I got back to the table, a friend of mine who has worked in the music industry said they could see me being an artist and asked if I had ever written any songs. I was like “are you serious? You think I could really sing?” He told me a little bit about how it works and said I could probably get started in the industry if I wrote four songs. Something awoke inside of me: I had never thought about the realities of how an artist starts out, but felt like I could definitely write four songs if I focused. It took moving some mountains to get there, but I eventually got those songs, and now I’ll be writing songs until the day I die!
PC: You mentioned on social media that you started writing for your EP six years ago. With all that work put into it, what emotions did you feel as it was finally ready to release to the world?
CK: Relief. I put out a project I made with the most authentic pieces of myself, and now that it is out there, I feel like I can finally call myself an artist. My heart was just burning to express myself like this, and it feels like I can finally relax a bit knowing it happened. I have been patiently learning, writing and waiting for the right people, songs and circumstances to come into my life. Age is teaching me that nothing in life is guaranteed. I’m grateful my life led me here.
PC: You solo-wrote each of the six songs that comprise the EP. How important was it for you to get as much of “you” onto the EP and the perspective you bring to life and songwriting?
CK: It was important because this EP is a time capsule of my first chapter in Nashville. I’ll always hear these songs and be transported to my string of apartments and humble writers rounds where I played them for empty chairs. I am getting hungry for bigger things, and didn’t want to move on from these songs without seeing them through. I co-write often, and I’m honored and ecstatic to get to share the songwriting process with other talented writers and artists in Nashville, but there is something so deeply satisfying about knowing your own life gave you a song all your own. This may be the only project I put out like this. I felt like it had to be done.
PC: You released “Wyoming” as the lead single from your EP. What was it about the song that drew you to have it serve as the introduction to your self-titled EP?
CK: This song is arguably my oldest song. It was the first song people gave me consistent positive feedback on at writers rounds, and I am grateful to it for the confidence it gave me to keep going. I worked on it a lot, and honestly, part of me was tired of having it only live in my head! I had to get it out first; it had been waiting the longest.
PC: “Wyoming” is quickly approaching 20,000 streams on Spotify alone. What do you think it is about “Wyoming” that has allowed it to connect with listeners the way it has, especially serving as the first release from your EP?
CK: I think it taps into a lot of emotions, and there are a lot of sides to the story a person can latch onto: nostalgia, anger, vulnerability, hope. I wanted to give permission for listeners to indulge their memories of lost summer love with this song, and it seems like they are.
PC: “Do I Miss the Rain” is our favorite song on your EP. Can you take us in the room and talk about how the song came together?
CK: Oh yay! I’m glad you like that one. I absolutely love how it came together, and truth be told, I almost left it out! It was part of my original batch of tunes I started playing out with years ago, but didn’t feel it was as much of a priority to release. Leaving it out haunted me, though, so I worked on it a little bit more and sent it to my producer, Andrew King, to say “what do you think if we add this?” I genuinely didn’t know what he would think, but he ended up liking it, so we made it happen.
PC: What do you hope listeners take away from your EP after listening all the way through?
CK: I hope they romanticize their life a little more than they did before they took 20 minutes to hang out with me. Each song weaves a little of my philosophy on life into them. Love is messy, dreams are for chasing, and places can keep our hearts as much as people can.
PC: 2022 marks six years into your Nashville journey. Over the course of those six years, what is the biggest thing you’ve learned about yourself as an artist and songwriter?
CK: Mostly that I am worthy of those titles “songwriter” and “artist.” I thought musicians were a different type of person or had some God-given club membership that I wasn’t a part of. But that simply isn’t true. Of those six years, it took me over a year to play an open mic, at least three years to introduce myself to someone an “artist,” and a full six years to make this happen. I’ve learned that I can learn, and I’ve learned that I had this inside of me all along.
PC: What are your plans for the rest of 2022 and going into 2023?
CK: I’m already back in the studio. Next thing I want to do is release some of the co-written songs that I love, find some festivals that might have me out next summer, and maybe finally figure out how to go viral on TikTok. My plans are to make more musician friends and make more music. I can’t wait. It keeps getting better.
Pro Country 
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