Boston-based folk singer Kaiti Jones stopped by 88.9 WERS to play a spine-chilling, beautifully haunting set for Wicked Local Wednesday. After the set, WERS’ Lily Doolin sat down to talk with her about storytelling in the folk genre, upcoming shows this summer, and what’s on the horizon regarding new music.
I wanted to ask you how you started writing music—specifically, writing this folk-inspired music. You mentioned that you were classically trained, so how did your music transform into folk?
Kaiti Jones: I’ve always loved telling stories, and something about the folk genre and the folk tradition—and there are so many traditions within folk—but it’s all about storytelling. It’s not always super interesting or complex music. But I remember one of the first times I heard a Bob Dylan song, I was younger and I was like, “what is this? I don’t really get this. It doesn’t sound that good.” [laughs]. Later, though, I re-engaged with it and then was like, “oh my gosh, he’s telling these beautiful stories.” Seeing that it was this genre within music—where the chief goal was to tell good stories that spoke to some truth about being a human, or wrestle with hard things you could captivate people with four verses and no chorus—I thought that was so interesting. When I started listening, it was that genre that had the best songwriting for me. That was the focal point of it. It wasn’t caught behind layers and layers of distortion, it was just there.
What is the source of your inspiration for those stories? Is it typically something from your own life, is it another artists or genre, or maybe something from literature?
KJ: Two of my favorite authors are Flannery O’Connor and Wendell Berry. Flannery O’Connor—I started reading her back in college—struck me with how she was telling these stories set in the South. My family is from the South. These stories were very relatable to me. But also, I liked the way she would tell one story by telling another story. So, she would tell one story about a family or about a town—and Wendell Berry does the same thing—but really, they were talking about bigger truths.
Like a story within a story, using one as a sort of frame narrative.
KJ: Exactly. Most of my songs are pretty much taken from my life, but I don’t ever just want to be telling one story. I don’t ever just want to be reporting on my life. I want to be speaking to some universal part of each person that someone else is going to hear and say, “that’s me,” or “oh, I didn’t understand that, but now I do.” I think the best stories that I’ve read or heard or listened to via songs have done that for me. The last couple of years I’ve been inspired by songwriters who seem to be so good at writing outside of their own experience, something I’m currently trying to dive more into. I’m only so interesting, and at some point, I’m gonna get bored with my own life [laughs].
[laughs] Sometimes, you gotta branch out.
KJ: But there is something really masterful about songwriters who can tell a true and authentic story, that’s not necessarily native to them, but do it in a way that speaks to the truth of that story and tells the story for someone without co-opting anything.
I get from this that, for you, folk music is so much more than the label of the genre. When people look up your music, they see that folk label, but how would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it before?
KJ: Sometimes I say melancholic, almost like bedtime stories filled with melancholy and nostalgia. These days, I’ve been listening to a lot more women writing songs. Particularly, I’ve been getting more into rock, and having some rock undertones. So, I would say Americana with the occasional foot stomper, but also with the occasional sad bedtime song.
I’ve been looking on your socials, and you seem really engaged in the Boston music community. I was wondering how that came to be, and if that has an impact on your music?
KJ: Community for me is huge. I do music part-time, and I work for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston full-time. A lot of that is being present in different communities around Greater Boston. For me, the folk, it was kind of a slow burn to get connected into the songwriting scene. For a long time, I was sort of hesitant and wasn’t sure what I was doing. I finally, in the last year and a half, decided to dive in, and it’s been amazing. There’s so many phenomenal artists, but phenomenal people. Once you start, its doors open, and you have these friends and opportunities. Everyone is for each other.
Absolutely. We see them here every Wednesday night, which is amazing.
KJ: Right, as you know I’m sure. Being part of the community, and be able to go out and see great music, and then form relationships with those people, support them, and feel supported by them is amazing. It’s going to only get better, and the scene is definitely on the move.
I know you played some new, unreleased songs tonight. Can you tell us what you’re working on, what’s maybe coming up in the near future for you?
KJ: I’ve been working on writing new material. I want to have a repertoire that I’m proud of, and I’m coming to the end of that. I’m kind of in the pre-stages of what I want to do, but definitely new music will be coming. I’m mostly just excited about playing a bunch of shows, being outdoors, and collaborating. It’s gonna be great.
Do you have a favorite show coming up?
KJ: I’m super excited to be playing both Aeronaut Allston and Aeronaut Arlington this summer. I’m also doing two outdoor series concerts in Manhattan, one in May and one in July. Being able to get out and share my music here in Boston and also branching out is exciting.
Where can listeners find your music if they want to know more about you?
KJ: Definitely follow me on Instagram or Facebook. That’s where all my announcements come out. It’s @kaitijonesmusic. Lots of videos on YouTube, and definitely check me out on Spotify.
