It’s easy to say you’ve done something “one thousand times,” but singer-songwriter Caroline Cotter actually has. As a touring artist with over 1,000 shows under her belt, Caroline has built a career and creative process on a life that is often on the move. Through a life of traveling, she has built an understanding not just of good performances but of what it takes to maintain a life in motion.
Today, Caroline is a folk/pop artist, but she started traveling as an educator, leaving her home in Rhode Island to teach abroad. College and then graduate school took her to Thailand, Spain, and Portugal. She began writing songs after college, even as she built her career as an educator.
Her love of songwriting was growing, though. “In 2015, I quit my day job and started touring around the country and then Europe with my music,” she told us. Now, she’s exploring a different kind of education, one that introduces her to new places, people, and perspectives that influence her life and music. “It’s an ever-evolving journey, and I don’t know what’s next. I just feel grateful for the doors and hearts that have been opened thanks to sharing my music thus far.”
Spending so much time on the road is a skill! Long hours of travel time are just the start of the obstacles that come with irregular routines and shifting places. Caroline shared that being connected with nature and with other people keeps her from feeling disconnected. She calls her process of finding these connections in live audiences an “ongoing experiment.” “Touring has never been an easy endeavor, but the challenges these days seem to be growing,” she said, expressing gratitude for the many people from promoters to the audience who make it possible for her to perform.
In her most recent single, “Grounded in Love,” Caroline captures what it means to pass through so many places and lives without losing yourself. Travel is both a privilege and a challenge, and Caroline knows that taking care of her mental health is the only way to succeed personally and professionally. As she shared, “the show must go on,” but enjoying and experiencing the process is essential, too.
While many assume that the biggest challenges of touring come down to sleep and missing home, Caroline shared that for her, “the most challenging part of life is keeping up with what’s coming next.” Each tour stop is just a moment, and a fleeting one at that, before the next stop, the next song, the next project. “I love being able to sink into the present moment and enjoy each show, each connection, and the beauty of the place I’m experiencing. And yet, the show must go on, and there’s always work to be done to make sure that I have work further down the road.” This momentum can make staying grounded difficult.
On “Grounded in Love,” Caroline highlights a constant: love. No matter where she is, Caroline knows that she can embrace the world around her with enthusiasm. Finding audience connections, taking a moment to explore a new town—each experience gives Caroline purpose and reminds her why she set out on this journey in the first place. “My music is a cathartic expression of my life experience,” she shared, noting that one line in particular, “I’m grounded in light, I’m grounded in love,” is “the most helpful reminder when she’s feeling untethered or lost.” She said, “It reminds me to tap into the deeper realms of existence and to feel held by nature and a universal higher power, one that transcends the material world.”
As the first look at her new album, The Answer, “Grounded in Love” gives us a glimpse at the sound Caroline is embracing. Her previous experience spans several genres, including swing and bluegrass, but Caroline said that The Answer “sits pretty solidly in the acoustic folk, singer-songwriter genre”—though the final track on the album is a “jazz ditty.” The album is a collection of songs that Caroline wrote “from the light” in 2025 during months spent touring the world. “Grounded in Love” perfectly captures her “light and love” theme.
Most of us are not straying so far from home (or meeting nearly as many people), but the lessons in “Grounded in Love,” are a reminder that whatever challenges make everyday life feel like it’s happening too fast, there is light. Caroline shared that The Answer is a response to her previous, darker album A Quiet Song of Hope, and that together the albums are a balanced collection of light and dark. Keeping up with life requires both, but we’re with Caroline, focusing, for now, on light and love.
“Grounded in Love” and The Answer are out now.
