Colbie Caillat Chats New Country Band 'Gone West' Ahead Of KAABOO

DEL MAR, CA — California's own Colbie Caillat returns to the Golden State, performing her own music for the first time in several years Sunday at the sold-out KAABOO Del Mar, a three-day music, comedy, art and cuisine festival at the Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds.

Also see: KAABOO Del Mar Sold Out: 3-Day Festival Kicks Off Friday

The Grammy award-winning artist, currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, is on tour with her country band Gone West, which includes her fiancé and singer-songwriter Justin Young, as well as friends and collaborators Jason Reeves and Nelly Joy. The group formed after touring together in support of Caillat's last studio album, "The Malibu Sessions," released in 2016.

Gone West's EP, "Tides," was released at the start of 2019, followed by the band's debut single, "What Could've Been."

Though on tour with the band, Caillat's fans can expect to hear her solo material at 6:05 p.m. Sunday at KAABOO.

Patch: We're excited to have you back in the Golden State! Your performance at KAABOO in Del Mar is just days away. What can fans expect?

Colbie Caillat: I am always happy to be back in Southern California where I'm from. I love San Diego and the weather will be perfect! I haven't played a show with my band for over 6 months, so I'm really excited. Gonna play a bunch of my old songs and have a fun cover for everyone to sing with me as well.

Patch: Will you solely be performing your own music, or will we hear some of your new music from your band Gone West?

Colbie Caillat: I will be performing all my solo material for this show. All the songs from Gone West were written by all of us in the band, and the harmonies are mostly four-part so I don't wanna perform GW songs without them! Justin will be performing with me though!

Patch: Speaking of Gone West, what have you enjoyed most about being in a band after years of writing, singing and performing as a solo artist?

Colbie Caillat: There's something very familiar about it, since I've been writing with Jason since my first album, "Coco," and of course perform with Justin since my first tour in 2007. And Nelly has been collaborating with us for 10 years. It's a lot of fun touring when you have your best friends and significant other – and dogs on the road and onstage with you."

Patch: How did the group come together?

Colbie Caillat: Justin and I moved to Nashville where Jason and Nelly live, so it made the move comfortable and easy. At the same time, I went on tour for my album "The Malibu Sessions," so I asked them to come along and play in the band. And it was just so natural. That sparked the idea of this band officially forming.

Patch: I love the harmonies! How did you and the rest of the band decide on your sound?

Colbie Caillat: Thank you! We work on all the production and write the songs together. We all love classic rock and acoustic organic instruments and harmonies so we really tried staying focused in that direction in making this project.

Patch: Have you always liked country music?

Colbie Caillat: One of my first collaborations was with Taylor Swift ("Breathe") and I've performed over the years with people like Brad Paisley ("Merry Christmas Baby"), so I've always felt comfortable in Nashville and around the music and musicians. I always felt like the music I created was more in the country/folk genre than pop.

Patch: Gone West's EP was released earlier this year, followed by the single, "What Could've Been." Will you be recording a full album?

Colbie Caillat: Yes, we are recording it right now, and I'm really excited about it. We're almost done with it and already performing the new songs at our shows!