Exclusive: Hear Caroline Keller Band sing country, talk religion and perform a C5 Couch Session

The three members of the Caroline Keller Band found each other at Five Stones Church in Waxhaw. Scott Spruill, a Georgia native, and Caroline Keller, a Charlotte native, were in the midst of separate musical ventures and played in the worship band. The ventures came to a halt around the same time and they decided to try out a band concept together in 2013. They met John Christenbury, another Charlotte native, soon after.

Now, Keller sings, Christenbury adds bass guitar and Spruill intertwines background vocals, acoustic guitar and keys. While they thought their music would take a spiritual route, it has evolved.

“We started writing and it really ended up being country,” said Keller, 28.

They all have jobs: Christenbury is a graphic designer, Keller works with her family’s RV dealership and Spruill works at Carmel Baptist Church.

But when they are together, they all write their music and lyrics with inspiration derived from their collective experiences.

“As songwriters we have the ability to be storytellers, which is really cool,” Keller said. “And a lot of the stories that we’re able to tell through our music don’t necessarily have to be our own. They can be of people in our life or that random person that you saw at the grocery store, or pretty much anything.”

Religion still plays a factor in their music.

Spruill, 40, initially pushed himself to write Christian lyrics, but found a better flow when he let himself write anything. “You can do things a certain way and still not compromise who you are,” he said.

“My faith is what keeps me grounded and is to the core who I am,” Keller said, “so I feel like I get to go out and be an example in another realm.”

Christenbury, 43, finds that his religious background gives him the boundaries he needs.

“It’s a nice baseline to start from and it helps you navigate and make choices,” he said.

For their C5 Couch Session, they performed tunes from their EP “Busted,” which can be found online at their website, iTunes, Amazon and other digital platforms.

Next: Catch their tour at Hattie’s Tap & Tavern Aug. 12 or at the Milestone Aug. 16. Find tickets and their tour schedule here.

Special thanks to Charlotte Star Room, a music development and video production studio for singers, songwriters and producers, for hooking us up with local musicians for our C5 Couch Sessions! If you’re a local musician interested in playing at CreativeMornings/Charlotte, email alexis@charlottestarroom.com.

Also, if you missed our other C5 Couch Sessions, check out singer/songwriter Jaron Strom here, and hip-hop artist KM here.

Photo: Katie Toussaint

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 11:00 PM.