Caitlin Rose was born in Dallas, Texas on June 23, 1987. Her mother, Liz Rose, was a Grammy-winning songwriter who collaborated with Taylor Swift on the albums Taylor Swift, Fearless, and Red as well as penning tunes for Carrie Underwood, Lee Ann Womack, and Martina McBride. Caitlin grew up in Nashville, Tennessee and was 16 years old when she began writing songs. In her teens, she was part of a band called Save Macaulay, but shortly before they were due to release an EP, they abruptly split up. Rose reworked the material into a solo project, and the seven-song release Dead Flowers (which included five original tunes along with covers of Patsy Cline and Rolling Stones classics) became her debut in 2008. The EP was followed by a handful of singles, and Caitlin developed a reputation as a talent to watch for her low-key recordings as well as her live shows. In 2010, Rose brought out her first full-length album, Own Side Now, issued by Names Records, an independent label based in the United Kingdom. The album's blend of country, folk, and indie rock influences won positive reviews in the American and British music press, and it was picked up for U.S. release by ATO Records in 2011; their edition brought Rose greater exposure, and Claire Suddath of Time Magazine named it one of the ten best albums of the year.
After several rounds of touring, Rose returned to the recording studio, and 2013's The Stand-In was a more polished and harder-edged sophomore album. Released by Names in the U.K. and ATO in the United States, the album was another critical success and built on the momentum of the first album.
The pressures of Rose's increased success and her busy touring schedule led to her stepping out of the spotlight for a while. Rose performed infrequently over the next few years, and she began work on a third album in 2017 but chose to scrap the project before it was completed. In early 2020, Rose went into Nashville's Sound Emporium studio with producer Jordan Lehning and a band that included musicians William Tyler and Luke Schneider. The sessions went well, but shortly after they completed the basic tracks, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the music industry, and further work on the album was halted. Rose bided her time, releasing an expanded reissue of Own Side Now in 2021 and tinkering with the album-in-progress with Lehning until the time seemed right to deliver it to their fans. After posting a handful of tracks on streaming services, the third Caitlin Rose album, Cazimi, was released by Missing Piece Records in November 2022. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi