Bluegrass musician Chris Jones juggles roles of singer, radio host and writer

It’s difficult to measure just how much of Chris Jones’ success within the bluegrass world can be credited to his involvement in nearly every aspect of the genre’s media presence, or if that has served as more of a hindrance.

As a columnist for Bluegrass Today, he is known for his wit when approaching the big topic of the moment within his particular section of the music business. As an on-air personality for SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction channel, he brings a mix of the latest singles and all-time classics from the genre’s history.

As a musician, he is celebrated as one of the finest working today, with the songwriting awards to back it up. His group has won nine awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association.

One has to wonder if juggling all of these career avenues has resulted siphoning attention from one — even all three — it deserves. Compare Chris Jones & the Night Drivers’ tour schedule with nearly any other successful bluegrass band touring today, and it’s quickly evident that Jones and crew aren’t traveling in the same circles as other groups at their level.

Jones will bring his four-piece bluegrass band to the Magnolia Roots Music Lounge in Wake Forest April 11, as part of their “Listening Room” series of shows. The group’s latest album, “The Choosing Road,” was just released March 29.

He said juggling the wishes of his fans, while staying on the right side of propriety with whichever media outlet he’s working at the time, has become a full-time job in and of itself.

“It’s interesting, I became well-known for my work in satellite radio fairly quickly, especially among people that had never heard me as an artist,” Jones said. “I’ve had a lot of people at shows say, ‘Are you the same Chris Jones that I hear [on SiriusXM]?’ That made me think that maybe it was a mistake not to identify myself as an artist of some sort, and change that approach a little bit.

“I’m more comfortable with that now, and it has certainly been a valuable thing in terms of name recognition. It is true that if I wasn’t doing [radio], we would probably be on the road a little more, but I really like this mix.”

Jones spoke to The News & Observer before his upcoming show.

Q: How important is it as a bluegrass musician to have a real “listening room” in the Triangle, where you know people are going to pay attention to the music?

A: It’s pretty important for us, because our [setlist] is a lot of originals, and our music originated as something to be listened to. Maybe we’re doing something a little on the subtle side, as we do some different sorts of arrangements of things. We do best when people are actually tuning into what we’re doing, so yeah, it makes big difference for us.

Q: Outside of playing bluegrass, you also are a host on the Bluegrass Junction SiriusXM channel, and you are a columnist for Bluegrass Today. Do you make a conscious effort to separate all of your jobs, where maybe you show a little bit more of Personality A in one, and Personality B in another?

A: The personality is the same, I’m just sort of being me. What I think I try to separate to some extent is when I’m talking about other bluegrass artists, and trying to interest people in what’s going on in general in bluegrass music, I try to avoid getting into plugging myself or our music on Bluegrass Junction. Our music does get played on the channel, but that’s really because the program director has made that decision. I’m really conscious about not inserting extra plays of my own music and things like that.

I think where they do come together on the radio is that I do tend to talk about where I am, because it seems like I broadcast from the road constantly and people seem to be interested in that, and I think for people that are in or near the part of the country where I am at the time it’s sort of meaningful; they’re always “just down the road.” So I talk about that, and talk about where we’re going to be that day if we’re doing a show, but actually I kind of making a conscious effort not to plug our tour schedule or our songs or anything like that.

Q: As a multi-IBMA Award winner, how important did you find winning an IBMA to be to your career?

A: I think it was definitely sort of gradually important, as more and different ones are added on. I have sort of an unusual range of them, from Song of the Year (2007’s “Fork in the Road”), to Print Media Person of the Year (2014). The Bluegrass Broadcaster of the Year award was really big for me, even just within SiriusXM, as the people not familiar with the bluegrass community could see they were getting some recognition there. The Song of the Year win had an impact, as I think people actually took me seriously as a songwriter afterward.

Q: You’ve also got an extensive history performing with other artists as a sideman. How do you approach the job of leading your own band, as opposed to when you’re appearing on someone else’s work, where you know it’s going to be their name on the final product at the end of the day?

A: I think it’s a great experience to go back and forth in some ways, because side men have a tendency not to understand all the work involved in leading a band, and vice versa. What I have found, after being a band leader and taking on all of the responsibility that entails, when I go back and tour with other artists [as just a musician], it feels a little like a vacation to me because I just need to show up and and play and know my part.

As a band leader, having been a sideman, I try to involve everybody as much as possible for their artistic input. I’ve never operated as some sort of star with side people, and you could just plug anyone into their job, so I think it’s been valuable to do both.

Details

Who: An Evening with Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, part of the “Wake Forest Listening Room” series

When: 7 p.m. April 11

Where: Magnolia Roots Music Lounge, 219 S. White St., Wake Forest

Cost: $15

Info: SugarMagnoliaCafe.com or 919-435-4436