Caleb Landry Jones

After making his name as a film actor in the latter half of the 2010s, Texas native Caleb Landry Jones launched his music career in 2020 with the experimental neo-psychedelic album The Mother Stone. His second album, the two-part Gadzooks, arrived in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Moving away from the multi-instrumental approach of these albums, Jones assembled a live band to help him record his ambitious fourth LP, Hey Gary, Hey Dawn. Born in Garland, Texas, to a long line of fiddlers, Jones eschewed the instrument of his heritage, drawn instead to the exploratory pop of the Beatles’ White Album and the ramshackle psychedelia of Syd Barrett’s post-Pink Floyd solo work. Although he became known as a film actor with roles in movies like Get Out and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, he remained devoted to his music, recording hundreds of D.I.Y. demos in his parents’ barn, some of which were eventually heard by director/musician Jim Jarmusch. At Jarmusch’s recommendation, Jones approached Sacred Bones Records, which added him to their roster and paired him with producer Nic Jodoin (Black Lips). Released in 2020, Jones’ debut LP, The Mother Stone, was an expansive, psych-driven collection of experimental rock. Working quickly, he returned the next year with his follow-up album, Gadzooks, Vol. 1, which adopted a similar tone and style. For the second installment of Gadzooks, Jones teamed up with Jodoin and Drew Erickson at Los Angeles’ famed Valentine Recording Studios. Led by the enigmatic single “Touchdown Yolk,” Gadzooks, Vol. 2 appeared in 2022. Each of Jones’ first three albums were layered, studio-built affairs that showcased his talents as a multi-instrumentalist. For his next project, he put together a live band and intentionally composed songs with their performance in mind. Released in 2024, Hey Gary, Hey Dawn was, if anything, an even more ambitious collection, augmented with string sections and elaborate prog-inspired passages. To promote its release, Jones and his band played a month-long residency in Austin before heading out on tour. ~ Timothy Monger