Since she could speak and even before she could read, La Jolla musician and actress Caroline Lobbin was drawn to singing.
Then when she was 5, she and her family sought to book her first music lessons. Now, at 14, she has several original songs and music videos to her name.
Caroline’s newest song, “Rollercoasters,” is her favorite one yet, she says. And on Thursday, June 12, she’ll be performing it — along with several of her other songs — for a crowd at Beaumont’s restaurant in Bird Rock.
Caroline released “Rollercoasters” on all streaming platforms April 25, followed by its music video May 15.
“Rollercoasters” chronicles the ups and downs of a potential relationship that never came to be. It lays a pop sheen over her introspective lyrics.
Caroline wrote the song and its hook, “I bet we’d be together, but you’re still scared of rollercoasters,” alone in her bedroom with a guitar and a notebook last summer. After three studio sessions, the song was pushed to the finish line.
The dreamlike video, directed by David Lehre and produced by Vendetta Studios, sees Caroline up in the clouds as she ponders what could have been.
This will be a busy month for Caroline. After Beaumont’s, she will perform at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 18, and sing the national anthem at Petco Park on Wednesday, June 25, before the San Diego Padres take on the Washington Nationals.
For each appearance, “it’s just going to be me performing,” Caroline said. “Someday I’ll have a band.”
Caroline, who said she is inspired by the sounds of singers such as Olivia Rodrigo, Amy Winehouse and Christina Aguilera, feels music provides her an escape and an outlet to express her innermost emotions.
“When I’m songwriting, I like to get out everything that I can say,” she said. “It’s hard for me to say things out loud or to be honest about them to other people, so I kind of turn to writing, journaling and songwriting and poetry to get that out.”
“Rollercoasters” is the eighth song Caroline has released on streaming services, but it’s just one of many she’s written over the past few years.
Her mother, Karly, says she noticed during the COVID-19 pandemic that Caroline had a knack for songwriting.
“It was like all of a sudden she came to us and said ‘I’ve written 10 songs,’ and we were like ‘Oh my goodness,’” Karly said. “And then she’d go into her room and come out and be like, ‘I wrote 30 more songs.’”
Caroline’s first song released on streaming was a cover of Rodrigo’s hit “Drivers License” in 2021. That same year, she also released “Good Times,” “Best Friends” and “Shout-out to My X-Best Friend.”
From age 7, Caroline also has booked several roles in short films, television and feature-length projects. Balancing her acting roles, songwriting, school, practices and friendships became overwhelming, she said.
“No one really understood me,” Caroline said. “Everyone played sports at my school, so I was kind of the outlier. But no one understood that, and I think when you don’t understand someone, you just turn to what’s easiest — to make fun of them or talk behind their back.”
“I like the action of making something good out of something bad,” she continued. “That’s what makes it really important to me.”
In eighth grade, she dropped out of San Diego’s Francis Parker School and shifted to online schooling and decided to double down on her ions.
“I just know what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I think that’s what school is for in a lot of ways — for kids to figure out what they want to do with their life,” Caroline said.
Caroline’s June 12 set at Beaumont’s is scheduled for 7:30 to 10 p.m. at 5662 La Jolla Blvd. and will predominantly highlight her acoustic tracks, with a touch of electric guitar and piano. For more information, visit beaumontseatery.com.
To find out more about Caroline and her music, visit @carolinelobbin on Instagram. ♦
