Canfield native AC Jones has a new partner, both on stage and off.
The country singer married Michael Boris in October, and the couple released its debut single, “All the Right Mistakes,” as Arbor North on Friday. It is available for streaming and digital download.
Jones compared the song to the introduction to a novel.
“It touches on where we’re heading and where we’ve been,” she said during a telephone interview from Nashville.
The song’s structure also showcases the duo’s talents. The first verse highlights each vocalist individually as Jones and Boris each sing solo on the first verse before their voices unite and the listener can hear the beautiful music they make together.
Jones and Boris became a couple before they became a duo. Both were aware of each other professionally, but they didn’t really meet until a mutual friend introduced him at a country radio seminar in February 2020, and they ended up sitting at the same table at a dinner during the event.
They hit it off, but the COVID-19 pandemic started just a few weeks later and didn’t stay in contact. Then in November Boris posted a photo of himself on social media, and Jones liked the photo.
“I saw her name pop up, and I felt this divine prompting to reach out to her,” Boris said. “As the kids say, I slid into her DMs, and it worked. That was Nov. 19, 2020.”
Less than a year later, they were married.
Arbor North didn’t start until after they were engaged. Jones had been splitting her time between Nashville and the Mahoning Valley for years pursuing a career in music. Boris, originally from upstate New York had been doing the same and was a member of the group Lockeland.
After Lockeland dissolved, Boris suggested they try writing together.
“Just because you have good chemistry relationship wise doesn’t mean in writing and business you have good chemistry,” he said. “Let’s see if it works, and it was so easy, so much fun. We had great chemistry in writing together and before we knew it, we had a catalog of songs.”
Jones described “All the Right Mistakes,” co-written with Nashville songwriter Bill DiLuigi, the most mainstream country of the four songs completed.
“We definitely have some surprises up our sleeve,” she said, and indicated one upcoming single has a funk influence. “There are some great complicated and orchestrated musical breaks.”
“In the recording studio with the studio musicians, it was fun for them and a bit of a challenge,” Boris added. “It wasn’t the typical Nashille session or the typical song formula. We definitely threw some curveballs.”
The duo has not performed live yet, Jones and Boris said they are in the process of creating their live show. They’ve been booked for a country festival in Scotland this summer and plan to build a UK tour around that show.
They have no immediate plans for a hometown show, but Jones said “I would love to do that. One of the things Michael and I really love are the theatrics of live performance and just really being able to put together something entertaining and engaging.”
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