Mia Kelly thinks joy deserves more credit.

“There is a weight to tragedy, introspection and sadness that are so prevalent in the singer/songwriter/folk scene,” the Gatineau, Quebec, artist explains in an email interview. “I wanted to write from a joyful, luminous, hopeful place, as it feels lacking in our communities right now.”

That intention runs through Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling, her third full-length album, and into a new chapter in her performing life. After four years of touring solo, Kelly is taking a full band on the road for the first time. Presented by KPP Concerts, the tour reaches Kingston’s Broom Factory on Friday, November 6, with special guests Basset.

For listeners meeting Kelly through this record, there is plenty of emotional ground to explore. Its eleven original songs consider family, falling in love, heartbreak, and the good fortune of having people to count on. Kelly’s sense of hope makes room for all of it.

Finding joy in the everyday.

Asked to explain what makes this her most joyful album, Kelly broadens the description.

“I think more than joy, this album holds light, hope, community and compassion,” she writes. “I think the song ‘Coin in the Cake’ might best encapsulate the gratitude I wanted to express on this album. It’s bursting at the seams with joy and love for my community.”

The song takes its inspiration from her grandmother’s tradition of hiding lucky coins in birthday cakes. That family ritual has now travelled well beyond the birthday table: “Coin in the Cake” has earned a Canadian Folk Music Awards nomination for Single of the Year, alongside Kelly’s Songwriter of the Year nomination for Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling.

The recognition builds on a career that has already brought her the awards for Young Performer of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards. Her debut, Garden Through the War (2022), introduced songs about resilience and growth; To Be Clear followed in 2024, co-produced with Jim Bryson.

For Kelly, the latest nominations also affirm the emotional territory she chose to explore.

“It’s rewarding to have that joy celebrated and seen,” she writes.

A ballad finds its feet.

Released May 22, Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling was recorded with producer Connor Seidel at his Treehouse studio in Sainte-Adèle, Quebec. His collaborators have included Charlotte Cardin, Half Moon Run, and Leif Vollebekk.

One of the clearest examples of how the partnership shaped the record came with “Time’s Easy to Blame,” a song about mistimed love and growing up alongside someone who has known you for years.

“There was a cool moment when we were working on ‘Time’s Easy to Blame’ where Connor suggested we speed it up and make it upbeat,” Kelly recalls. “Immediately, what had been an introspective ballad took on a new life.”

The resulting recording features lilting fiddle and Australian singer-songwriter Kim Churchill, whom Kelly affectionately calls “human sunshine.”

“It was cool to watch the song get flipped on its head and take new shape.”

Elsewhere, “Sea to the Moon,” featuring British songwriter Blair Dunlop, considers the vulnerability of confessing love to a longtime friend. The title track captures the headlong rush of falling for someone, while “Salish Sea” explores heartbreak’s place in everyday life.

Together, those subjects give context to Kelly’s emphasis on compassion. The album’s hopeful outlook leaves space for feelings that are harder to navigate.

Singing at the edge of the ice.

Kelly’s summer supplied experiences that reached far beyond the recording studio. She made her Edmonton Folk Music Festival debut, joined Nathaniel Rateliff onstage, and played her first UK festivals. A Students on Ice expedition also took her to the Arctic.

When asked which moment has stayed with her, she returns to a morning in southern Greenland. The expedition woke in a fjord within sight of the Greenland ice cap, close enough to hear it calving.

“The whole of the Students on Ice expedition gathered on Zodiacs, gliding over clear, cold water at the base of the icecap and we sang together, a cappella,” she recalls. “It was so magical and felt like such a bonding moment between humans and our fragile earth.”

It is a striking image of the community Kelly talks about in her music: people sharing a song in a place that makes them aware of their surroundings and one another.

Bringing friends along to Broom Factory.

This fall, shared experience is also part of Kelly’s approach to touring. Her band includes Matias Recharte on drums and percussion and Sam Clark on guitar, fiddle, and backing vocals. Clark is also one half of Basset, the duo joining her for the Kingston date.

“I wanted to shake things up for this tour, bring more energy on stage, and invite some friends along for the ride,” Kelly says in the tour announcement.

For audiences who have seen her perform solo, the band offers a chance to hear her songs with a different range of textures. For newcomers, the Broom Factory show is an introduction to a songwriter whose growing list of honours accompanies a clear sense of what she wants her music to offer.

As Kelly puts it, “I think in this genre of music, joy is an underrated emotion.”

Kingston gets its invitation to join in on November 6.

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Mia Kelly performs with special guests Basset in Kingston at Broom Factory, Friday, November 6, 2026. Presented by KPP Concerts, the all-ages, licensed show begins at 7:30 p.m.; doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $22.50 plus fees. Details and tickets avaialble here.

Posted: Oct 29, 2026