Folk singer-songwriter Mia Kelly has big things ahead in her career. After two successful studio albums, a recent tour in Australia and multiple music festival performances, including at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Gatineau artist is set to release her third studio album, Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling, on May 22. 

“It’s definitely the happiest record I’ve put out so far,” said Kelly of the album’s concept. “There is a lot of celebration of the juicy, good, joyful bits […] There’s just so much worth celebrating, and it’s an album that celebrates community and friendship and love, and also grief. It’s not all happy […] but there’s kind of a levity and a freedom to it.”

Kelly, who admittedly finds it easier to write songs from a “sadder,” more melancholic place, described it as a pivot from her previous albums, although there are still songs that are tonally like past works.  

According to Kelly, the album’s title derives from one of the tracks she wrote about the feeling of falling in love. 

“[It is] a song about falling in love or having a big fat crush […] Your tummy drops when they say something or when they look at you,” she explained. “You’re full-on gushing […] I think it’s super fun and evocative.” 

Kelly wrote all but two of the tracks on Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling herself, one of the exceptions being the 2025 single “Sea to the Moon,” co-written with and featuring Blair Dunlop. The album was produced with Montreal producer Connor Seidel, who has produced some of Kelly’s favourite records. 

“I’ve been wanting to work with him for a long time, and he [has] honestly exceeded my expectations,” Kelly remarked. “He is so [attentive] and kind and thoughtful and creative and excited […] and was just honestly such a joy to work with. And we were so efficient. It was unbelievable.”

Kelly said her favourite song on the album changes regularly, but she highlighted three. She first noted “Blind Horse,” released last November, which she said was about the theme of privilege. 

“I think it came out feeling both heavy and light at the same time […] I really like the message and lyrically how it lands […] and it feels really topical,” she explained.  

Other songs Kelly highlighted include “Holy Grail / Big Magic,” the album’s opening track, inspired by the magic of creating art, and “Time’s Easy to Blame,” a collaboration with Australian artist Kim Churchill. 

Kelly has been a fan of Churchill for many years, first finding his music over a decade ago. Sharing mutual friends, they knew of each other, but only met two years ago while Churchill was touring Canada. Upon meeting, they clicked right away. 

“It was such an easy friendship, and then that summer […] we kept running into each other at different things and different festivals […] I took him river surfing, and we just have a bunch of intersections of interests and musical interests and life interests and friends,” she recalled. “It’s just this beautiful crossover where it feels so natural despite him being from the other side of the planet.” 

Kelly and Churchill are set to tour across Canada together for the next seven weeks, including a stop in Winnipeg on April 14 at the Park Theatre. She expressed that she loves performing live more than anything.

“A huge theme on the record and off the record, just in my life in the last few years has been community,” she reflected. “I think in these extraordinarily strange and hard times that we’re going through, community is kind of all that will pull us through […] It’s such a joy to be able to share that, to create moments where you’re pulling people in and making community out of a room of strangers.” 

For tickets to the April 14 concert and more information, visit miakellymusic.com or follow @miakkelly on Instagram.