Canadian indie folk artist Mia Kelly joins the podcast during a rare break at her home base in Gatineau. We dive into her life on the road, her recent Australian tour, and her collaboration with Kim Churchill on the new single "Time’s Easy to Blame." From winning Canadian Folk Music Awards to the meditative thrill of river surfing on the Ottawa River, Mia shares how she’s navigating the industry, building her team, and infusing her singer-songwriter journey with pure joy.

Hot Topics:

• Home base & family: Mia lives in a converted "granny flat" behind her childhood home, steps from the Ottawa River, a perfect setup for a musician who tours 8–9 months of the year
• Advice for emerging artists: Show up in the right spaces, ask questions, reach out - the team will find you when you're ready
• Kim Churchill: How a chance meeting at a Canadian tour stop - answering Kim's callout for local artists — turned into a close friendship, a river surfing session, and ultimately a collaboration on the new album
• River surfing: Mia's meditation, creative incubator, and source of songwriting ideas - she surfs a standing wave on the Ottawa River, sometimes for an entire sunset
• The new album (out in May): Recorded at The Tree House studio north of Montreal with producer Connor Satiell; a conscious shift toward joy, love, and gratitude after two more introspective records; includes the single Time's Easy to Blame featuring Kim Churchill
• Life on the road: Van life (a sprinter van co-funded by her grandparents), running, painting, and intentional relationship-tending as tools for staying grounded
• Hot sauce merch: A genuine passion turned into a fan-favorite merch item in collaboration with Ottawa's Meow That's Hot

ep38 Mia Kelly practices joy
released April 2, 2026
1:31:30

https://miakellymusic.com/
https://www.instagram.com/miakkelly/
https://www.youtube.com/MiaKelly/

hosts: Glen Erickson, Alexi Erickson
AFE website: https://www.almostfamousenough.com
AFE instagram: https://www.instagram.com/almostfamousenough
AFE Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1o1PRD2X0i3Otmpn8vi2zP?si=1ece497360564480

Almost Famous Enough is a series of conversations centered around the music industry, pulling back the veil on what it really means to “make it”. Our podcast features guests who know the grind, who have lived the dream, or at the very least, chased the dream. Through these conversational biographies, truth and vulnerability provide more than a topical roadmap or compile some career advice; they can appeal to the dreamer in us all, with stories that can teach us, inspire us, and even reconcile us, and make us feel like we made a new friend along the way.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:35 Meeting Mia Kelly

04:44 Touring Home Base

07:51 Living Near Family

11:34 Career Turning Point

15:52 Building Your Team

26:27 Songwriting Over Genre

36:40 Waves Vans And Kim

51:10 Led Zeppelin Fact Check

51:56 Tour Break And Awards Timing

53:25 Contemporary Folk Category Talk

54:30 Bilingual Identity And Songwriting

56:39 Peers And Validation Moments

58:52 New Record Inspiration And Joy

01:03:58 Cultivating Joy On Tour

01:07:38 Hot Sauce Merch And Hot Ones

01:14:50 Post-Fame with Alexi