This Spring – better joy – AKA Manchester-based Bria Keely, embarks on her highly anticipated debut tour of the UK. With 8 headline dates throughout March and April, including a headline London show at Old Blue Last and a recently upgraded hometown show at Manchester’s Night & Day, the shows will coincide with the release of better joy’s eagerly awaited heading into blue EP, dropping on 28th March.
Better Joy
Teasing the upcoming tour with new music, better joy recently released the single quiet thing. A reflective, personal song that has morphed through many guises since its inception, it’s a song that pauses for thought on those quieter moments that define our relationships. As Bria explains:
“Quiet thing is one of those songs that has taken on so many different lives since its original conception. I was originally inspired by someone close to me, who at the time was describing the quiet type of love he needed from his partner when going through a tough time. It got me thinking how important it is to not take the quiet moments in relationships for granted. I suppose I wanted to write an ode to those moments, but I didn’t want it to be sweet-sounding; I wanted the lyrics to be against music that had a bit of grit to offset the sweetness.”
Alive with gritty guitars, honeyed vocals and a euphoric chorus, it’s a captivating insight into forthcoming debut EP heading into blue, which better joy will be airing tracks from on her upcoming UK tour. Produced by Mike Hedges (The Cure, U2, Manic Street Preachers), the 6-track EP will also feature previous singles waiting on time, carnival and what a day, plus two brand-new tracks, couldn’t run forever and can I land the plane?. A vinyl version of the EP is available to pre-order now here.
When better joy launched in late 2023, her vivid songs brought comparisons to The Cure, The Smiths and Phoebe Bridgers. A solo project led by Bria Keely and backed up by her band, Bria has an upfront and centre voice as colourful as Debbie Harry and a knack for effortless storytelling. Ringing, complex riffs winding around Bria’s vocals, dancing bass lines, characterful drumming and vulnerable lyrics: this is the sound of better joy.
Better Joy
Fresh off the back of a support tour with Hard Fi at the end of last year, better joy will next embark on a debut headline UK tour between 27th March and 5th April, with European and festival shows also on the horizon. Full dates are below.
UK HEADLINE TOUR DATES:
MARCH
27th – Garage (Attic Bar), Glasgow
28th – Zerox, Newcastle
29th – Dead Wax, Birmingham
30th – Bodega, Nottingham
APRIL
1st – The Louisiana, Bristol
3rd – Old Blue Last, London
4th – Night & Day, Manchester (upgraded from YES due to popular demand)
5th – The Joiners, Southampton
OTHER DATES:
25th Feb – Melkweg, Amsterdam (supporting Kawala)
10th April – V11, Rotterdam
11th April – Supersonic, Paris
3rd & 4th May – Liverpool Sound City, Liverpool
16th & 17th May – London Calling, Amsterdam
27th July – Truck Festival, Oxfordshire
3rd August – Y Not Festival, Derbyshire
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