Image by Carys Huws.
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, a hometown show at Manchester’s Night & Day (recently upgraded due to popular demand), and a date at The Joiners, Southampton the shows will coincide with the release of better joy’s eagerly awaited ‘heading into blue’ EP – out 28th March.
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.”
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.
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.
better joy – Upcoming live dates
UK HEADLINE TOUR DATES:
Thurs 27th March – Garage (Attic Bar), Glasgow
Fri 28th March – Zerox, Newcastle
Sat 29th March – Dead Wax, Birmingham
Sun 30th March – Bodega, Nottingham
Tues 1st April – The Louisiana, Bristol
Thurs 3rd April – Old Blue Last, London
Fri 4th April – Night & Day, Manchester (upgraded from YES due to popular demand)
Sat 5th April – The Joiners, Southampton
OTHER DATES:
Tues 25th Feb – Melkweg, Amsterdam (supporting Kawala)
Thurs 10th April – V11, Rotterdam
Fri 11th April – Supersonic, Paris
Sat 3rd & Sun 4th May – Liverpool Sound City, Liverpool
Fri 16th & Sat 17th May – London Calling, Amsterdam
Sun 27th July – Truck Festival, Oxfordshire
Sun 3rd August – Y Not Festival, Derbyshire
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