BETTER JOY – To Embark On First UK Tour Ahead of Debut EP This Spring
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 hometown show at Manchester’s Night & Day (recently upgraded due to popular demand), the shows will coincide with the release of better joy’s eagerly awaited ‘heading into blue’ EP – out 28th March.
The full list of shows can be found below. Remaining tickets on sale now:
https://linktr.ee/betterjoy
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.
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
