The Cove Inn is getting more requests from touring artists en route to other gigs in eastern Ontario to stop and play our venue in Westport. We are loving it, as we are getting a nice diverse mix of artists and styles – and Kaeley Jade is no exception. Her songwriting has garnered her many western Canadian festival opportunities, and given her the opportunity to be nominated for—and win— prestigious music awards. We welcome her and her duo partner to The Cove Inn stage on Thursday, February 27 from 5 to 8 pm. Details and reservations here: web link

Seamus Cowan: This will be your first time playing our venue, and we are excited to host you! I’m always interested in how artists like yourself from across the country here about our little town and our venue. Clearly the Canadian rock n’ roll highway still exists! Can you tell us about what touring life is like for you?

Kaeley Jade: I’m so excited to play Westport! I think word-of-mouth is still a powerful tool when hunting for venues. I saw that my friend, Mallory Chipman, played a gig here a little while back and it looked like a very fun spot. Regarding touring, I really hit the ground running after the pandemic and while I’m still only in my first couple years of touring, I’ve learned so much already! Touring can be lot of work, especially when you are your own booking agent-publicist-manager. It felt like quite the steep learning curve when I booked my first run of shows and I’m still refining my system and figuring out what works best for me. I have a giant spreadsheet I use to keep track of all the fine details and itinerary for each show, so that’s been helping me stay organized. It’s especially necessary when unforeseen circumstances pop up (knock on wood so we don’t get yet another flat tire!). Though it can be exhausting at times, my favourite things about touring are all the new places we get to see and all the cool people we meet along the way… and all the tasty food we get to try!

Q: Reading all of the accolades, nominations and award wins, I see in your recent accomplishments is quite impressive. What do you think of the recognition you've received from the music industry, and does it motivate you in a certain way?

Kaeley: Thank you so much! I’m very proud of my work and it’s always a bit surreal to receive this kind of recognition for my art. Awards are definitely not everything, but industry recognition is of course a very nice affirmation that I’m creating work that resonates with people!

Q: You mention that you have some Métis heritage. It’s great that you are focusing on your roots and infusing the story in your sound. What are some of the things about your family heritage you find most important to share?

Kaeley: My grandfather was a big role model for me growing up. He was the President of the Métis Local 1935 when I was a kid and being Métis was something we were taught to celebrate and be proud of. It was not long ago that our society taught that being Indigenous was something to hide, to erase and to be ashamed of. Now, I think it’s important that we strive to see Indigenous representation onstage. If I can be a positive role model for someone, whether they aspire to be a musician or not, that’s huge.

Q: As we continue to enter another era and sound of folk music, I hear you embracing some different styles of songwriting and aspects of production. Folk art has always spoke to me as a simpler, purer music from the heart. You encapsulate that, but what would you say it means to be a folk artist in this day and age?

Kaeley: At its core, folk music is built on a foundation of storytelling. You’re seeing more and more artists at folk festivals nowadays who aren’t necessarily "folk musicians" in a traditional sense, but who are wonderful storytellers with a message to share. I think one of the coolest things about making music nowadays is that anything goes. With the rise of bedroom studios and social media, artists have so much more power and so it allows people more freedom to experiment with different sounds and styles because there are less pressures to conform placed by big industry gatekeepers. To me, genre feels like it’s becoming more and more about the community you choose to identify with, rather than how you stick to the musical tropes that are associated with genre.

Q: Performing solo, duo and with a band is a great chance to expand and contract and really feel the essence of the song and explore its potential. Writing and recording regularly is an incredibly rewarding thing. Where are you on your musical path in those ways, and where do you see the future winds taking you?

Kaeley: It’s been so rewarding to see how far (figuratively and literally!) my album Turpentine has taken me, so I’m hopeful that my next project will take me across Canada and beyond! I’ve been really relishing this phase of being an emerging artist and cultivating my career from the ground up, but I’m looking forward to starting to build my team and playing in new places. Something beautiful that’s come out of touring that I hadn’t foreseen was how much fun it has been to share these experiences with my bandmates. My guitarist, Gabriel Gagnon, is also my partner, and our other bandmates are dear friends. Touring doesn’t really feel like work as I feel very lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people. Posted: Feb 13, 2025