Edmonton-based pop-folk artist Caylie G (they/she) has released their new single “Brenda Heather Kelly,” a biting, glitter-drenched anthem for anyone who’s ever ghosted a party via fake phone call. Out now, the track sets the stage for Caylie’s upcoming third EP, slated for release in September 2025. Equal parts sad-cowboy pop and queer satire, “Brenda Heather Kelly” turns a mirror on influencer culture, performative joy, and the absurdity of trying to be “the hottest person in the room.”
Written by Caylie and long-time collaborator Father Bobby Townsend, who also produced and mixed the track, the song leans into the tension between big feelings and social fakery. With lines like “Everyone loves a miracle drug / I can be sad and make it look fun,” Caylie laces their observations with humour, self-awareness, and a kind of exhausted wisdom that resonates with anyone navigating the pressure to perform their best life online and off.
“Contrary to the glittering theatrics, I’m not a partier,” Caylie says. “This song came from a real party I went to and hated every minute of. I realized I was stuck in this loop of comparison—everyone trying to be cooler, hotter, smaller. So I wrote the song as a kind of exorcism. It’s part diary, part pop diss track, part existential shrug.”
With background vocals from a tight circle of friends and a swooning pedal steel by Booker Diduck, “Brenda Heather Kelly” feels like a honky-tonk therapy session in a group chat gone rogue. The production sparkles, but the melancholy lingers. Lines about Ozempic envy, 37-year-old boyfriends, and Denny’s makeout sessions all point to the song’s central message: that even when we’re pretending to be fine, most of us are just faking a call from our mom to escape the noise.
Caylie’s songwriting ethos blends four-chord storytelling with queer intimacy, navigating heartbreak, mental health, and softness with candour. They describe their sound as “sad-cowboy pop for the lovers, criers, and heartbreak champions that have never gotten over anything.” Since debuting with two EPs in a single year—The Trials and Tribulations of a Twenty-Two-Year-Old Teenager and Softhearted Cowboy—Caylie has steadily built a devoted audience across Canada.
Listen on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/3EUdwF5uuRIuatYofhNP4d?si=1d666e86ef52421b&nd=1&dlsi=ab2eeca485d9452b
In 2024, they opened for Priyanka (winner of Canada’s Drag Race) and were featured at Winnipeg Folk Fest and Banff Pride. Now, Caylie is set to bring “Brenda Heather Kelly” and a slate of new music to stages across the country. Tour dates for summer 2025 include stops at some of the most beloved indie and folk festivals in Canada:
Caylie G Summer 2025 Tour Dates
- June 14 – Highlandia – Edmonton, AB
- June 28 – Revy. LIVE – Revelstoke, BC
- July 9–13 – Winnipeg Folk Festival (Wandering Minstrels Program) – Winnipeg, MB
- July 18–20 – Folk On The Rocks – Yellowknife, NWT
- July 22 – Taste of Edmonton – Edmonton, AB
- July 26 – The Aviary – Edmonton, AB
- August 23 – Eastern Slopes Festival – Calgary, AB
- August 29-31 – Waynestock – Wayne AB
“Brenda Heather Kelly” is the soundtrack for a generation that medicates, disassociates, and quietly copes with being chronically uncool. “It’s not anti-party,” Caylie clarifies, “It’s just for the people who’ve never wanted to be the main character at one.”
https://caylieg.bandcamp.com/track/brenda-heather-kelly
https://www.instagram.com/caylie.g