better joy with new single ‘steamroller’
Manchester-born indie-pop artist better joy (aka Bria Keely) join the Toast roster, alongside the release of her powerful new single ‘steamroller’, taken from her forthcoming EP At Dusk (out 31st October).
A vivid indie-pop guitar project with Bria on vocals and backed by a band, better joy fuses sparky melodies with bright, strong guitars and pulsating bass lines, coated in lyrics that delve deep into vulnerability. New track ‘steamroller’ is one of her most emotionally raw releases to date – a dark and haunting anthem about reclaiming strength. Bria explains:
“Steamroller is an angry one. It’s about biting back after someone took a piece of you with them. They didn’t know you’re stronger than they thought you were – and actually, maybe neither did you. It’s a track from the EP that reflects a darker side – but it’s a big part of my story that I need to tell.”
The new track follows forerunners ‘this part of town’ and ‘plugged in’, which sit at the heart of better joy’s upcoming six-track EP. Produced by Mike Hedges (The Cure, Manic Street Preachers) and mixed by Caesar Edmunds (Wet Leg) and Robbie Nelson (Rolling Stones), at dusk was recorded at Chale Abbey Studios on the Isle Of Wight and acts as the follow-up and sister project to better joy’s acclaimed debut heading into blue (March 2025). The project showcases a more contemplative and vulnerable side to better joy – where the naivety and openness of her debut gives way to a darker, more mature reflection on growth, relationships, and self-belief.
Since bursting onto the scene in 2024 with a string of singles and successful support tours including Hard-Fi, better joy has quickly emerged as one of the UK’s most exciting indie breakthrough acts. With support from the likes of BBC 6Music, NME, The Line of Best Fit, DIY, Radio X’s John Kennedy and more, she’s already proven her staying power. 2025 has been something of a whirlwind for Bria, including a sell out vinyl run for her debut EP, a near sold-out 10 city UK and EU headline tour in March 2025 and festival slots at The Great Escape, Truck Festival, Y Not, Liverpool Sound City and more. The rest of the year shows no signs of slowing momentum – seeing better joy take the stage again in support of Somebody’s Child UK shows in October and Amy Macdonald across arenas in the UK and Europe – including a sold-out night at Glasgow’s 13,000-capacity Hydro Arena – as well as a monumental hometown support slot for Bastille at AO Arena in Manchester. better joy will take the new tracks on the road for her own headline run in November. See full itinerary below.
2025 Festivals
Saturday 27th September – The Gathering Sounds, Stockton-on-Tees
Somebody’s Child Support Tour
Tuesday 14th October – The Gate, Cardiff
Wednesday 15th October – O2 Academy2, Oxford
Thursday 16th October – Trinity Centre, Bristol
Friday 17th October – O2 Institute2, Birmingham
Sunday 19th October – Saint Luke’s, Glasgow
Monday 20th October – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Tuesday 21st October – New Century, Manchester
Wednesday 22nd October – KOKO, London
Friday 24th October – Leeds Beckett University, Leeds
Saturday 25th October – Newcastle University, Newcastle
Sunday 26th October – Arts Club, Liverpool
Headline Shows
Thursday 2nd October – The Lower Third, London (BBC Introducing Live)
Saturday 15th November – Coventry (Loud in Libraries)
Sunday 16th November – Blackpool (Loud in Libraries)
Wednesday 19th November – Dust, Brighton
Tuesday 25th November – Forum, Tunbridge Wells
Bastille Support
Friday 14th November – AO Arena, Manchester
Amy Macdonald Support Tour
Thursday 20th November – Eventim Apollo, London
Friday 21st November – The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
Saturday 22nd November – City Hall, Sheffield [SOLD OUT]
Monday 24th November – O2 City Hall, Newcastle [SOLD OUT]
Tuesday 25th November – Forum, Tunbridge Wells
Wednesday 26th November – Guildhall, Portsmouth
Thursday 27th November – Arena, Swansea
Friday 27th November – Forum, Bath [SOLD OUT]
Sunday 30th November – Olympia, Dublin [SOLD OUT]
Monday 1st December – Telegraph, Belfast
Wednesday 3rd December – Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Thursday 4th December – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
Friday 5th December – O2 Apollo, Manchester
Friday 12th December – Hydro Arena, Glasgow [SOLD OUT]
February 2026 Europe
Sunday 8th February – Zenith, Munich
Monday 9th February – Den Atelier, Luxembourg City
Wednesday 11th February – Tempodrom, Berlin
Thursday 12th February – Sporthalle, Hamburg
Friday 13th February – Haus Auensee, Leipzig
Monday 16th February – Gasometer, Vienna
Tuesday 17th February – Fabrique, Milan
Wednesday 18th February – The Hall, Zurich
Friday 20th February – Schlachthof, Wiesbaden
Saturday 21st February – De Roma, Antwerp
Sunday 22nd February – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
Tuesday 24th February – TivoliVrendenburg, Utrecht
Wednesday 25th February – De Oosterpoort, Groningen
Thursday 26th February – Palladium, Cologne