Windsor Country Singer Finds
Her Voice Through New Album
Story by Jen Brignall-Strong
Photography by Gene Schilling
When Kelsi Mayne first set out to pursue music, songwriting wasn’t what set her soul on fire.
She loved the stage, the performance and the connection with an audience, but she never had any desire to write and putting her own thoughts onto paper felt daunting.
As it turns out, she simply hadn’t found the song in her own story yet.
“I always felt like I fell short of my Celtic roots because I wasn’t the best storyteller,” says the Windsor-born country singer. “But then I realized, ‘Oh, I just need to find a melody and put what I’m feeling to music.’”
That realization sits at the heart of Mayne’s deeply personal new album, Out of the Blue. Born from heartbreak, healing and hard-won self-discovery, the record marks a turning point; not just in her career, but in her confidence as a songwriter. The girl who once dreaded English class has emerged as an accomplished artist and award-winning songwriter who now counts lyric writing among the most rewarding parts of the creative process.
“Now, I equally love writing as much as I do the stage,” she says. “I describe it as trying to solve a puzzle, but you don’t quite know the end product until you get there.”
With the release of her new album, Mayne is stepping forward with a sound and sense of self that’s been years in the making. But while her career continues to expand onto bigger stages, the foundation of it all remains firmly rooted in Essex County.
This project feels like the most authentic version of me so far.
Every song has a piece of my story in it.
“No matter where I go, Windsor will always be home. It’s where everything started for me,” she beams. “I still feel a lot of support from the community, and that means everything because I’m so proud of where I come from. It’s always really special to come back and perform here.”
Long before the Nashville recording sessions, Calgary Stampedes and CMA Fest performances that now comprise her life, Mayne was a performer in a very different sense. Growing up, she spent much of her childhood immersed in Highland dancing. It was her first introduction to the stage, a place she felt deeply comfortable.
However, multiple injuries led to a premature ending of her dancing. With a deep seeded love for the spotlight, Mayne leaned into singing, something she’d loved growing up, but not something she had fully envisioned as a future.
Influenced by her father’s singing and her ability to mimic a variety of artists, she began performing in talent shows at a young age, earning a top spot in Windsor Teen Idol and eventually becoming a regular performer at Windsor’s iconic country bar, The Bull & Barrel, after a standout performance of “Redneck Woman” won over the hiring team.
“I started performing at local events, small stages, anything I could get into,” she recalls. “Windsor-Essex has such a supportive community for artists, and that really helped me build confidence early on.”
The opportunities and accolades offered validation, but didn’t immediately translate into a clear career path. Like many young artists, Mayne found herself balancing passion with practicality.
That practicality led her to the University of Windsor, where she pursued a degree in nursing. It was, by all accounts, a responsible and grounded choice, one that reflected her work ethic, desire to help people and her awareness of the realities of building a career in music.
But even as she moved forward academically, music never faded into the background. After encouragement from friends, family and even strangers watching her Bull & Barrel performances, Mayne decided to pursue music full-time, moving to Toronto and crashing on her brother’s couch as she began auditioning for gigs and learning guitar.
“I called my childhood friend (fellow local musician Brendan Scott Friel) and asked him to teach me some chords,” she recalls.
“The patience that man had, bless his soul,” she laughs. “He taught 21-year-old Kelsi her first chords and then from there I just kind of started learning other people’s songs and then writing my own.”
From there, the path forward began to take shape. Mayne leaned more fully into song writing, recording and performing. In 2016, she performed at the Boots & Hearts Music Festival in their emerging artist contest. In 2019, she was selected as a finalist in Sirius XM’s “Top of the Country” nationwide contest, which further fueled her momentum as she released her first full-length album, 2020’s As I Go.
Her sound, too, began to form a distinct identity. Rooted in country, it also carries influences that reflect her upbringing on the border of Detroit’s Motown sound. There’s a subtle blend of soul, rock and storytelling woven through her work, giving it both familiarity and edge.
As her career progressed, so did her confidence; not just as a performer, but as a writer and artist with something to say.
That evolution is most evident in Out of the Blue, an album Mayne calls her most personal yet. She began work on the project back in 2024, after a year of devastating discoveries and personal loss.
“This project feels like the most authentic version of me so far. Every song has a piece of my story in it,” she reflects. “There’s a mix of emotions on the album; some songs are more vulnerable, some are more fun and upbeat, but it all reflects where I am right now in my life and the resiliency I was taught at a young age.”
The 7-song record explores themes of loss, infidelity and self-discovery, with each track weaving together a full reflection of Mayne’s lived experiences.
“I spent a lot of time making sure it felt cohesive, but also that each track could stand on its own. It was important to me that listeners could connect with it in different ways.”
Where Mayne’s earlier work captured moments of discovery, this new project reflects a deeper understanding, shaped by the journey: the pivots, the heartache and the years spent finding her voice, both literally and creatively.
“I learned a lot through making this album; not just musically, but about myself.”
And Mayne has plenty more to say.
In addition to a busy tour schedule (including headlining this year’s Harrow Fair on Friday, September 4th), Mayne is already back creating her next collection of songs, splitting her time between Nashville and home while continuing to build the career she’s dreamed of.
And if Out of the Blue proved anything, it’s that Mayne was never lacking as a storyteller. She just needed to put it to music. You can hear Kelsi’s music on all major streaming platforms or visit kelsimayne.com.
For more exclusive content, go to
Published in the August/September 2026 Edition.
Add comment