07/06/2026
For Lia Pappas-Kemps, expressing herself through art has always been second nature. This is evident in the confident, natural flow of the Toronto-born singer’s new emotionally unsparing debut album, Winged. As NOW describes, “Between her introspective and poetic songwriting and her penchant for melodic experimentation, she could be an industry veteran. ” Raised in Toronto, Pappas-Kemps started sharing her songs and covers of other artists she admired on social media in her late teens. In 2021 and 2022, the 22-year-old musician announced herself through a series of singles, including the grunge-inflected “Jinx” and the gorgeous, swooning ballads “Sad in Toronto” and “Object at Best”. She released her EP, Gleam in 2024 with the singles “Switchblade”, “Just the Thought”, and “Catch Release”, which told an angsty coming-of-age story and she has only continued to evolve from there. Winged cements Lia as a songwriter of her generation with her storytelling from the moving and building “Orchid” to the upbeat and rock-flavoured “Towers”. The magazine MARVIN describes Lia’s songwriting as: “patient, observant, and quietly devastating”. Exclaim! cites her as “one of alternative music’s most compelling new voices”, also stating that “the singer-songwriter has the timeless gift of
transforming her own hurt into stunningly beautiful vignettes”.
Join us on Saturday, July 18, 2026 to welcome Lia Pappas-Kemps back to Muskoka!
