KIESZA
Kiesza, The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA 6/11/2026
The weather only got hotter in Philadelphia, as the Canadian-born artist Kiesza took the stage at The Foundry on June 11th. Kiesza brought with her a unique fusion of energetic 2010’s pop-house music with a performance filled with DJs, dancers, and unusual stage props. Opening the show with Baltimore rapper, RYE RYE, and DJ Carl Michaels, who got rowdy and brought the energy out of the crowd.
Kiesza’s backstory is truly what makes her as impressive as she is. Initially starting off as a part of the Royal Canadian Navy as a Naval Communicator. During this time in her life, she taught herself guitar during crew singalongs with the Navy. She even felt motivated enough to send 4,500 CDs to Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan. Kiesza’s role in political activism was started and is still present to this day. After attending Berklee College of Music (which is one of America’s most prestigious music colleges) on a scholarship helped her start and launch her musical career. Kiesza released “Hideaway” and first studio album “Sound of a Woman” in 2014. The “Hideaway” music video hit 135 million views (currently 330 million) and took over the top spots on UK charts and peaked at #3 for Billboard’s dance music chart. This song not only solidified Kiesza’s career as a pop-house artist but opened doors for her to collaborate with artists such as Skrillex and Diplo while writing for other artists such as Rihanna and Kylie Minogue.
Kiesza’s blooming career was put on hold in 2017, a car crash in Toronto caused her to spend two years recovering from a traumatic brain injury. Yet, Kiesza is seemingly unbreakable in her motivation to express herself and make music. In 2020, she returned to music as an independent artist and released her second studio album, “Crave”. It wasn’t until 2024, 10 years after starting her musical career, she released an EP called “Dancing and Crying Vol. 1 & 2”. This EP earned high praise from music critics, and “I Go Dance” hit #1 on US Billboard’s dance music charts. Kiesza’s resilience proves that the comeback is always greater than the setback.
Back to the show, Kiesza walked on stage accompanied with a DJ and immediately captured the attention of the audience. Her music was upbeat, energetic pop-house and the type of music that people want to dance too. Opening her set with “Good Morning America” which is a song about American culture disguised in a dance song. Her vocals were impressively strong as she was dancing and running around the stage. She did small outfit changes throughout the show to tell the story to go along with each song. It wasn’t until her dancer, Jaylen Brown, came on stage and turned a concert into a party. With his ballroomesque style, the choreographed dancing with Kiesza and his talent brought an undeniable energy to the show. During her song “Birthday”, she asked for fans who are celebrating their birthday to join her on stage as a huge inflatable “Happy Birthday” cake blew up behind her. She was singing and dancing with her fans. It was a very genuine human moment that made the show that much more fun! The audience was mesmerized by Kiesza through her movement, strong vocals and commanding stage presence. Join the dance party and go see Kiesza when she tours next, it’s a guaranteed good time!
Shot and Written by Sarah Bruno
