Sitting in the back of a darkened theatre, watching the flickering frames of a music video that feels more like a short film, you realize Kelsi Mayne is not your standard-issue country hopeful. She has this kinetic energy that feels less like a polished Nashville product and more like a controlled explosion.
They say you can’t start a fire without a spark. It is a tired metaphor, sure. But for this Windsor native, that spark did not just flicker. It bloomed into a full-on inferno that is currently scorching the Canadian country scene.
On March 27, Mayne finally dropped her debut album, *As I Go*. The reception was not just polite; it was met with the kind of thunderous applause usually reserved for veterans of the Grand Ole Opry.
This success is not some fluke of the algorithm. Mayne is a former sprint-hurdler who was once ranked third in the entire country. You can see that athlete’s discipline in the way she attacks a chorus. She does not just sing; she clears the hurdles of the industry with a level of focus that should make her peers nervous.
The album is a collection of 11 songs that feel like a curated diary. It has been a massive labour of love for the rising star. She holds a writing credit on every single track except one. That is rare in a town where songs are often passed around like cheap cigars.
She did not do it alone, though. She surrounded herself with heavy hitters. We are talking about Jason Blaine, Patricia Conroy and Emma-Lee. These are names that carry weight in the writing rooms of Nashville and Toronto alike.
Some of those sessions were clearly intense. Mayne describes them as "pinch-me" moments. The collaboration with Conroy, in particular, seems to have left a mark on her psyche.
“Getting to write with Patricia had a combination between starstruck and girl-crush going on,” Mayne says. She laughs when she thinks back on it. The two have already worked on two songs together, proving the chemistry was more than just a one-off fluke.
One of those collaborations, "Nothing On Us", made the final cut for the album. It was a three-way effort involving record producer, mixer and songwriter Douglas Romanow. The track has a specific, driving rhythm that feels familiar to anyone who has ever stared down a lane of hurdles.
“It’s based on my track experience. So, we were really able to draw from that,” she explains. It is a smart move. Too many artists try to manufacture a country backstory about tractors they never drove. Mayne leans into her actual life as an elite athlete.
Finding that creative fuel in her own history is a recurring theme. Her 2018 track "Your Jolene" proved she could take a classic trope and flip it on its head. Everything she puts out comes from a very personal, often vulnerable, place.
But the co-writing room is a different beast entirely. You have to be willing to kill your darlings for the sake of the hook. It helps when there is an immediate, electric connection with the person sitting across from you.
My brother has been in the film industry for pretty much his whole life. It’s what he knew he wanted to do at a very young age, so we’ve done films together forever... When I have a music video, I just call him up. He’s the camera guy and the director, and we write the scripts and go over the storyline. It’s really fun to collaborate.
“Like most songwriters, you’re always a little bit more biased with your own ideas because you know the story behind it and how it came to fruition, but also when there’s that spark in the room where you can just see how people will be able to relate to what you all want to say, that’s really special,” Mayne says.
Her inspiration does not follow a schedule. It does not wait for a booked studio block in Nashville. It hits her in the shower or while she is white-knuckling the steering wheel on a long haul down the 401.
Whether she is relaxing at home in Canada or grinding in a Tennessee studio, the wheels never stop. She is a hunter of hooks who treats every conversation like potential lyrical gold.
“I’m constantly looking for ideas and keeping track of anything that just sticks out to me,” she says. “I’m always thinking of ways to twist meanings and common sayings. Inspiration is everywhere.”
You can see this obsessive attention to detail in the visuals. The video for the title track, "As I Go", is a sharp lesson in independent production. A teaser for the clip managed to rack up over 1.2 million views on TikTok in a single day.
The video has a personal stamp that most label-funded projects lack. It was directed by her brother, Corey Mayne, and produced by Kelsi herself. This is not just a family favour; it is a professional partnership that has been years in the making.
They have a shorthand that only siblings can manage. It cuts through the ego and the nonsense that usually bogs down a film set. They know what the other is thinking before the camera even rolls.
“My brother has been in the film industry for pretty much his whole life. It’s what he knew he wanted to do at a very young age, so we’ve done films together forever,” Mayne says. “When I have a music video, I just call him up. He’s the camera guy and the director, and we write the scripts and go over the storyline. It’s really fun to collaborate.”
This was not her first time in front of his lens. She was starring in his student films when she was barely a toddler. But the real bug bit when she was six. It was not singing that did it initially; it was Highland dancing.
Think about that for a second. The stamina required for Highland dancing is brutal. It explains the footwork she brings to her live sets today. She was an entertainer before she could even read a lyric sheet.
“The dance circuit, that’s what got me hooked. That’s where I fell in love with the stage,” she says. “Then it just continued on to music.”
Growing up in Windsor gives you a weird, beautiful perspective. You are in Canada, but you are breathing Detroit air. The radio waves do not care about borders or customs agents.
Her musical education was dictated by the strength of the signal coming across the river. It resulted in a sound that is country at its core but has the soul of Motown and the grit of the Motor City.
“A lot of it came from Detroit radio because, at the time, there weren’t a lot of Windsor stations. So we listened to whatever had the strongest signal. Add to that country music and rap and R&B, with some Scottish music for Highland dancing rounding it all out. But when it came to really singing, I’ve always gravitated towards country,” she says.
Before the big stages, there was the Bull & Barrel. It is a Windsor institution, the kind of place where you have to earn your keep. Mayne worked there as a featured vocalist throughout university, fanning the flame until she was ready for the national stage.
Eventually, she was sharing the spotlight with heavyweights like Florida Georgia Line, Blake Shelton, Dean Brody and Russell Dickerson. She has played the heavy hitters: Havelock Jamboree, Boots & Hearts and Big Valley Jamboree. You do not get those slots by accident.
The momentum is not slowing down. She just picked up a nomination for Rising Star at the CMAOntario Awards. The gala is set for Sunday, Oct. 4 in London, Ontario.
And then there is the acting. Mayne is the lead in *Willa*, a film adaptation of a Stephen King story. It is currently tearing through the festival circuit. Most country singers try to act and fail miserably because they cannot turn off the "performer" switch. Mayne seems to have the range to actually pull it off.
If there is one critique to be made, it is that the production on *As I Go* occasionally leans into the glossy, radio-friendly sheen of modern country. Sometimes you want to hear more of that Bull & Barrel grit—the raw, unvarnished vocal that made her a local legend.
But that is a minor gripe. Mayne has positioned herself as a legitimate threat in multiple industries. She is the Queen of Country in waiting, and the throne is looking pretty accessible right now. We are watching a career in real-time that feels built to last. She is not just a spark anymore. She is the whole damn fire.
