Braden Bales warms up a sold-out Mercury Lounge for Haiden Henderson

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There are artists who sing, and there are artists who confess. Braden Bales belongs to the latter. At just 22, the Oakville-born songwriter has carved out a voice that feels less like performance and more like a pulse, carrying the weight of doubt, longing, and the rare courage to admit both. His music doesn’t arrive neatly packaged for playlists—it bleeds, it questions, it lingers.

Bales first drew the world in with “CHRONICALLY CAUTIOUS” in 2023, a track that spread like wildfire across TikTok before anchoring itself in the deeper waters of listeners’ lives. What could have been dismissed as a viral fluke quickly proved otherwise; the song climbed past 46 million streams on Spotify, a testament not just to its hook but to its honesty. He followed with “ME MYSELF AND YOU,” another piece of raw pop confession that made it clear he wasn’t writing for algorithms, but for anyone who’s ever sat awake with their chest full of unsaid words.

Behind the numbers, his journey has been deliberate. Signing with Geffen Records gave him his first industry foothold, but it was his restless spirit—his need for autonomy—that carried him toward Capitol Records and a more personal vision. His two early EPs, NOMAD and CATALYST, marked the evolution of a songwriter learning to steady his voice without sanding down its edges. And now, with 5 STAGES OF GRIEF, Bales stands at his most vulnerable yet, framing each track as an emotional landmark in the terrain of loss. With his background in audio engineering, he co-produced the project, shaping it into something that feels both lived-in and alive, trading polish for pulse, and studio gloss for the warmth of a live band’s breath.

Raised in Ontario and now based in Los Angeles, Bales is navigating the tension between distance and home, solitude and spotlight. His first headlining tour begins with a sold-out night in Toronto—a symbolic return to the place where his story first began. From there, he carries his songs to Brooklyn, Columbus, Chicago, and Los Angeles, bringing his lyrics into the same air as those who have already found pieces of themselves inside them.

For Braden Bales, strength doesn’t look like bravado. It looks like telling the truth before it feels safe to do so. His music insists that there is power in breaking, that there is light in confession, and that the bravest thing one can do is refuse to hide.