Jolie Anastasia’s Guiding Light Shines With Folk Wisdom and Emotional Depth
There’s a certain presence that comes with hearing Jolie Anastasia sing—a wisdom far beyond her years, wrapped in a voice equal parts tender and unshakable. With her debut full-length album, Guiding Light arriving November 7, 2025, and the title cut out now, the Collingwood-based singer-songwriter is quickly establishing herself as one of folk and roots music’s most promising new voices.
Jolie’s music doesn’t rush. It lingers, reflecting on heartbreak, healing, and the fleeting beauty of everyday life. In her songs, listeners encounter a rare gift: the ability to transform personal trials into universal truths that speak across generations.
Born and raised in Collingwood, Ontario, Jolie Anastasia (née Jolie Smith) has been steeped in song since childhood.
“I am a deeply emotional and sensitive person. I find solace in the strum of a guitar and the hum of a tune,” she reflects.
That instinct to create has led her from living room strums to festival stages, crafting a style that balances raw honesty with refined artistry.
Her album Guiding Light is a family affair, shaped by the guidance of her producer and father Craig Smith.
“Ever since I was young he always encouraged me to play music, so naturally, as soon as he noticed I was writing anything worth recording we jumped straight into the studio,” Jolie says.
What began as solo expression soon blossomed into a full-band endeavor, expanding her sonic palette without losing the intimacy of her earliest songs.
Jolie has already become a fixture in Ontario’s folk community, performing at local festivals and intimate listening rooms with her band: Braden Mahon (guitar), Rae Melvin (drums/harmonica), and Kyle Dreany (bass). With her single ‘Lucky To Find’ set for release on October 8, 2025, Jolie is poised to step onto a larger stage, carrying the traditions of folk forward with a modern voice.
To hear Jolie is to hear echoes of artists who have redefined the boundaries of folk and Americana. Her storytelling has the resilience of Brandi Carlile, her atmospheric guitar work hints at the quiet storm of Phoebe Bridgers, and her melodic sense carries shades of Madison Cunningham’s adventurous pop-folk fusion.
And yet, Jolie’s sound is unmistakably her own. With layered harmonies, open tunings, and a deep sense of place, she creates songs that feel timeless, as though they could live comfortably beside Joni Mitchell or Nick Drake, while still carrying the urgency of a new generation’s voice.
Her lyrical gift is evident from the opening lines of “Lucky To Find”: “Looking at your face, and seeing through your smile / As you try to hide a trace of riveting disguise.” It’s an image at once intimate and revealing, capturing the duality of tenderness and hurt that defines much of her work.
On the title track ‘Guiding Light,’ Jolie frames her artistic mission with a striking honesty: “I spent all my money-making time / Playin’ for a dollar, all I ever make is a dime / But playin’ is all I’ve got on my mind / Playin’ is the only thing that leads me to the guiding light.” These words are a credo, a testament to pursuing art as both survival and salvation.
To celebrate the release of Guiding Light, Jolie Anastasia will bring her songs to the stage this fall with a pair of special performances:
November 6, 2025 — Small Halls Festival — Collingwood, ON
November 8, 2025 — Marsh Street Centre — Clarksburg, ON (Album Release Show). Tickets here.
With Guiding Light, Jolie Anastasia joins a lineage of artists who remind us that folk music is as much about listening as it is about singing. Her songs ask us to slow down, to lean into the quiet, and to find the courage to face the light—even when the road is shadowed. As she prepares to step onto festival stages and into wider recognition, Jolie carries with her a body of work that feels like the beginning of a long, luminous journey.
Hi, Jolie! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
I’m Jolie, a 24-year-old singer-songwriter born and raised in Collingwood, Ontario. My curiosity about music sparked at a young age, inspired by my father, who is also an artist. He was always performing and writing, and something within me was always drawn to that.
During my teenage years, my taste in genres started to break free from the norm, and I really started to dive into the sounds of rock and roll and folk music. For my 15th birthday, my parents gifted me my first guitar, and things really started to take shape after that.
After a few years of learning how to play, I started to write my own music. Songwriting has since become my most authentic and freeing method of personal expression. Now I spend my weekends on the road, playing music whenever and wherever I can. I like to think I have a gypsy soul, so the adventure of playing music professionally lights a fire within me, illuminating the path that lies ahead.
You’ve said music has always been your solace. Do you remember the very first song that made you feel truly seen?
I’ve been a fan and connoisseur of music for as long as I can remember, so this is a tough one, but one of my earliest memories of truly being seen by a piece of music would be “I Think I Understand” by Joni Mitchell.
Joni’s lyrics describe fear and the choice between allowing it to consume you or rising above it. Fear has always been something I’ve looked straight in the eye and met head on—from giving my heart to having it broken, or being an anxious wreck on stage in my youth, then building a successful music career into my adulthood, fear has never stopped me from giving my all to everything I do.
Also noteworthy, and unbeknownst to me until recently, “I Think I Understand” was inspired by my favorite series, The Lord of the Rings. A key passage in the song is, “Fear is like a wilderland,” which is a reference to the “Wilderland” described in Tolkien’s writings. No wonder I relate deeply to the sentiment of the song!
The album title Guiding Light suggests hope through struggle—what was the moment that phrase became your anchor?
For a period of time, I was constantly debating what the title of the album should be. I had a few options, but nothing quite stuck like “Guiding Light” did. “Guiding Light” is actually the title track on the record, which will be released in its entirety on November 7th.
The moment the phrase became my anchor was when I realized that the song aligns most with the overall sentiment of the album: hope through struggle. Life is a constant ebb and flow, and we are always evolving with that.
Also, the creation of the record in general truly has felt like my guiding light. I’ve grown so much as an artist since the first recording, and after over two years, finally having the opportunity to release these songs that I’m so proud of just feels like a big win. “Guiding Light” is not only a message of hope, but also a glimpse into my future that feels so bright.
Folk music often feels like conversation across generations. Which artists—past or present—feel like kindred spirits to you?
There are so many incredible artists that feel like kindred spirits to me, and the Laurel Canyon scene of the ’60s and ’70s feels most like home. Artists like Joni Mitchell, CSNY, and The Byrds (to name a few) have a special way of connecting to their audiences that remains to this day, almost sixty years later. There is a certain magic to the music that was coming out of that scene that I have trouble putting into words every time I try to explain it. Neil Young’s raw authenticity and Joni’s emotional depth matched with her ability to connect straight to the heart are two themes that I try to reflect within my own writing.
More recently, I’ve been connecting with Americana and bluegrass music. From the classic greats like Tony Rice and Norman Blake to current powerhouses like Billy Strings and Gillian Welch, these artists have a way of tearing on your heartstrings through heavenly acoustic guitar melodies and haunting vocals that cut straight to your soul.
When listeners press play on Guiding Light, what do you hope lights up for them—comfort, courage, or something else entirely?
I hope that through Guiding Light, listeners will experience a feeling of familiarity in the trials and tribulations of life that no one is exempt from. I believe that there is pain, comfort, and courage, all within that familiarity.
I hope that listeners will be able to experience each one of these sentiments and take them for what they are, because we just can’t have one without the other. There is solace within the knowing that we all share similar experiences that take on different forms, and Guiding Light reflects just that.