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Published Feb 17, 2026 • 2 minute read
Nora Stephens, who goes by the stage name of Nora Joy, is celebrating the release of her debut album. HandoutArticle content
While Nora Stephens had been working towards the release of her debut album for quite some time, she still can’t believe it’s finally out.
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Stephens, who goes by the stage name of Nora Joy, officially released her self-titled album last Friday after three years of working on and refining the 12-song collection.
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“It’s been kind of a long process, which is cool because it explores a lot of aspects of my life and the different things that I’ve gone through. I think in that aspect, it’s really cool. I really like the sound and how it turned out,” said Stephens.
During the extended recording process, the young singer-songwriter worked with two different producers, but the songs, despite the different collaborators, still meshed well, Stephens said,
At just 16, Stephens has already taken the local music scene by storm, having been named the winner of the Owen Sound Summerfold Music Festival’s Ontario Youth Discoveries Competition, which gave her the opportunity to perform at that year’s festival. She has also opened for Canadian music legend, and family friend, Ron Sexsmith during the Ontario leg of his current tour, and will join him in the United Kingdom for shows in February and March.
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“Performing is probably my favourite part of the whole process — doing shows and experiencing different audiences in different places is really cool,” Stephens said
“I feel like I learn something every time I perform, or every time I write a song, which is a really cool experience to see, like getting better at learning new things as I go.”
Since moving to Stratford, Sexsmith and his wife, Colleen Hixenbaugh, have taken Stephens under their wings. Hixenbaugh helped show Stephens how to write her first song, while Sexsmith plays guitar on two of the songs on the Nora Joy album.
“It’s been pretty cool having them backing me up. Getting to perform on stage and in these really cool venues has been so much fun,” she said.
While she does get nervous before she performs, “everything goes away, and it’s all replaced with excitement” once she gets on stage.
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Stephens first began writing songs since she was 11 as more of a pastime during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a short while, she “just fell in love” with songwriting, she said.
Stephens has already seen some progression in what she writes about. At first, her songs were often about the people in her life because it was an easy connection to make. That has changed, however, as she has gotten older, she said.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve kind of explored my feelings and my view on the world, and also, like going into high school, so my inspiration stems from there,” Stephens said.
“I think leaving elementary school was a really big change for me and going into high school, so a lot of my songs reflect that, and feelings of getting older too.”
Stephens said she thinks of listening to the album, which can be found on the different major streaming platforms, as reading a chapter of her life.
“Each song just kind of explores different emotions and different challenges or things that happened in the last couple of years,” she said.
watwood@postmedia.com
@Reporter_Bill
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