Article Contributed by Propeller Publicity
Published on 2026-10-07
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — October 7, 2026 — Cara Luft, one of the folk world’s most beloved singer-songwriters, is making her long-anticipated return with a joyful new album—her first solo release in more than 13 years. A music veteran who has spent decades navigating the ever-shifting music industry landscape and battling the tug-and-pull between heart and business, My Heart Will Always Be was born out of her desire to celebrate music’s enduring power to heal, connect and bring joy. The album will be available digitally, on CD and vinyl on November 6 via Blue Case Tunes/Symphonic.
The first single, the title track, is out now on streaming services. It’s upbeat and harmony-rich, with double banjos driving a song about coming home to yourself and finding self-love on the other side of grief, sadness and relief. The album was mixed by GRAMMY-winning engineer D. James Goodwin (Anaïs Mitchell, Craig Finn, Rhett Miller) and features Canada’s prairie punk-rock poet John K. Samson of The Weakerthans and GRAMMY-winning banjo queen Alison Brown.
Listen to “My Heart Will Always Be.”
As she turned 50, Luft faced multiple transitions: buying her first home, navigating perimenopause, receiving an ADHD diagnosis and the end of her decade-long duo project, The Small Glories.
Rethinking how she wanted to live and work moving forward from this period of upheaval and transformation, her guiding principle was simple: to write and record with friends who embodied kindness, consideration and generosity of spirit. From this ethos emerged the foundations of My Heart Will Always Be and a trusted creative entourage she affectionately calls “The Quadrangle of Awesomeness”: session musician and producer Scott Poley of Liverpool, UK; musician, singer and songwriter Clayton Parsons of Cranbrook, BC; and engineer Julia Graff of Vancouver, BC.
Recorded over 12 days in Vancouver, Luft, Poley and Parsons sang and played nearly everything themselves, making for an intimate, cathartic experience.
The songs cover a lot of ground, straddling folk, bluegrass and traditional music. “Find Love” has a folk-rock groove and a message as simple as it is powerful: love is the great equalizer. “Garbage Hill” is a duet with Samson and a love song to Luft’s adopted hometown of Winnipeg, named for the city’s tallest hill, a former dump turned park that overlooks a rail yard. Nobody would call it picturesque, which is exactly what makes it so quintessentially Winnipeg.
Luft honors her folk upbringing with two traditional songs. “The Snows They Melt the Soonest,” from the British Isles, comes from Dick Gaughan’s Handful of Earth, one of her top 10 desert island albums, and features plucked piano strings and a banjo-and-guitar duet. The Irish song “Lagan Love” is a hauntingly beautiful vocal duet and another banjo-and-guitar conversation.
“Doubt and Belief” is a hopeful, harmony-stacked celebration of renewal with blazing solos, while “Come Undone” slows things down to sit with someone in their grief, a reminder that it’s okay to not be okay. “My Maureen” is a toe-tapping, old-time love song for a gambling, chain-smoking, dancing grandma, sung from the perspective of her lifelong partner.
My Heart Will Always Be is a warm, big-hearted record built on friendship, kindness and the healing power of music. Luft is currently touring Canada. U.S. dates will be announced soon.
Track Listing
My Heart Will Always Be
Find Love
Garbage Hill (feat. John K. Samson)
The Snows They Melt the Soonest
Doubt and Belief
The Banjo Is a Gift (feat. Alison Brown)
Come Undone
My Maureen
Lagan Love
Not Fade Away
October 6, 2026 – Canmore, AB – ArtsPlace (Album Release Celebration)
October 16–18, 2026 – Haliburton, ON – Haliburton Fall Folk Camp (Instructor)
October 20, 2026 – Brighton, ON – Trinity St. Andrew’s United Church (with Clayton Parsons)
October 21, 2026 – Lanark, ON – The Poland Church (with Clayton Parsons)
October 22, 2026 – Wakefield, QC – The Black Sheep Inn (with Clayton Parsons)
October 23, 2026 – Ottawa, ON – Red Bird (with Clayton Parsons)
October 24, 2026 – Kitchener, ON – The Registry Theatre (with Joe Jencks)
October 25, 2026 – Toronto, ON – The Rivoli (Matinee, with Clayton Parsons)
October 30, 2026 – Winnipeg, MB – Avalon Arts (with Rob McLaren, Sold Out)
November 4, 2026 – Vancouver, BC – Notional Space (Big Sing Evening: School of Rock for Folkies)
November 5, 2026 – Vancouver, BC – Notional Space (with Clayton Parsons)
November 6–8, 2026 – Cumberland, BC – Woodstove Festival (with Clayton Parsons, Sold Out)
November 14, 2026 – Langley, BC – BEZ Arts Hub (Solo)
December 5, 2026 – Thunder Bay, ON – DaVinci Centre
December 12, 2026 – Los Barriles, Mexico – Venue TBA
December 16, 2026 – Winnipeg, MB – The Park Theatre
December 21, 2026 – Gimli, MB – The Ship and Plough (Winter Solstice Concert)
January 13, 2027 – Duncan, BC – Khowatzun Heritage Centre (Girls Do Boys)
January 14, 2027 – Courtenay, BC – The Regier Theatre (Girls Do Boys)
January 15, 2027 – Parksville, BC – Knox United (Girls Do Boys)
January 16, 2027 – Victoria, BC – The CODA (Girls Do Boys)
January 17, 2027 – Salt Spring Island, BC – Salt Spring Folk Club (Girls Do Boys)
For additional information, music and tour updates, visit CaraLuft.com.
