Montreal singer-songwriter and multidisciplinary artist Jessie James has released her new single So Long and Goodbye, arriving just before her scheduled performance at Festirock in Saint-Colomban, QC today. The track is available now on major streaming platforms.
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Vincent Côté, with artwork by Guillaume Marien, the single follows James’ debut Rise and Shine, which appeared late last year. While her first release leaned into hopeful melodies, this new offering takes a starker emotional turn. Centred on ukulele and voice, So Long and Goodbye reflects on moving past fractured relationships and reclaiming self-worth.
Speaking about the song, James described it as “a raw, acoustic anthem about letting go of fake love and reclaiming your worth.” The stripped-back arrangement allows her voice and words to sit at the forefront, a choice that aligns with her broader approach of balancing vulnerability and strength in her songwriting.
Listen below:
Originally from Montreal, James is mainly self-taught. Before devoting herself to music, she pursued visual arts, a background that continues to inform her work as a multidisciplinary artist. She has often pointed to her formative years immersed in punk rock, drawing inspiration from bands such as No Use for a Name, Face to Face, MXPX, and especially the late Tony Sly. Those influences are felt not so much in the instrumentation but in the directness of her lyricism and the do-it-yourself ethos shaping her career.
Her path into music began during a difficult period, when she first picked up a ukulele as a personal outlet. That initial act of self-expression gradually evolved into a more public pursuit, with songs that highlight both resilience and fragility. As a mother of four, her music also reflects lived experience, written less from abstraction than from a desire to connect with others navigating similar challenges.
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