Leith Ross I Can See The Future Tour
Written by Max Finney, Photos by Emma A. Walker
Leith Ross reminisces the past, revels in the present, and takes us to the future with their latest album release, ‘I Can See The Future’. You may recognise them from viral hits such as ‘We’ll Never Have Sex’ and ‘(You) On My Arm’; and while the new record maintains much of their signature sound, it also branches out into new musical territory that we had yet to hear from the Winnipeg-based singer-songwriter. Ranging from folk sounds to jazz to a little bit of pop, Leith has shown tremendous range in this sophomore album, and they continue to tackle common themes of love, loss, and understanding in what they consider to be “an older sibling to” their first full-length record, ‘To Learn’.
In a September 2025 press conference, Leith let us in on their songwriting process, the effects the new record has had on their life, and their relationship to their queerness. When asked about the track order, they explained the purpose of the ‘Grieving’ reprise being second-to-last on the tracklist. “‘(I Can See) The Future’ is the only song on the record that isn’t written from my perspective. Like, obviously I wrote it, but I wrote it from the perspective of a person living hundreds or thousands of years from now – however long it takes – in the world that I feel like I’m fighting for now in my life. And so I thought it would be meaningful, metaphorically, to kind of have most of the songs bookended by ‘Grieving’, and then have ‘(I Can See) The Future’ be an outlier, almost as proof that it’s separate, and almost as an homage to the fact that that future will happen after I’m dead. Like, it is bigger than me and it is beyond me.” Leith also mentioned that growing up, having a father who was a philosophy and ethics professor taught them to question things on a deeper level from a very young age, which shaped how they approach songwriting. “I do feel like for me, writing music is very similar to trying to answer a philosophical question about anything. The writing of it feels like an attempt to answer it, or an attempt to get to the bottom of a feeling. And it always makes me feel better to ask, you know, it’s frustrating to have a question, it feels better to ask even if you don’t get an answer.” And on the topic of growing up, when asked about the relationship and progression between the new record and previous projects, they had this to say: “What I’ve realised from the songs that ended up on ‘I Can See The Future’ is that I’ll never let go of my nostalgia, I will always be writing songs about getting older and my life changing, I’m never gonna not write a coming of age record. Whether that age be 27, 35, 52… I’m always going to be writing some coming-of-age.” Songs such as ‘Home’ tackle deep feelings of nostalgia and yearning for things to feel the same as they did in childhood, something I’m sure many of us can relate to. The album is chock full of relatable lyrics and themes. “I had this intense remembering that I am never the only person who is experiencing something, and that being a human being is having shared experiences with other human beings,” Leith responded to a question relating to the ‘Stay’ lyric that reads, “I cannot be human alone.” And as a large portion of their fanbase is queer, the artist was asked how their relationship to their own queerness shapes their other relationships, and how it allows them to view the world differently. Leith aspires to break boundaries and to never conform. “I want to share things in a way that doesn’t fit inside the kind of structure and narrative we’re forced to live in. I want to break those rules, and live differently, and live together differently, which is such a teaching that I learned from just understanding that I was different from a young age and having to question myself. And if you can question yourself, then you have a stepping stone to questioning everything else, and trying to find a new way to do it.” Leith also described their queerness as “a lens for the world” and stated that queerness to them “goes way beyond identity, and who I have romantic relationships with.” In Leith’s words, queerness “is everything”, and that is exactly why music by queer artists will always resonate deeper with the LGBTQ+ community. The US leg of the ‘I Can See The Future’ Tour comes to an end this Sunday in Seattle, then will begin the European portion in February.
Never Mind attended the tour in Atlanta, Georgia on November 9th. A beautiful show with two stellar openers, Ety and Annika Bennett, the packed Variety Playhouse was serenaded with over two and a half hours of gorgeous music. Throughout writing the album – and especially its third single, ‘Stay’ – Leith has been encouraged to be a more active community member, and they’re urging their audience to do the same! “I’ve learned to just try to take a more active role. Like, I don’t want to continue sitting back and hoping things will happen, I want to be working towards them, whether that’s musically, or personally, or really in any area of my life, trying harder to be there for people, and to be a part of things.” The artist has made it a goal in each new city to team up with a local grassroots organisation to help initiate change; a portion of every merchandise purchase at the show goes to whichever organisation they are supporting that night, and if possible, they have a representative out to speak about the cause just before Leith and the band perform ‘Stay’ – a song all about finding your people and important friendships. It’s a wonderful way to get communities involved! And speaking of community, Leith Ross has managed to build one of the kindest fanbases out there. I have never been to a concert where every single audience member was so sweet! Concerts are some of my favorite places to make new friends, and that was made extremely easy here as everybody was so welcoming. The setlist consisted of nearly every track from the new record, as well as a few familiar favorites. It began with ‘Point Of View’, the second song on the album. Leith was accompanied by an incredibly versatile band including instruments such as the fiddle, saxophone, and Irish bouzouki. The smaller venue, low lighting, and Leith’s talent for connecting with a crowd made for a dazzlingly intimate experience. One of my favorite parts of the set was when the band exited the stage and Leith performed one solo song at the audience’s request! It’s a lovely way to connect with the crowd a little more, and the Atlanta show got to hear ‘Understood’ from the artist’s debut EP ‘Motherwell’. Another favorite portion being the more musically upbeat songs like ‘Grieving’ and ‘(I Can See) The Future’, singing and dancing together being another wonderful way to feel truly connected as a community. Strong emotions and Leith Ross’ music tend to go hand in hand, and boy was this show a rollercoaster! My personal favorite on the record is ‘Home’, and when I tell you hearing it live turned me into a puddle of tears, I am not exaggerating! Leith is absolutely one of the great songwriters out there, they are phenomenal at putting feelings that most can’t describe into words. The set ended with one of the artist’s biggest hit singles, ‘(You) On My Arm’ – another very danceable song – followed by an encore with, once again, just Leith and their guitar, singing their smash hit, ‘We’ll Never Have Sex’. This show was truly one of the best concerts I have ever been to and made for an unforgettable experience beginning to end, Leith is definitely one to catch live if you’re able.
Before the main set began, Never Mind had the pleasure of meeting and connecting with a talented local artist, Tace Palma, who created a beautiful poster for the album! Near the end of the show, Tace was able to personally give the poster to Leith, creating an incredibly sweet and intimate moment between the two artists of different mediums. Tace was kind enough to give us some backstory behind the work of art, “I made this poster on an impulse. When Leith Ross’ ‘I Can See the Future’ album released at midnight, I was sitting in the corner of my dorm on my tablet and decided that I would draw it out. For each song there is an illustration of the raw emotion that said song evoked. I drew myself, my friends, the people I love, the experiences I have had, and put them all into this collage of memories as it related to the songs that were playing. The piece is — in the most loving way possible — a junk drawer of love glued together by the lyricism of Ross. I cried and smiled throughout the whole process of drawing the pieces of this puzzle of a poster, and when the final note of ‘(I Can See) The Future’ rang out, I decided to re-listen to it all and color it all. I pulled inspiration for coloration from the album cover, as well as mixing in what I felt was the color of each song. I stopped coloring the piece once the final note of the second play-through had stopped.” While speaking to Tace before the show, they had mentioned to us that their favorite song of Leith’s is ‘Understood’, how magical getting to hear it live as the bonus song of the night! “Creating this poster, seeing Leith Ross play my favorite song, and having the incredible opportunity to give them my art filled me with an overwhelming love and appreciation for my life that I did not have back in 2020.” You can follow Tace at @fae_forged on Instagram, thank you Tace for allowing us to share your stunning work!
Leith Ross’ latest album, ‘I Can See The Future’, is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music, and tickets for their upcoming UK/Europe and Canadian tours are on sale now! Links to their social media, music streaming, store, and tour information are available at leithross.com
