AFTERGLOW – An Interview with Michelle Joy from CANNONS

Words by Kimberly Haddad

Cannons emerged out of Los Angeles with a sound that fell outside easy categorization— Joy, guitarist Ryan Clapham, and drummer and keyboardist Paul Davis, the band spent years developing steadily: albums released, tours booked, rooms filled. That changed when “Fire for You” slipped into the cultural bloodstream, compressing years of gradual growth into a single moment of mass circulation. What followed was acceleration—constant touring, heightened visibility, and the pressure that shows up when a band’s internal pace is suddenly dictated by demand.

Everything Glows, arriving later this month, exists on the other side of that period. It’s Cannons’ fifth album and the first made after a necessary interruption, one that forced a reassessment of rhythm, authorship, and longevity. As the band prepares to release “Starlight” and head out on a co-headline tour with Bob Moses, Joy speaks candidly about physical limits, creative endurance, and the long-term cost of operating beyond capacity.

Before we get into the new music, can you talk a little about where you’re at right now—personally and as a band? What does life look like for Cannons in this moment?

We finished wrapping up our album, which we’re very excited to put out soon. We’re also getting ready for tour, which starts in a couple of months. We’ve been rehearsing and getting familiar with the new songs we’ve written. As for me, I feel like I’m in a really good place and a lot lighter than I was around this time last year. I’m genuinely excited about everything that’s coming up for us this year.

You’ve been making music together for a long time now. What do you think people still misunderstand about who you are as a group, or how you actually work together day to day?

I don’t know if people really understand how much love we put into every aspect of our music. It’s not the easiest process for us to write. Paul will spend a full eight-hour day working on a bass sound. I love spending a lot of time making sure my words are the exact ones I want to use in a verse or wherever it’s going. We put a lot of time and intention into every sound.

The most important thing to us has always been writing music that we’re very proud of, and everything else has come after that.

You’ve built a huge audience without being overly visible or constantly explaining yourselves online. Has that distance ever felt protective—or has it ever made things harder?

Navigating the online world and our connections with people on social media has changed quite a bit throughout our career. We were super busy during the first four years when we started touring, and I don’t think we knew how to handle the number of tour dates we were doing, writing new music, and keeping up with social content the way some people do. The most important thing to us has always been writing music that we’re very proud of, and everything else has come after that.

A lot of this record was written during a period that sounds really challenging, especially for you, Michelle. How did going through health issues change your relationship to your body and your voice while making this album?

It has changed me quite a bit. I grew up around a lot of discipline, and I had the mindset that progress came from repetition, focus, and pushing past discomfort. I spent almost an entire year pushing past points where I should have listened to my body. This year has taught me to stop pushing so hard and start listening. Time has forced me to stop, and it’s changed my relationship with creating over the last year. I’ve been able to create much more from a place of presence, clarity, and lightness, which I feel is reflected in our latest album. I had been going 100 miles per hour since “Fire for You” blew up—the touring and the writing. There were no breaks, and I didn’t allow any room for myself to recover. My body essentially forced me to stop, and I learned that I could not continue to ignore my limits.

How are you feeling now, health-wise?

I feel like a new person, completely different from where I was last year. I feel positive, really excited, and intentional about every move we make. Our touring and the way we’re navigating every- thing is completely different than before. I’m really excited to go on the next tour because I’ll have the support system I need, which I’ve never had before. There was so much pressure after COVID, and a lot of things weren’t well thought out because everyone was scrambling to put on shows right away. That was when we played our first festival, and we haven’t stopped touring since.

When did that shift happen, when you all started to slow down, look inward, and figure out how to move forward in a healthier, more intentional way?

Everything came crashing down after Lollapalooza last year. You can only go so long on a low gas tank, and I think we were all getting burned out. There weren’t enough people on our team, and things were really disorganized and stressful. My body reached a point where I needed to start taking care of it. I went to the doctor and found out I had severe anemia. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but I’m positive I had it for the entire year we were performing, because there were so many shows where I couldn’t breathe on stage. I had trouble getting ready, I couldn’t think straight, and I just kept playing the shows. I thought everyone felt this tired given our schedule, and I never really listened to my body. When I got home from the last batch of shows, I couldn’t even walk up the stairs. I literally couldn’t breathe. That started a journey for me where I had to learn my limits and create boundaries to protect myself, both mentally and physically. Making music is something I love, and I love sharing it. I love the world we’ve created around something we all care so deeply about, and I realized that if I don’t protect my body and mind in the way I need to, there’s no longevity. I learned that the hard way.

I don’t think you’re alone in that. We live in a culture that normalizes exhaustion, where it can feel like if you’re not exhausted, you’re not working hard enough. It’s not sustainable, and I’m really glad you were able to pause and come back to yourself in a positive way.

Thank you so much.

When you hear the title Everything Glows, it sounds almost optimistic—but the record lives in a lot of complicated places. Where did that title come from?

When we finished the album, we started thinking about titles, and as we reflected on everything we went through over the last year—our breaking points and the changes—we realized how difficult it all was. These were situations there’s no handbook for, moments where I had no idea who to ask or what to do based on where I was at. But through everything we went through, I realized there’s light in everything, even in the dark, if you’re willing to stay with it and try to learn what lesson it’s trying to teach you. Every uncomfortable phase of my life has held some kind of lesson within it, and with that lesson, there’s always a kind of light. That’s where the title came from.

Now that some time has passed, what hits you first when you hear “Starlight” again?

“Starlight” is one of my favorite songs, and when I hear it again, I immediately think of us in the studio trying to get started on this album. Prior to that day, there were alot of nerves because we were all coming from burnout and weren’t sure what we had in us. That was the first song that came naturally for us. There was a spark that day, and it gave us a lot of confidence that we can create as long as we’re together in a room. We can always create music we genuinely enjoy. It was the spark that started this album, so there are a lot of good feelings around it.

You’re about to tour with Bob Moses, who also makes music that occupies a very specific emotional space. What are you most excited to bring into that shared environment?

I’m really excited to bring a whole new version of myself and the guys. Our dynamic is different than it was last year, and our relationship is much deeper than when we were touring then. I feel like there are new people to introduce to our fans. There’s been so much growth over the past year. I can’t wait to see what it’s like to get on stage after having the chance to rest and reflect on how to make this an experience we can enjoy, instead of working from a place of fear.

What’s the hardest part of being “seen” onstage every night onstage that people don’t really talk about?

The hardest part is definitely those days when everything is going wrong and you still have to put on a show. I value the support from each one of our fans, and the love and effort they put into supporting Cannons. I really feel like I owe them everything I have during a performance. I try to compartmentalize my life before I go on stage, because there are days when I’m literally crying in my bunk on the tour bus, especially last year with how I was physically feeling. There are so many things that happen during tour, just like in everyday life, where you don’t know if you can handle the day. But I work really hard to put everything aside before I get on stage and give the best show I can. It’s not easy. I genuinely feel it’s not something everyone can do, and I don’t know if that’s good or bad for me mentally, but I do it out of love. Some days it’s harder than others to put a smile on my face when I’m dealing with something and just want a moment to myself.

Looking back at earlier Cannons records, what feels most different about Everything Glows, emotionally? And what do you hope your fans will feel or take away from listening to it?

Everything Glows feels lighter and more intentional. There’s a presence to it that doesn’t fully exist in our previous albums. I hope this album helps our fans feel less alone, because that’s what I look for in the music I return to and hold close to my heart. I look for songs and albums that make me feel cared for during difficult moments. I want them to feel like I’m holding their hand through tough times, and that they can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Outside of music, what’s something people might be surprised you care deeply about?

I don’t think it’s surprising, but I care deeply about different forms of creating and the people who are close to me. That’s something I feel has been interrupted a bit by the type of touring we do, so when I’m home, I really try to make sure my relationships are strong and that people feel cared for.

If you could say one thing to our readers right now, what would it be?

I hope they can listen to this album and feel less alone in whatever situation they’re going through. I also hope they can protect their relationship with creating in the way I’ve learned to this year—to take their time with the things they love and care about, especially if they want longevity in it.

BUY ISSUE 29