Aging Disgracefully is a blues/roots duo from Canada’s East Coast, whose music is as bold, soulful, and unfiltered as the name suggests. Formed by seasoned songwriters Karen Pyra and Mike Elliott, the pair came together through a shared love of storytelling and the kind of music that doesn’t just entertain—it resonates. Their debut album, Shatter the Mirror, released in March 2025, has been hailed as a “stunningly honest, witty, and emotionally mature record” that invites listeners to embrace the fire of growing older. The album has received international acclaim for its “exquisite musicianship, attention-demanding riffs, and emotive vocal performances,” with critics praising the duo’s ability to blend blues, folk, and Americana into a sound that’s both timeless and fiercely contemporary.
The duo’s accolades include winning Best Original Song at the Round the Globe Music and Film Festival. Their title track spent ten weeks on the East Coast Top 30 chart, earning a place in its Hall of Fame, and it is currently a finalist in the blues category of the Intercontinental Music Awards. Whether they’re delivering a sultry blues burner like “Black Stockings,” a poetic reflection like “Red Sky,” or a tongue-in-cheek romp like “Designated Driver Blues,” Aging Disgracefully brings humor, heart, and humanity to every performance. Their music speaks to anyone who’s lived a little—and isn’t done living yet. With new songs already in the works, and a growing international fanbase, Aging Disgracefully is proving that the second act can be the most powerful of all. They’re not chasing trends—they’re telling the truth. And they’re doing it with soul, sass, and a wink.
With “Black Stockings” out now, we took some time to hear from Aging Disgracefully. Read below to learn more about Aging Disgracefully, the story behind “Black Stockings,” and what’s to come.
Hi! Let’s start with how did the name of the group come about?
That’s a funny story. We struggled for a while to figure out a name, and then one day we were sharing stories about how we were both injured and joked ‘we are aging disgracefully.’ We looked at one another and said, ‘Yes! We are!’ Name decided. It was perfect for our mission. The music industry often overlooks musicians in the second half of life, and we believe it’s essential to create and share music that resonates with people over forty. ‘Aging Disgracefully’ represents our refusal to conform to society’s expectations of what it means to be ‘too old.’
When did Aging Disgracefully form?
We met at a songwriting workshop in 2023, and something just clicked. We started out writing and recording a holiday song together, and then we just kept going until we suddenly realized we had an album on our hands and a message to share through our music.
What city are you both from and where are you both based now?
Karen lives on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, Canada in a small community called Park Corner. Mike lives in the neighboring province of Nova Scotia in the town of Shelburne. We do a lot of collaboration by video calls.
How would you all describe your duo’s sound to readers who may not be familiar with you all?
We consider ourselves blues-inspired. We lean heavily into the blues, but not all of our songs would be considered pure blues. We are influenced by many other styles including folk, rock, americana and country. What is most important to us is that we let the emotion and message of each song dictate where we need to go musically.
Who are some of your group’s main musical influences?
We share a love of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton and Joe Bonamassa – and so many more songwriters like Ian Janes, The Teskey Brothers, Chris Stapleton, Don Williams…we could go on and on! As songwriters, we have both been strongly influenced by two of Nova Scotia’s best singer-songwriters: Terra Spencer and Dave Gunning. We have have learned so much from them and they have both been big supports for us.
If you all could perform with anyone, who would it be?
While we never say no if we had a chance to play with one of the current blues greats, for us, the real joy in music comes from getting to perform with the people that we love the most, who have supported us along the way. So, a dream show for us would be a jam with Dave Gunning, Terra Spencer, Darrel Cameron and Matt Gallant. That would be such a blast, and a show not to be missed!
What’s one of the proudest moments of your group’s music career so far?
Finishing our first album and performing our own songs live are stand out moments. But, we just learned that the title track of our album is a finalist in the Intercontinental Music Awards, and wow, that’s huge. We are very proud of that.
What would you both say are the greatest lessons that you both have learned so far?
We have both been engaged in music for a long time. And now, we get to lean into all of that experience to create something new. So, the lesson for us is that you have to have faith in what you are doing, and just jump in and do it. Every song that you write and sing adds to the experience that you need to create the kind of music that we want to create.
Now onto ‘Black Stockings.’ What inspired this song?
This song is one of many that we have written that celebrates living fully in the second half of life. Women in particular, but men are not exempt, are socialized from a young age that beauty equals young, skinny, unwrinkled skin and any hair color but grey. We reject that, and think women and men have the right and power to feel beautiful and sexy at any age.
What is ‘Black Stockings’ about?
‘Black Stockings’ is a celebration of couples who have been together for a long time, who keep the romance and spiciness of their relationship alive no matter how old they are. Too many people look at older couples and try and diminish them by saying things like ‘isn’t that sweet?.’ No. It’s not sweet. It’s amazing. Society that often desexualizes or emotionally flattens older adults, assuming that deep love, passion, or complexity are only for the young. We celebrate the rich tapestry of love, hardship, forgiveness, and personal growth demonstrated by long relationships and refuse to reduce it to something cutesy or quaint.
What was the creative process like when making ‘Black Stockings?’
We created it much the way we do with many of our songs. Karen tends to focus on melody and lyrics, and Mike tends to focus more on arrangement. But what fun we had with this, especially when we got in the studio. We felt like we were breaking new ground with the message of this song – and that felt great.
How long did it take to complete ‘Black Stockings?’
Not long – but most songs don’t; take us long. Once the inspiration hits, we are pretty quick. Melody and lyrics came together in a few hours and so did the arrangement. A few more hours in the studio brought it all together.
What do you both hope fans take away from your guys’ music and from ‘Black Stockings?’
Age is just a number. No matter what society says you can or should do or be as you age, enjoy life to the fullest and just be who you are meant to be. Step into who you are authentically regardless of what society tells you, you should be.
What’s next for you two? Are you all working on any upcoming projects, or do you all have any upcoming shows that we should be on the lookout for?
We have new songs in progress and are working on an EP for 2026. We will be performing in a rock festival in Nova Scotia called Fogfest on August 16th and are planning several album release shows in the fall.
Where can we follow you both on social media?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Aging-Disgracefully/61571529808750/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agingdisgracefully.duo/
Website: www.agingdisgracefullyduo.com
Before you go, let’s ask you something random. What guitars did you choose to bring the right sound to your songs on the album?
On most all of the tunes, Mike played either his Gibson ES 335 or Crosby acoustic. They just have the right tone for the job.
Thank you both for the great interview; wish you all much continued success!
