Chicago singer, songwriter, and pianist Neal Francis releases a live in-studio performance video of his new single, “Can’t Stop The Rain.” Recorded at Shirk Studios in Chicago, the clip truly captures Francis’ infectious live-show energy which started the word-of-mouth chatter that’s growing louder every day. The song is from his new album, In Plain Sight, out on ATO November 5. The album was mixed by the Grammy-winning producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, MGMT) and pre-orders are available now.
PRE-ORDER IN PLAIN SIGHT
After returning home from touring on the back of his 2019 debut album Changes, Francis went through a breakup and found himself living in a church, where he ended up writing a series of new songs about honesty and resilience.
“I’m owning up to all my problems within my relationships and my sobriety,” Francis says. “So much of it is about coming to the understanding that I continue to suffer because of those problems. It’s about acknowledging that and putting it out in the open in order to mitigate the suffering and try to work on it, instead of trying to hide everything.”
Francis and his bandmates recorded In Plain Sight entirely on tape – and mostly in that same church – and the resulting songs are dreamlike and reflective, anchored in the rock and soul sound that has led critics to compare him to legends like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John.
In Plain Sight was heralded last month with the release of the studio version of “Can’t Stop The Rain,” which features the Grammy-winning guitarist Derek Trucks. The song was premiered on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and was #1 Most Added at Triple A and Non-Comm Radio.
Neal Francis is currently on a massive U.S. tour that includes dates opening for Black Pumas, a sold-out headlining show at New York’s Mercury Lounge, and festival appearances at Americana Fest, Shaky Knees, and Outside Lands, among others. Francis just received rave reviews for his hometown performance at Lollapalooza – “There are hints of ’70s Brit Rock (including a very visceral touch of Elton John) as well as New Orleans jazz-funk, gospel soul, and some lighthearted Randy Newman — and the amalgamation felt like a time-stamped treasure,” wrote the Chicago Sun-Times. All dates are below and tickets are available at nealfrancis.com.
NEAL FRANCIS ON TOUR
* w/ Black Pumas
9/9: CIVL Millennium Park Summer Music Series – Chicago, IL
9/18: Summerfest – Milwaukee, WI
9/19: Borderland Music Festival – East Aurora, NY
9/20: Mercury Lounge – New York, NY (SOLD OUT)
9/21: Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA
9/22: Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY
9/25: Americana Music Fest – Nashville, TN
9/30: Union Craft Brewery – Baltimore, MD
10/1: Tuck Fest – Charlotte, NC
10/2: Parks Fest – Evansville, IN
10/7: Railgarten – Memphis, TN
10/8: The Parish Room at House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
10/15: The Sylvee – Madison, WI *
10/16: 20 Monroe Live – Grand Rapids, MI *
10/20: Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC
10/21: The Blind Tiger – Greensboro, NC
10/22: Purgatory at The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
10/23: Shaky Knees Festival – Atlanta, GA
10/24: The Charleston Pour House – Charleston, SC
10/27: Bourgie Nights –Wilmington, NC
10/28: The Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
10/29: Suwannee Hulaween – Live Oak, FL
10/31: Outside Lands – San Francisco, CA
11/4: El Club – Detroit, MI
11/6: Canopy Club – Urbana, IL
11/11: Ballroom at Taft Theatre – Cincinnati, OH
11/12: Kenny’s Westside Pub – Peoria, IL
11/18: Old Rock House – St. Louis, MO
11/19: Headliners Music Hall – Louisville, KY
11/20: Hi-Fi – Indianapolis, IN
12/8: Antone’s Nightclub – Austin, TX
12/9: Antone’s Nightclub – Austin, TX
1/5: Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
1/8: Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
1/9: The Crocodile – Seattle, WA
1/12: 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
1/13: High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
1/17-1/21: Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky – Puerto Aventuras, QR
UK & Europe 2022:
1/23: O2 Academy2 Islington – London, UK
1/25: Merleyn – Nijmegen, NL
1/26: Vera – Groningen, NL
1/27: Bitterzoet – Amsterdam, NL
1/28: Metropool – Hengelo, NL
1/29: TivoliVredenburg – Utrecht, NL
1/30: Bird – Rotterdam, NL
1/31: Haldern Pop Bar – Haldern, DE
2/1: Privatclub – Berlin, DE
2/2: Häkken – Hamburg, DE
2/4: New Morning – Paris, FR
2/5: L’Ouvre Boite – Beauvais, FR
2/6: De Zwerver – Leffinge, BE
