Photo Credit: Liina Raud
“The Chicago keys player’s album In Plain Sight is a must-hear, especially on vinyl, but to fully appreciate the piano-rock revivalist, you have to catch him live.”
– Rolling Stone
Chicago-based singer-songwriter-pianist Neal Francis has shared a creative new video for “Prometheus,” one of the many highlights found on his acclaimed 2021 album, In Plain Sight (ATO). Directed by longtime collaborators Alec Basse and Max Moore, “Prometheus” is streaming now at YouTube.
“Aiming at the Greek myth of Prometheus, we wanted to create a piece that would put Neal in the fabled hot seat,” says co-director Alec Basse. “For showing his gifts to the world, Neal is reborn in a carnival-themed prison where every night it ignites around him. Forced to perform in isolation for all eternity, Neal burns down the proverbial house without an audience. Just as Prometheus before him, Neal has stolen fire from the gods, albeit not literal flames. For his trickery, Neal must suffer the consequences.
“We shot this on a farm in Wisconsin. The ticket booth was from the 70s Ohio State Fair and it was lovingly preserved by a man I met on Facebook marketplace. The shoot was brutally cold and I think we all would have loved to warm our hands on Neal’s roasting soul but alas his story is not yet finished. Massive shoutout to Ryan Wood who painstakingly recreated every single shot in CGI to create the fire effects. I think at some point this project became Ryan’s own personal Greek myth. Our collective suffering is the gift we offer to humanity.”
Hailed by SPIN as “a mesmerizing performer,” Francis – who recently received a prestigious 2022 Americana Association nomination for “Emerging Act of the Year, ”performed on CBS Saturday Morning, and released a collaboration for charity with Wilco – is set to spend much of his time on the road in the coming months, including a just-announced North American tour supporting Marcus King beginning September 9 at The Met in Philadelphia, PA and continuing through late October. A much-anticipated EU/UK tour will follow in November, including headline dates in England, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Italy, and Spain. In the meantime, Francis’s non-stop live schedule also includes a summer tour supporting Amos Lee, headline shows, festival dates in the US and Europe, and much more. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.nealfrancis.com/tour.
NEAL FRANCIS
ON TOUR 2022-2023
JUNE
1 – Santa Barbara, CA – Lobero Theatre *
3 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay * (SOLD OUT)
4 – Tucson, AZ – Fox Tucson Theatre *
5 – Mesa, AZ – Ikeda Theater *
7 – Santa Fe, NM – Lensic Performing Arts Center *
9 – San Antonio, TX – Tobin Center for the Performing Arts *
10 – Houston, TX – Cullen Performance Hall *
11 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater *
14 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant *
15 – Chicago, IL – Ravinia Festival *
17 – Grand Rapids, MI – Frederik Meijer Gardens *
18 – Cincinnati, OH – Fifth & Vine Live Fountain Square Concert Series (FREE SHOW)
19 – Indianapolis, IN – Rock The Ruins at Holliday Park *
20 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
21 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
23 – Chattanooga, TN – Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium *
24 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall *
25 – Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts Center *
JULY
1 – Cedarburg, WI – Summer Sounds (FREE SHOW)
7 – Amsterdam, NL – Bitterzoet
9 – Weert, NL– Bospop †
10 – Rotterdam, NL – North Sea Jazz Festival †
15 – Haldern, DE – Haldern Pop Bar
21 – Amagansett, NY – The Stephen Talkhouse
22 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios
23 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival †
27 – Rehoboth Beach, DE – Dogfish Head Brewing (FREE SHOW)
28 – Virginia Beach, VA – New Realm Brewing Co.
29 – Floyd, VA – FloydFest †
30 – Lexington, KY – The Burl
AUGUST
5 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Steamboat Springs Summer Concert Series (FREE SHOW)
SEPTEMBER
2 – Charleston, WV – Live on the Levee (FREE SHOW)
8 – Richmond, VA – The National
9 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia ^
10 – Washington DC – MGM National Harbor ^
11 – Boston, MA – House of Blues ^
15 – New York, NY – Beacon Theater ^
16 – New York, NY – Beacon Theater ^
17 – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live! ^
20 – Toronto, ON – History ^
21 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE ^
23 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe ^
24 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee ^
25 – St. Paul, MN – St. Paul Palace ^
OCTOBER
1 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle ^
2 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle ^
4 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s ^
6 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren ^
7 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern ^
11 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic ^
13 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom ^
14 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre ^
15 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre ^
17 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex ^
18 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom ^
22 – Detroit, MI – The FIllmore Detroit ^
23 – Cleveland, OH – The Agora ^
25 – Charlotte, NC – Fillmore Charlotte ^
26 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company ^
27 – New Orleans, LA – Fillmore New Orleans ^
NOVEMBER
1 – London, UK – Moth Club
2 – Maastricht, NL – Muziekgieterij
3 – Rotterdam, NL – Bird
4 – Nijmegen, NL – Merleyn
6 – Utrecht, NL – de Helling
8 – Antwerp, BE – Trix Bar
9 – Leffinge, BE – De Zwerver
10 – Beauvais, FR – L’ouvre Boite
11 – Saint–Lô, FR – Les Festival des Rendez-Vous Soniques †
12 – Bethune, FR – Le Poche
13 – Paris, FR – Please, Please, Please Festival @ La Boule Noire †
15 – Hengelo, NL – Metropool
16 – Hamburg, DE – Haekken
17 – Copenhagen, DK – Raahuset
18 – Malmo, SW – Folk å Rock
19 – Falkenberg, SW – Tryckhallen
20 – Stockholm, SW – Nalen
21 – Oslo, NO – Bla
22 – Bergen, NO – Lille Ole Bull
25 – Berlin, DE – Privatclub
26 – Munich, DE – Milla
27 – Milan, IT – Spazio Teatro 89
DECEMBER
2-3 – Lake Wales, FL – Orange Blossom Revue †
FEBRUARY 2023
6-12 – Miami, FL> Puerto Plata, DR>Ocean Cay, BS – Jam Cruise 19
* Supporting Amos Lee
† Festival Performance
^ Supporting Marcus King
