ut some flowers in your hair and grab a joint of reggie because Neal Francis is taking modern music fans back to the golden age of music. Neal Francis first caught my attention when he was included on the 2025 Dead Ahead Fest hosted by Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. To be invited to an all-star event like Dead Ahead, one must have a passion for musical technique along with style and this is surely the case with Neal Francis.
Francis has been amassing millions of plays for his groovy piano melodies and nonchalant vocals since 2019 but he had an entire musical career before releasing his tunes as a solo artist. It turns out that Francis was a piano prodigy that grew up in Chicago testing out his chops with blues bands around the city. His innate talent was so obvious that he would be invited on a European tour with Muddy Waters' oldest son, Mud Morganfield, at the age of 18. The sky was the limit for Francis as he joined an instrumental funk band known as The Heard in 2012 but that's when he ran into some problems. Francis struggled with an "addiction to everything" and was eventually kicked out of The Heard. It was at this point that Francis got sober, got serious about his musical output and put in the groundwork to lead a band to tour the entire country.
Neal Francis picks up fans in every town he plays because his music seems like a time capsule for the grooviest vibes of the 60s and 70s. His songs are always led by the piano but his inclusion of horns, slide guitar and extended jams make for a danceable trance that lasts for hours. His main influences are piano legends like Dr. John, Curtis Mayfield, and Allen Toussaint but his songs never mirror the style of a certain artist. Francis always brings the 60s/70s focus on instrumental rhythm into his tracks but he also takes it a step further with the ability to extend the musical moments in the style of jam bands. It's clear that his approach to music is gaining attention because his 2021 album featured Derek Trucks playing slide guitar on one of the songs.
Francis' adoration of the 60s/70s doesn't stop with his musical stylings, it also applies to the way he records. According to a 2024 podcast appearance on Dean Delray's show, Francis is dedicated to recording in an analog style without the use of a computer. He used this method when he recorded his live album, Francis Comes Alive (an homage to Peter Frampton's live album) in 2023 at Chicago's Thalia Hall. The warm, raw feel that accompanies these recordings is in plain sight and it makes you wonder why more musicians aren't doing this.
When Francis returned to Thalia Hall at the end of 2024, it seemed that the whole city was awaiting his return. Francis didn't bring along the horns this time but his band definitely did not disappoint. The group consisted of Mike Starr on Bass, Collin O Brien on Drums, Andrew Gabbard on guitar + vocals, Daniel Villareal on percussion, VV Lightbody on keys + percussion, and Terin Ector on guitar and vocals. The retro vibe was amplified that night by the giant old-school TV set complete with a fuzzy picture that filled the screen behind the band. The entire crowd seemed to time travel that night as Francis and his band played "Changes", "Prometheus", "Can't Stop the Rain", and ended the show with a rendition of his new song, "Back It Up." I guess if you ever wanted to hang out in the 1970s for a night, all you have to do is see a Neal Francis show.
