Fran Smith is a mesmerising solo performer who was named a ‘Live Music Highlight of the Year’ by the BBC in 2014.
The Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter and pianist has toured the UK with the likes of Martha Wainwright, Athlete, Karine Polwart and legendary punk-poet John Cooper Clarke, and recently played her first (sold-out) shows in the US.
She writes the kind of lyrics that people fall in love with: disarmingly romantic, witty, sensuous, and “refreshingly uncompromising… both brutal and beautiful” (Folk Radio UK).
Her soulful, Northern tones are rooted in English folk, but musically she weaves intimate, piano-based pop melodies with a dark, baroque quirkiness that evokes Florence Welch and Antony Hegarty.
Fran self-released her debut EP in 2013 without a label, manager or publicist. It was nevertheless championed by the likes of Steve Lamacq, Bob Harris and BBC Introducing, and all four tracks received significant airplay on BBC Radio 2, 4 and 6 Music.
Last year, Fran spent time recording in Brooklyn with top New York musicians Brad Albetta and Rob Moose, known for their collaborations with Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Antony and the Johnsons, Sufjan Stevens, The National, Bon Iver, St. Vincent and more. Fran also wrote and co-produced new material at the prestigious Air-Edel Studios in London, the highly-anticipated results of which will soon be shared with the world.