FRAN SMITH + SOPHIE MAC + GIRL “, your voice is gorgeous and your songs are really REALLY good. Thank you so much for your talent and sharing it with the world!” Joan As Police Woman “It’s really exciting to discover a songwriting talent as intelligent and insightful as Fran Smith, who knows how to sing her own stories with such conviction and grace.” Karine Polwart “Awesome and deserving of magnificent and worldwide success.” Thea Gilmore Fantastic words of praise from magnificent performers in their own right!
Resident in Leeds and just in to her twenties, Fran has already gathered an impressive list of fans including the above named as well as Athlete, Boo Hewerdine, The Albion Band, and Po’ Girl. Not to mention being asked to perform live on the prestigious BBC Radio 4 programme ‘Loose Ends’, a gig which saw her CD sales go through the roof. And just last year, a seventeen-date UK tour with Thea Gilmore further expanded a growing fanbase with her passionate performances and engaging stage presence.
Fran’s singing is gracefully assured, her voice distinctive. Her quietly impassioned Northern tones may initially put you in mind of folk sirens such as Norma Waterson or Rachel Unthank, but musically Fran will transport you somewhere else entirely. Her piano-based songs – often recorded with brooding, unsettling string arrangements – reference, in their atmospherics, the likes of Antony and the Johnsons or Joanna Newsom.
Ultimately, however, she’ll leave you feeling like you’ve stumbled upon a completely new, unique, quintessentially English talent. This is such a good show.