Cover photo © 2026 Laura Carbone
Sometimes we meet people who have so many varied talents and who have accomplished so much that we are tempted to ask them why they didn’t leave some talent for the rest of us. Canadian born Angelique Francis is one of those people. Beginning as a child prodigy who can play piano, guitar, bass (both upright and electric) and harmonica, she also writes songs, produces her own albums, designs her own merchandise, creates/edits music videos, and is a professional actor. She played her first blues festival at the age of thirteen and has won Bassist of the Year and New Artist/Group of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards, along with earning several other nominations including Female Vocalist of the Year and Recording/Producer of the Year. Also, in 2023, she won the prestigious Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year…and she is still only in her twenties.
Angelique came from a very music-focused family. When she expressed the desire to play the bass, her parents insisted that she first learn piano and guitar, which she did with ease. She started initially performing as an acoustic solo act, inspired by Delta blues, and had the opportunity to open for some blues royalty before starting her own band. She was highly influenced by Koko Taylor, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Big Mama Thornton.
“We always had music in our home. My parents used songs to teach us about ourselves and about the world, and we would jam after dinner every night. When I was thirteen, I played my first blues festival and got to open for Beth Hart. It was amazing to have that experience and to get to watch her performance skills and musicality. I feel very fortunate to have had that experience, and to have had opportunities with many other artists as well.”
Angelique reported that she was a shy child but surprisingly felt no fear once she stepped on stage.
“I was very introverted as a child, and my first major performance was a televised performance, so I thought I would be scared. But instead, I realized I was confident on stage. It felt like I was where I was supposed to be. It allowed me to express a different part of me that didn’t come out in ordinary life.”
Many bass players find the double bass too challenging to attempt. It not only has a fretless fingerboard, but the large size requires more strength, endurance and a highly demanding posture. However, Angelique learned it before she learned the electric bass and considers it her primary instrument.
“I love the physicality of the instrument. As a bandleader who is also a bass player, it’s wonderful because I get to lead the groove of the band. To also feel that groove while you play the music on that physical level with the vibrations is an amazing feeling.”
Angelique’s sisters later joined her band, which has become a become a highly supportive family affair, notably lacking in any sibling rivalry.
“As my sisters got older, they expressed their interest in joining the band too, and now family is the heart of everything we do. My sister, Kharincia, plays alto and baritone saxophone and sings backing vocals, Kira, plays trombone and sometimes keys. Kayla plays trumpet, percussion and provides backing vocals, and my father, Kiran, is on drums. I am very fortunate not to have sibling rivalry. There are ways in which we challenge ourselves, but we do it in love. We challenge each other to be better. I would say our biggest fights are over food—like who gets the last slice of pizza! The band also consists of other band members who are like family. Dave Williamson on electric guitar, and Trumpet/keys players, Ed Lister and Andrew Knox.”
It is often difficult for musicians to learn the business side of the industry and young artists often find themselves unhappy because they had impulsively jumped at the first offer from a record label. Angelique has received offers from record labels but chose instead to maintain her independence with her business. Her supportive family helped her make this important decision. In addition to the support of her biological family, Angelique expressed gratitude for the mentoring she received from fellow Canadian artist, Shakura S’Aida.
“I learned by some trial and error, but I was lucky to have family support from a very young age. They were able to make sure I wasn’t taken advantage of, and we realized the offers I received weren’t really to benefit me, they were to benefit the company. So, the road we have chosen as independent artists may be longer, but we have more control over what we do. We have more creative freedom. We decide where we play and with whom we work. We have a studio, a vinyl cutter and a T-shirt press in our home. We book many of our own shows and do our own art for the albums. I’m so happy that we’ve been able to reach our fans directly. And yes, Shakura is like our second mom. She is absolutely amazing. She taught us a lot about fashion and how to protect ourselves from long-term health problems that often come with touring. Her family members are absolutely beautiful people. Her parents, Gloria and Carl Schmed, and her sister, Kyla Schmed, owned a piano bar and gave us our first start as a family band with a residence at that piano bar.”
Similar to artists such as Eric Gales, Angelique’s music transcends one genre label. She is known for artfully combining genres, including blues, folk, jazz and gospel. And she is always on the alert for inspirations for potential songs.
“Genre labels may make it easier for fans to find your music. However, it is amazing to have the ability to transcend those boundaries that have been articulated. The originators of the blues weren’t thinking, ‘I’m going to make a blues song.’ They were just expressing themselves. Later on, it was given the label ‘Blues’. Like those who came before me, I don’t create for a specific genre, but everything we do is kissed by the blues, rooted in the blues. I am always writing, although not necessarily always writing it down. Sometimes I’ll dream about a song, or I’ll hear a rhythm in the dishwasher that I want to use, or I really want to just tell a story. I must have thousands of completed songs. The most difficult thing is choosing which songs will actually go on an album.”
Angelique co-writes and co-produces her music with her father. She has released three albums of all original songs, Kissed by the Blues (2018), The Long River (2022), and Not Defeated (2025). A few of the songs tell stories of failed relationships. For example, the song ‘Ashamed’ from Long River cleverly pokes fun at the bad choices people make regarding relationships that they know are not good for them:
The other night I ran into my ex-boyfriend
You know the type, the type that you never, ever, ever wanna see again
He was such a dirty so and so. Lord, I had to let him go
‘Cuz he the type, the type, that try to sleep with your
mama, your sister, your cousin, and even your uncles too
If you let him, there ain’t nothin’ this man won’t do
Put lipstick on a pig, he’ll try to mess with that too
But tonight, he comes in looking just right
Lord he my kryptonite
I’m ashamed…I’m so ashamed
And one track, ‘That Gun’ from Not Defeated, tells the story of a man’s choice to turn to violence:
He’s from a dark and lonely world,
Where the sun don’t shine…
A world full of hate and violence
A world that’s filled with crime…
One day he got a gun, and said
‘I’m gonna get what’s mine’…
Now his mama cries.
“That song is about how violence begets violence, and how sometimes people are led down the wrong path and make bad decisions. That helps promote the cycle of violence. What we wanted to do with this song was to recognize some of the things that are happening in our society and to help stop that cycle from perpetuating.”
The majority of Angelique’s songs, however, seem to be inspirational songs about resilience and healing. In the title track to Not Defeated, she exclaims her determination, “I may be down, but I’m not defeated—I got my strength, I got my skills, and I got my will!” In the song ‘Escape,’ she talks about conquering inner struggles:
I just can’t escape my tears, and I can’t erase these fears…
But I can stand. I will face it and git it all I can…
Anxiety haunting me every day of my life…
But I won’t give up the fight…
I know I’m the master of my own life!
“That whole album (Not Defeated) is about overcoming challenges and coming together as a community. It’s about all the different ways we can strengthen ourselves, whether it be through self-love, through relationships with others, or through lifting each other up.”
Like many artists, Angelique has had the experience of fans being so inspired and moved by her lyrics that they tell her how it has changed their lives.
“I have received those messages, and it means the world to my family and me. It’s one of the reasons I got into music. It is the way I was able to connect with people. It transcends the boundaries of language and background. Music has the amazing power to change the world. I believe no matter the challenges we have to face and overcome, as long as we have love, music and care for one another we can make it through anything and will Not Be Defeated.”
For the Not Defeated album, Angelique is joined by some superstar special guests, Eric Gales and Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram. She was asked how she decided on which tracks they should join her.
“I was very excited to have the ability to work with those fantastic musicians. I love how dynamic they are with their creative expression, and I wanted to give them the chance to express a different side of themselves. So, for Kingfish, he has said in interviews how much he loves gospel music. The song ‘Escape’ is a blues tune, but it has many different types of influences in it. It has a rock blues influence a gospel influence, an R&B influence. I wanted to have an incredible player like Christone on it who would be able to express all those different sides of things.”
“With ‘Train Coming’ it was a stylistic as well as a metaphorical decision. That song is about the power of leaving your burdens behind and facing the bright path ahead of you. Sometimes that comes roaring down the track! It begins as more of a mellow tune, with a sense of something to come and then it explodes into being like the headlights of a train coming towards you. Eric, with his many different emotions and variations that he can bring into his playing was able to ease it in and then create that explosive dynamic playing that he’s so well known for.”
Unfortunately for those of us who are fans of the many talented artists across the border, it is quite the challenge for Canadian artists to come play in the US. The paperwork for the P-2 visas has become more difficult, and the expenses are often a minimum of $5000 for a band. If the procedures are not strictly followed, the artists face a consequence of being banned from entering the US for ten years. Luckily, festival organizers and promoters recognize Angelique’s exceptional talent, and she has recently had enough US bookings to make such an ordeal worthwhile. And, while she has opened for and collaborated with many American superstars already, she hopes someday to share the stage with certain other blues greats.
“I’ve been so fortunate to have the opportunities I have already had. I was very fortunate to open for and play with Buddy Guy, and he brought my sisters up, and it was so much fun. And I got to play with Keb Mo. But I would love to someday play with Bobby Rush. We’ve met Bobby Rush but haven’t yet had the chance to play with him. I’d also love to play with Taj Mahal. I’d love to play with these legends who have done so much to build the foundation of this music.”
As would be expected, Angelique is already actively planning several new projects in the coming months.
“We have a lot of great performances lined up for the coming months. We plan to come out with a new album in early 2027 and there will be some singles released soon. We’re also doing the finishing touches on some music videos. And we’ve loved doing Joe Bonamassa’s cruises so we are very excited that we will have the opportunity to be on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise next January. You can head to our website to see what’s coming.”
If you get the chance to see Angelique Francis in the United States, it’s an opportunity you will not want to miss. And if not, you can be sure that the extraordinary talent of Angelique and her incredible family/band members will definitely be worth that road trip across the border into Canada! You can see tour dates for the Angelique Francis Band and purchase her albums at https://angeliquefrancis.net
