David Francey

In the late '90s, David Francey emerged as a celebrated folksinger and storyteller across Canada. Born in 1954 in Ayrshire, Scotland, Francey's life was surrounded by the respect of the working class and the solace of traditional Scottish songs. By age 12, he and his family moved to Toronto. On the weekends, they would drive through southern Ontario to explore the countryside while singing. His love for traveling as a young man also influenced his musical enjoyment. In 1999, Francey issued his debut, Torn Screen Door, on his own label, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Laker+Music%22">Laker Music</a>. He was hailed as passionate and authentic and fellow folk musician <a href="spotify:artist:27KrFXUwzn0lJVszu8kt4K">James Keelaghan</a> exclaimed "David Francey is the best Canadian folk writer that I have heard in 20 years."

Two years later, Francey released his second album, Far End of Summer, which earned him his first Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album. That honor was once again awarded to his follow-up, 2003's Skating Rink. A collaboration with traditional country artists <a href="spotify:artist:46P8tvKpmCzoODacJfzLbs">Kieran Kane</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1s16tcMsyP2SpoLjLg44n1">Kevin Welch</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5AzDLOaBZOw8YvHyMuGt69">Fats Kaplin</a> yielded 2004's The Waking Hour, which featured some of Francey's darker and more politically motivated material including the song "Wishing Well," about the execution of Timothy McVeigh. After delivering both his first live album and Christmas collection in 2006, he returned a year later with the introspective Right of Passage, which earned him yet another Juno Award. Working with <a href="spotify:artist:0BNlQMIqqy5qIxSL9aph4u">Moxy Früvous</a> member <a href="spotify:artist:3f5lHDPPR2JW7UQdH54fIT">Mike Ford</a>, Francey collaborated on 2009's Seaway, an album that documented their voyage on the Great Lakes freighter the MV Algoville.

In addition to recording his own songs, Francey has been covered by artists like <a href="spotify:artist:2fj5pzLyOKDpUOPZs9q3wt">the Del McCoury Band</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7hrI9fyRMBg7H34RVWvoZH">the Rankin Family</a>. He has also taken part in a number of respected songwriting contests and has won both the USA Songwriting Competition and the <a href="spotify:artist:4x1nvY2FN8jxqAFA0DA02H">John Lennon</a> Songwriting Contest. For 2011's Late Edition album, he traveled to Nashville and worked once again with his friends <a href="spotify:artist:46P8tvKpmCzoODacJfzLbs">Kieran Kane</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5AzDLOaBZOw8YvHyMuGt69">Fats Kaplin</a>. His friendship with <a href="spotify:artist:46P8tvKpmCzoODacJfzLbs">Kane</a> resulted in a new collaborative project called <a href="spotify:artist:0S5hOkOf1wqBh8yiBgyv1o">Go Jane Go</a>, which also featured <a href="spotify:artist:46P8tvKpmCzoODacJfzLbs">Kieran</a>'s son Lucas. Following a tour of Australia, the trio released its debut in 2013, followed shortly after by Francey's tenth solo album, So Say We All. After a three-year gap, he returned in 2016 with Empty Train. ~ Timothy Monger & MacKenzie Wilson, Rovi