Author: Laurie Bowen
Opening night at the Ottawa Grassroots Festival was electrifying, to say the least. This incredible multi-instrumentalist, along with her two younger sisters on sax and trombone and her dad on drums, wowed the crowd at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, a block from Parliament Hill, in downtown Ottawa. The acoustics, in this venue, are indeed heavenly. Angelique is not only a gifted musician, but she is also an incredible performer, who keeps the audience engaged, and can we please, talk about the fashion?
Photo: Ken Hoffman
Men can get away with a t-shirt and jeans and throw on a fancy jacket or hat while women, well it’s a whole different story. Angelique and her sisters were all dressed in the same, although not exactly, shade of blue. Angelique wore a flowing blue gown while her sisters opted for cute, strapless pant suits. Their choreography transfixed our gaze as the music swelled and rose to meet us.
This group can do it all from Jazz to Blues and a little bit of reggae, Angelique’s dad, Kiran Francis, hails from Jamaica after all and is a recording producer. Angelique doesn’t have to go far to record her albums because they have one in their house. It is so nice to see a family successfully maneuver, working and living together, but the Francis’ have done just that. I know I sure wouldn’t want to attempt that with my family of origin, but good for them!
Angelique just released her newest video for her song, “Take Command”, which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ssZPB8hi8
It is from her latest album “Long River” and her video is a call for us to “take command, take command, don’t rely on another man. I waited, I waited for you ya I waited, till my lips turned blue. I waited, I waited in vain. Now all I got is, suffering pain”. She sings acapella and has multi-tracks of her alone doing the vocals with percussion. It’s a 54 second teaser and it is very creative and eye-catching.
You can find her music and upcoming shows, on her website at: www.angeliquefrancis.net
Photo: Jake Morrison
Laurie Bowen is a freelance Music Journalist, Author and Scriptwriter www.laurielynnbowen.godaddysites.com
