Influenced by classic New Orleans artists such as Dr. John, the Meters, and Allen Toussaint, in addition to Sly Stone, Billy Preston, and Curtis Mayfield, he released his first album in 2019.
He started taking piano lessons with a classical teacher when he was four, and at 12, drawn to the blues, he began studying with boogie-woogie pianist Erwin Helfer.
[2] He played in his first band, the Reverend Funk Connection, in high school, and as a teenager sat in with blues artists at Chicago clubs.
[4] After graduating from high school, Francis played live dates with prominent blues artists including singer Mud Morganfield, the oldest son of Muddy Waters.
[6] In 2017, with bassist Mike Starr and drummer PJ Howard from The Heard, Francis began recording his first album, Changes, at producer Sergio Rios' Killion Studios in Los Angeles.
It received significant praise from music critics, and made Album of the Year lists at radio stations including KEXP, KCRW, KDHX, WYCE, and KVOQ.
[18] In Plain Sight was praised by, among other media outlets, KCRW ("an unapologetically joyful, electric feel that makes for just the jolt to the system we needed"),[19] Rolling Stone (“Francis captures a sound that's somewhere between Elton John and Little Feat”),[20] and Uproxx (“lovers of Dr. John, Leon Russell, and The Meters will immediately feel at home amid Francis’ fat-bottomed, bluesy bangers”).
Recorded to analog tape over two sold-out shows at Chicago's Thalia Hall in March 2023, the live album contained twelve songs spanning Francis' catalog.
Francis supplemented his touring quartet with an additional seven band members (horns, backup singers, percussion, and auxiliary keyboards).