Josanne Francis

WHO IS SHE?

There’s a hillside in Trinidad where, past coconut, breadfruit, and banana trees, a winding dirt road lined with gravestones leads to one of the many local panyards—the open-air rehearsal spaces where steelbands bring rhythm to life. It is one of award-winning artist, composer, and educator Josanne Francis’ favorite places on earth. Francis beams when she talks about the late-night rehearsals that filled the air with rhythm until 3 a.m., the mango-picking breaks, and the anticipation of Carnival. The place where she fell in love with the steelpan and its bright, bell-like tone.

Born and raised in Diego Martin on Trinidad’s northwest coast, Francis has since become one of the most compelling cultural ambassadors for the steelpan. She brings a distinctive blend of technical brilliance, emotional depth, and deep cultural reverence to every performance, using her artistry to illuminate both the history and evolving future of the instrument.

Her performances have taken her to some of the world’s most renowned stages, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the MET Museum, Strathmore Music Center, Times Square, and the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival. She has collaborated with celebrated artists across genres, including Phylicia Rashad, David Rudder, Etienne Charles, Jon Batiste, Negah Santos, Kes, Andy Narell, Liam Teague, and many others. She has appeared with ensembles such as the Michigan Philharmonic and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and recorded on notable projects for Etienne Charles, Victor Provost, Afro Bop Alliance, and The Mawasi Experience.

Francis’ contributions have been recognized widely. Honors include the Vanguard Award presented at the Caribbean American Heritage (CARAH) Gala & Awards and the Rising Leader Award from His Excellency Anthony Phillips-Spencer, Trinidad & Tobago Ambassador to the United States. She has received grants from U.S. Artists International, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Prince George’s Arts & Humanities Council, and delivered a TEDx talk on music, identity, and cultural legacy. In 2022, she was commissioned by the San Jacinto College Central Steelband to compose a major multi-movement work for steelband.

To keep up with Josanne’s performance and teaching schedule, visit her website josannefrancis.com and follow her on social media @josannefrancis. 



 

Photographer: Jonathan Timmes

 

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Rāginī Festival

  • Fushing Town Hall 137-35 Northern Boulevard Flushing, NY, 11354 United States (map)

a diasporic night representative of Caribbean memory, language and iconic sound culture. This curated night explores the axis of acoustic memory and palpable story telling, capturing the many rifts, continents and currents expressive of the Caribbean postcolonial experience.

The Rāginī Festival, formerly known as the Women's Raga Massive Festival, is a month-long virtual and in-person festival that explores the work of artists challenging systemic patriarchy in the South Asian creative ecosystem. Seeking to provide equitable and collaborative performance spaces, invigorate diasporic community engagement and inclusion, heal the infliction of colonial borders, and amplify the creative voices of non-patriarchal creators, The Rāginī Festival brings together artistic and musical threads from across oceans - retracing the labyrinth of memory and cultural myth-making. This festival exists as an invitation to invoke musical history as a tool to dream of homeland-- to transfigure exile’s dark waters, both tangible and spiritual, into art. The Rāginī Festival, features traditional raga, experimental performance, folk arts, poetry, visual art, dance and social justice panel conversations at renowned NYC venues including National Sawdust, Joe’s Pub and the Rubin Museum.