Singer/songwriter Sabrina Francis wants to build fanbase in Trinidad and Tobago

Sabrina Francis wants to be known but also wants to enjoy the perks of a “normal” life with having coffee and enjoying a home on Grenada’s verdant Mount Agnes among them.

While some might love the over attention of fame and popularity, Francis, 29, takes a nuanced perspective. She said during an interview at Newsday’s office she wants to grow into a sustainable performer.

“I want to be realistic in that as well. We have to be honest in that fame and, a certain level of fame requires a certain type of personality.

“I am a very introverted person with very limited resources and energy. I think I know how far I can go without going crazy. I don’t want to be a Rihanna, but I want to build a smaller empire for myself and be sustainable with my music.”

She will give this kind of soft introduction along with The Treehouse Band to Trinidad and Tobago, on May 25, at Big Black Box, Murray Street, Woodbrook.

The Grenadian artiste completed three tours in the UK between 2021 and 2023; was featured on Disney plus with the Grammy-Award winning group, Pentatonix; was spotlighted on BBC London’s Rising Artist segment with Alice Dale; and was interviewed by Carrie and David Grant on BBC London’s Morning Show.

In addition, she won a finalist prize in the 2019 John Lennon Songwriting Competition and collaborated with British singer, songwriter and actress Joss Stone.

Francis believes the region is ready for different genres of music. Soca, reggae, dancehall are the dominant forms but the rise of groups like Freetown Collective signal a listening shift.

When she started, her music was often described as very contemporary.

“I don’t think I was widely welcome because the music on the radio was reggae, soca, of course, dancehall, all of these things. When I started I was on the fringe.”

Initially, she focused on the UK market and toured there, even performing at Royal Albert Hall.

But over the years, Grenadians interest in her grew. She has been performing for the past decade.

This year she held her fifth concert there and believes the time is ripe to move throughout the region, starting with TT.

“Since Grenada and TT share similar culture, musically, have similar humour, I felt like this is the time. People in the Caribbean are ready for my music and so we are going to try to branch out musically now.”

It is her hope to also become a staple at the region’s growing jazz festivals.

But this showcase in TT is an introductory one, from which she hopes to build connections, opportunities and a fanbase.

Even though the market might not have been as receptive to her music, she thinks this has shifted and they are ready now.

Using Grenada as an example, she said, the audience there was a difficult one.

“Not in a bad way. They just like what they like and they know when something is good and something is not good.”

Now Grenadians are her biggest supporters.

This showcase will test TT’s readiness and she uses social media as the test for this.

“I have been able to put my music in front of different audiences and the Trinidadian market seems to receive me well as well.”

She decided to come to TT after meeting writer Nigel Campbell at her Meet Me at the Mango Tree show in Grenada and he convinced her to bring her show here.

Her show is held once a month in Grenada’s Mount Agnes and it uses theatre and songs to tell a story of perseverance through music.

Francis and her team met Big Black Box’s management and were convinced to do it.

The idea of doing showcases was important as it introduced the artistes to their potential audience, Francis added.

“I think if I need to build a relationship with a new audience I need to meet them. I need to say, ‘Hi. Hello. This is what I have to offer.’ Very strong relationships come from live performances.

“This is where you get to see me in my purest form. This is where you get to experience my music on the deepest level. And I think it is important if I am trying to build a relationship with you, I want you to experience that from me.”

Her ultimate goal is to be able to do live shows for as long as she could but to also have a very balanced life.

While people could not predict what would happen in their lives, Francis did not want her career to become a beast she could no longer control.

As for musical inspirations, she searched carefully before she said the US’ R&B singer/songwriter, Fantasia. Fantasia is well-known, can go on tours but still able to go home and be with her family, Francis said.

Even though she grew up in a musical home with Grenadian calypsonian Lady Empress as her mother, music was not her initial career choice. She wanted to become an accountant. At first, she would sing for fun.

“One day I was invited to perform for fun at this restaurant, Le Phare Bleu. I did two songs with this gospel band and one Christmas Eve the owner of the hotel – who unknowingly at the time came from Switzerland, owned a music school, had a music venue, had a music shop, his whole life was music – he heard me performing and liked what he heard.

“He asked me to come back and do a show by myself on New Year’s Day. He knew I had a long catalogue of songs as well – that I was writing since I was a child coming up – that impressed him too and so we just started working from then on.”

She and the band travelled a lot, at first, for fun. However, attending a music workshop in Austin, Texas, changed that and it opened their eyes to how independent artistes could make their music sustainable.

That was when the band began using social media, writing songs and working with producers intentionally, she said.

Francis has two albums among her discography: Think In Colour (2016) and I Feel (2019).

In 2020 she released a collaborative album with other Grenadian artistes called This Is Home to help raise funds, she added.

After the May 25 showcase, Francis hopes to host an event at Carl and Carol Jacob’s Kafe Blue on Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. But in the long run she wants to introduce TT to her Meet Me under the Mango Tree production.