Neal Francis with Sam Fribush Organ Trio

Neal Francis plays Terminal West on Saturday, October 31, with the Sam Fribush Organ Trio. He's a Chicago-based singer, songwriter, and pianist who started playing at four and spent years as a sideman touring with blues artists and the instrumental band The Heard before stepping out on his own. He signed with the indie-soul label Karma Chief and released his 2019 debut Changes, which BBC Radio 6 called "the reincarnation of Allen Toussaint."

Since then, he's built a steady discography: the 2021 album In Plain Sight, the 2022 EP Sentimental Garbage, and the 2023 double live album and concert film Francis Comes Alive. He's supported Wilco, Black Pumas, and My Morning Jacket, and played Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock, Lollapalooza, and Carnegie Hall. His 2025 album Return to Zero moves into rock and '70s dance music, recorded without digital programming and co-produced with Sergio Rios, drawing on funk, soul, and psych-rock.

For this show, he's backed by the Sam Fribush Organ Trio, so the organ will be a central part of the sound. The set will pull from that catalog, with the newer, dance-leaning material from Return to Zero sitting alongside the soul and R&B that defined his early records. It's a full band night rather than a solo piano set.

The show starts at 8 PM at Terminal West, 887 West Marietta St NW STE C, and tickets are $59+.