By Calli Ferguson | September 20, 2022
Late in September–on one of those totally perfect post-summer/pre-fall nights–Neil Frances gave a colorful, groovy show to a full crowd of happy fans on the Elsewhere rooftop.
The electric duo is made up of Jordan Feller and Marc Gilfrey. The two met in Los Angeles, where their individual influences collided to create the music we now know under the name, Neil Frances. Gilfrey was born in Southern California to musicians. His father was an opera singer and his mother taught choir. Feller, meanwhile, grew up in Sydney with a love of hip-hop music, later getting into more electronic stuff. But as fate would have it, when the two came together to start making their music together in 2016, something clicked.
It’s been quite a year for the artists, having released both their debut album, There is No Neil Frances as well as following it with the EP, There is No Neil Frances Remixes. Meanwhile, the Neil Frances duo and their band has also been selling out venues around the country on their current tour. During which (much to the groovement’s delight) they stopped by New York City for two nights of back-to-back Elsewhere shows September 20th and 21st.
We caught night one, and immediately noticed how they managed to bring their sunny Los Angeles energy to the Brooklyn skyline that night. And even NYC loyalists have to admit: it felt pretty good. The colorful neon lights of the Elsewhere stage, strung like a sun and the ocean, seemed to mimic the beachy waves of Gilfrey’s bleached hair. Vibrations of the music danced along with it. Everyone on stage wore head-to-toe white–just barely after Labor Day–giving us a sort of bonus night of summer. The whole energy of the show felt like a retro Beach Boys graphic had taken on a contemporary electric edge.
The only downside of the night was the sound being cut halfway through their encore, five minutes after the venue’s curfew. But honestly, it left us wanting more. We’ll all just have to catch their show next time they’re in the city! Ah well–so be it! 😉
Connect with Neil Frances on Instagram, Spotify, Youtube and their website.
📸: shot by Gian Marco Flamini
