#GetToKnow Grenada’s Sabrina Francis and her Afro-Caribbean Pop

Grenadian singer and songwriter Sabrina Francis will introduce her Afro-Caribbean Pop sound to Trinidad and Tobago when she brings her acoustic performance showcase Sabrina Francis and the treehouse band to The Big Black Box in Port of Spain.  

Speaking with Loop News, Sabrina says it was a spur of the moment decision as she and her team sat and thought Trinidad has a similar culture to Grenada.  

“We came up with the idea to do a small showcase performance at the Big Black Box on Saturday, May 25, just to say hi, because I really think that there are Trinidadians just like there are people in Grenada who will be able to relate to my story and songs and enjoy it.”  

This will be her first time performing in Trinidad. Sabrina describes her music as Afro-Caribbean Pop which she says takes a lot from her Caribbean roots and also fuses with the music she listened to while growing up… Contemporary, Pop, R&B and Jazz and her roots which is African heritage. “It’s a fusion which came to me very organically.” 

Sabrina Francis, 29, who hails from Madeys, St Patrick, Grenada comes from a family where she was exposed to music from an early age. She has been working as a musician for the past 10 years, but for five years as a professional. 

Sabrina shares that her mother used to be a Calypsonian in Grenada. When on stage she would perform Calypso, but while at home, her mother would focus on Jazz and contemporary types of music. Sabrina says she has been singing with her siblings for as long as she can remember, and when she turned 18, met her manager and pianist Dieter Burkhalter and started working on music for fun before taking it seriously over the past five years.  

It is from her very home she drew inspiration to become a musician.  

“I didn’t go to a music school, that is how we entertained ourselves. My mom was a musician and my dad used to have this guitar and he would sing songs for us.  

We would write songs, and practice writing and mimicking our mom’s style of writing as we grew older. That’s how I got my start in music.  

When I started music, I never saw it as a career path, just because where we live and where we were as a culture, especially if you were doing Soca. I used it as a form of therapy and the more I did it the more people heard it and believed in it.” 

The Grenadian singer says she always knew she would continue to use music as a form of expression, as it became almost second nature. “When I got home from school, I would do my homework and go and sit down by the bridge out the road and write songs. I would try to play the guitar, just naturally, but it never occurred to me this would be something I would be doing. I never dreamt I would be travelling to Europe to perform or would be on tour or play in the Royal Albert Hall.  

It wasn’t a part of my plan, I wanted to be an accountant. Thank God that did not happen because it would not have been good.” 

Sabrina recalls there was a time she would sit and wait for inspiration to hit before she could write a song and that would result in her having one or two songs every year.  

Now that her passion has become full-time, Sabrina says all she needs is to get into a studio, have a musician play a couple chords and then it starts flowing. “Everything that comes out is not always good but sometimes I write something I really like.” 

So far, Sabrina has released three albums and two EPs.  

Her favourite songs to perform on stage are ‘I Feel Amazing’ and ‘Cool Meh Down’ 

In 2019, her song ‘I Feel’ earned a finalist prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. 

While inspiration for her music career came from right at home, Sabrina loves vocals and admires Fantasia, Jasmine Sullivan, YEBBA and Brandy.  

Asked who she would like to collaborate with one day, Jamaican artiste Buju Banton is at the top of her list for a musical collab. “I grew up with his music. When I just started performing at hotels I would cover all of his songs. I really admire his craft.” 

Being so focused on music, Sabrina admits she hardly has time for hobbies but says she really loves nature, visiting waterfalls, rivers and beaches. With mental health and self-care being her passion, she also wants to start yoga soon. We also learnt Sabrina’s favourite comfort food is stewed chicken and white rice.   

Looking to the future, the Grenadian songstress says she hopes her backyard, which is the Caribbean, jumps onboard to the sound Afro-Caribbean Pop. Although right now she is mainly focused on Grenada and the UK, she hopes in the next five years to branch out to the rest of the Caribbean, the UK and parts of Africa.  

Sabrina also plans to take her show ‘Meet Me at the Mango Tree’ which incorporates her music and theatre as well as the experience of her treehouse concerts on tour in the UK. 

Sharing some of words of advice to young people, especially in Grenada, who are seeking to pursue a career in music, Sabrina encourages persons to start creating and writing to develop their own sound and build that strong foundation to stand on.   

Her next piece of advice to young and upcoming musicians is to utilise social media. Sabrina says being from a small island, Grenada has a population of 100,000 and even though she has the bulk of supporters from Grenada, it’s a very small country and she says it’s hard to make music sustainable.  

She is thankful to her fans who continue to support her and welcomes anyone getting to know her.  

Sabrina’s music can be found on any streaming platform, her music videos are on YouTube, while more information about her can be found on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok under sabrinafrancismusic.