She’s sung on stages across continents, opened for the Vengaboys, MLTR, and Boyzone, and carried audiences through more than 700 shows with a voice that feels both ancestral and contemporary. Yet Keneesha Francis insists her truest sound was born not in the spotlight but in the spaces between, between Bangalore’s experimental freedom and Chennai’s soulful devotion, between Caribbean joy and temple silence. Her music is a paradox she wears proudly: soft yet fiery, a little prayer and a little rebellion. In conversation, she is as radiant as her songs, a happygolucky spirit who has wrestled with storms to arrive at gentleness. For her, peace is the new rich, and music is the bridge between ancestry and now.

You’ve performed across Bangalore and Chennai. How do these two cities influence your creative energy and stage presence?
I have performed pretty much across the globe, the Caribbean islands being my favourite so far. But since you’re asking me about these two cities, here goes.

Bangalore gave me individuality. Chennai gave me emotional depth. Bangalore taught me freedom in expression, while Chennai taught me devotion towards art. The audiences are very different too — Bangalore feels experimental and vibrant, while Chennai listens with its heart. I think somewhere between both cities, I found my own sound.

What first drew you to music, and when did you realise it could be more than just a passion?
I didn’t find music. I think music found me when life got too loud. As a child, I was always deeply emotional and sensitive, and music became the safest place to put all that feeling in. I realised it could become more than passion when I saw complete strangers feel something from my voice. That’s such a surreal thing… to heal or move someone you’ve never even met. That was the moment I understood this isn’t entertainment for me. Its purpose.

Independent artists often carve unique paths. What challenges and rewards have defined yours?
Being an independent artist is honestly like building a castle while simultaneously fighting dragons and replying to emails. You wear every hat – artist, manager, therapist, accountant, crisis-control team… sometimes all before lunch. But the reward is that every single win feels deeply personal because you built it from scratch.

What have been some of the biggest highpoints in your journey?
I still have many on my bucket list here, but so far, opening for our childhood love’s – Vengaboys, MLTR, performed with Boyzone during their India tour, and the 700+ shows I’ve done in the last 12 years have all been special to me, because people love singing along with me, and I can’t explain that high in words. The recent temple performance at Bhagawathi Meenkulathi Amman temple felt spiritually life-changing. I’ve also been blessed with moments where people told me my music helped them through grief, heartbreak or anxiety. That kind of connection can’t be measured by numbers online.

Your work blends performance with wellness. How do you see music as a form of healing?
Music is vibration before it is entertainment. The body responds to sound long before the mind understands lyrics. I genuinely think some songs hug you better than people do. And I don’t just blend my performance with wellness. I blend everything I do in life into wellness because wellness should be the purpose, the end result must be wellness, otherwise music or any other art form for that matter loses its meaning.

There are frequencies that calm anxiety, lyrics that make grief feel less lonely, rhythms that reconnect people to themselves. I’ve seen exhausted people light up during performances like they remembered who they were again for a moment. That’s healing to me.

Can you share a moment on stage that felt transformative for you as an artist?
One performance where absolutely everything that could go wrong did go wrong backstage. Chaos. Stress. Emotional exhaustion and to top it off, Traffic that held us by our guts, delaying our performance by almost an hour! ‘Hyderabad Soul Sante’. Every single person in Hyderabad was travelling to this event, so the roads were jammed and people at the event were growing in numbers (check out my Insta post on this), and just when I arrived at the venue, my periods started, I guess I was scared and stressed that so much was going wrong. I didn’t find any help from anyone there, but I borrowed the sound vendors jacket, tied it to my waist, remembered how much the Universe loved me and went up and performed to 8000+ people that night, who very sweetly sang and danced with me throughout my whole set!

That night taught me that artists don’t just perform when life is perfect. Sometimes we heal in public while pretending we’re entertaining people. Weirdly beautiful profession, honestly.

How do you prepare emotionally and mentally before a performance?
Very glamorously. I panic a little, drink water dramatically, talk to myself, pray and then somehow become functional five minutes before stage time. Emotionally, I don’t have to prepare ever. I heal on stage, so I wait like a child to perform to my audience. On stage I get into (what I call) a ‘Shiva state of mind’. I become very quiet before I go on stage. Which surprises people because I’m otherwise quite chaotic and expressive.

Like every other artist, I also invest a lot of time in prep work. I am a performer who finds performing therapeutic to my own mental and physical health. I am a stickler for discipline. Yes, I get on Boss mode until the show is over. Rather too strict is what my boys say…haha… I love sticking to routines for myself and with my band members too. I’ve not ever used an iPad for lyrics in my 700+ shows unless it’s a special request song. I’m not saying all of this to gloat but just because I would like more opportunities to inspire people, to make them feel an Om away from Home, like a warm cup of chocolate milk, to make them feel that life has so much to offer and that we can always constantly keep celebrating our wins and spread our wings and fly. Every show for me is that once chance at building love and trust with my audience. And so, even if one person reading this interview is inspired by what I said then I’ll pay my gratitude with happiness.

At the end of the day, no matter what chaos exists outside, the second the lights go on, something inside me switches. The stage has always felt like home to me.

What role do your cultural roots play in shaping your sound and lyrics?
Oh, entirely. My sound would not exist without both sides of me. My Indian roots gave me soul, spirituality, poetry and emotional depth. There’s a certain devotion in Indian music that teaches you how to feel every note before you sing it. I grew up around melodies that carried longing, prayer, love, pain… Everything was rich with emotion.

But my African roots? That’s where the fire comes from. The rhythm. The instinct. The jazz. The gospel. The rawness. I grew up listening to gospel music my whole life and I genuinely think that’s where my relationship with music became spiritual instead of performative. Gospel teaches you to sing from the spirit, not just the throat.

And jazz — that freedom, those textured notes, the soulfulness, the improvisation — that absolutely comes from my Black culture. There’s emotion in every run, every riff, every pause. It taught me that music doesn’t always have to be perfect to be powerful.

So somewhere between Indian devotion and African soul, I found my sound. It’s soft and fiery at the same time. A little prayer, a little rebellion. Very much me. I love creating music that feels contemporary but still carries soul and ancestry within it. Like tradition, wearing really good perfume.

As someone balancing artistry and wellness, how do you protect your own creative spirit?
By disconnecting when necessary. I take a lot of time with Mother Nature, Gaia. I believe Gaia has my back no matter what. So, when I need stillness, I go and surrender myself to nature, to the plants around, animals and cooking. I also journal a lot, like I love journaling more than conversations with people. I write a lot of my manifestations and I vent as much as I can as well.

My favourite animal in the world is a cow, and I love hanging out with cows more than I like hanging out with humans, in a good way. Nature keeps me grounded. It puts ease in my flesh, kindness in my bones and appreciation through my cells that after every break I take, I see mother nature manifest into the next work project I do! Another thing I do, is – hugging trees and speaking to plants. I am a happy go lucky gal, and I always will be. Because no one in this world will know the violence it took to become this gentle. And so now, I’m only focussed on stepping over everything I tripped on… Peace is the new rich… Be deeply rooted and be unbothered.

What is a typical day in your life like?
A beautiful mix of good chaos and calm. Life surprises me every day. I don’t like following a fixed routine. I feel caged when I do that. I also thank the universe for manifesting my choices to be my day!

Some days are studio sessions, meetings, writing, travelling and performances. Other days I disappear completely into healing work, meditation, prayer, music research or just spending quiet time with myself. I love cleaning, lol, I love to keep cleaning up my space wherever I am, even if that’s not my house haha.. I enjoy kick boxing because in my head, I’m belting out all the people and thoughts that don’t deserve my attention! I love playing Poker (one of my fav humans taught me this) especially because as a psychologist, it works best for my cognitive mind.
Some nights call for movies for the soul, some days its healing rituals for the wellbeing and prosperity of my home and all the people in it, some days I help heal broken hearts through my online therapy. Everyday must be productive for me. That’s most important. I am spiritual but also deeply goofy, so my days can go from intense emotional conversations to dancing around the house in pyjamas five minutes later.

Looking ahead, what kind of projects or collaborations excite you most? What’s next in the pipeline?
I want to create emotionally honest art. Music that feels timeless, healing and human. And personally, I think I’m entering a phase where I’m less interested in proving myself… and more interested in creating from truth.

I have been waiting in line, socialising and doing all the ‘connect’ work in good spirit for the last few years with all the names in this industry you can think of. Most of them have my demo’s as well. but sadly, a narrative that surrounds you can affect the work you do most times and I’m currently a victim of that. Initially it was a lot of couch asks that I outright deny because you can’t sell your soul to make your passion breathe its way, and now it’s all the cooked-up narratives that people want to take a step back from involving themselves and I understand that as well.

I want to collaborate with every single musician out there! I love almost all artists because I see their story when they create music vs just the outcome and what it does, so I can’t wait to work with everyone who has the heart for me.

I’m very excited about independent music, global collaborations, spiritual sound experiences, live performances and projects that combine storytelling with emotional wellness that are coming up. Now, when I’m away from humans, I am writing my next best and I hope it will bless more people and get them to choose themselves over anything here on…

Rapid Fire

1. Bangalore or Chennai idli dosa sambhar?
Grew up a lot in Bangalore, so sorry Chennai. Apologies. Always Bangalore sambar with a vada dip!

2. First song you ever sang in public?
For my mother’s funeral in a church. (Stairway to Heaven)

3. Dream stage to perform on?
All the world’s a stage to me. But after I perform at Coachella someday, I can die peacefully.

4. A singer you’d love to jam with?
Every single artist who has a place for me in their heart. I want to do good work more importantly. So, it doesn’t matter the label the artist carries, not their online excellency.

5. Go-to comfort song when you’re stressed?
Pitha pirai soodi from Thevaram it’s my latest go to and I believe will be my eternal go to.

6. Morning raga or midnight jam session?
Midnight jam baby! I mean, early morning recordings and midnight jams are not my thing!

7. Tea or coffee?
Flavoured tea for life.

8. Beaches or mountains?
Beaches with mountains.

I can do both. Like I can do mountains and beaches.

9. Favourite local hangout spot in Bangalore or Chennai?
Bangalore – Nagarjuna, Hole in the wall cafe, Nowhere, Sunny’s, Smoke House Deli, Koshy’s, Military mess, Wastons.. oh gosh, how can I forget my Donne Biryani from my dearest Puneeth Rajkumar’s chain of hotels.
Chennai – Ambut Canteen, Junior Kuppana, Pumpkin Tales, Sattikari, The Wharf, and home food. Come hang out with me at home, I’ll cook up a storm for you.

10. Candlelight dinners or movie dates?
The classic candlelight dinners, set up in a garden with a movie screen, pillows, hot chocolate, popcorn and cuddles.

11. Morning or night person?
I am an ambivert, so it doesn’t take a lot to convince me to show up if I like the person or the situation’s energy.

12. Adventure travel or slow relaxed travel?
Slow and calm mostly, because I like to keep nudging my horizon to build better! I want to take my time with experiences to truly be able to live them, albeit – ready for adventures always. Haha! I love the adrenaline rush too!

13. Your go-to fitness and beauty tips?
Everyone is beautiful. Let’s concentrate on fitness. Kickboxing and cooking keep me fit. Hydration, sleep, prayer and minding my business. That last one makes people glow beautifully.

14. How would you like to define your fashion mantra?
Soft power. Elegant, effortless and emotionally expressive.

15. Your favourite quote?
“The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop your gift. And the meaning to life is to give your gift away”- David Viscott.