Phranc

Welcome to the evolution of the Butch Revolution,” the singer-songwriter proclaims. Phranc performs a hybrid spoken word-musical set with their guitar, interweaving their classic songs with coming-of-age stories. They generously recollect memories of youth, including how they carried a copy of Jill Johnson’s Lesbian Nation (1973) under their arm everyday; their encounter with the activist Jeanne Cordoba; and their participation in the many events at the Woman’s Building, a seminal place for feminist and lesbian art and culture that provided the foundation for the singer’s queer consciousness. Pairing songs and stories with projected images of their many album covers and personal photographs, they share a journey into self-understanding, a place from which, as they put it, “I was able to say I’m Phranc, a Jewish, Lesbian Folksinger.”

Phranc is a folksinger and visual artist who uses song, painting and sculpture to champion personal identities and illustrate the struggle, survival, and victory of the queer individual. An internationally acclaimed performer, Phranc integrates humor and a butch lesbian aesthetic to her work. Acknowledgment of her artistic accomplishments includes the GLAAD Media Award, the COLA Individual Artist Fellowship and the 2022 Santa Monica Artist Fellowship. The Butch Closet is her current multi-media project; a memoir spanning 40-years of her life as a folksinger and artist. Phranc lives and works in Santa Monica, California and Vancouver, BC.