Photo Credit: Michael Sparks Keegan
Francis Hickey is an electric and acoustic bassist currently located in Boston, MA. A student of Grammy award winning Latin Jazz bassist Charles Flores, he attended the Berklee College of Music in 2007 as a World Tour Scholarship recipient and studied double bass under Whit Browne, Bruce Gertz, and Dave Clarke.
Since graduating from Berklee in 2011, Francis has worked as a freelance bassist and session musician in the New York and New England areas. He is a former member of the Boston based roots rock band The Adam Ezra Group, which won "Song of the Year" in 2016, "Band of the Year" in 2013, and "Recording of the Year" in 2012 at the New England Music Awards. Other live performance credits include Ted Neeley and Yvonne Elliman of the film Jesus Christ Superstar, Jimmy Connor, Better Fires, Annie Cheevers, and Jake Swamp and the Pine. As a touring musician, Francis has traveled across the country and has shared the stage with or opened for artists such as The Wailers, Robbie Krieger, Rusted Root, Willie Nelson, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Marshall Tucker Band, Granger Smith, and Alison Krauss, among others. As a studio bassist, his playing has been featured on over 200 records. He has appeared in a national advertisement campaign for Luis and Clark Carbon Fiber Instruments and was featured in Harmonix's Rock Band Rivals, an expansion of Rock Band 4, where he provided in-game interview segments. His debut album, Seasonal Views From An Apartment Window, was released on 10/1/2023.
Francis is also active as an educator. He currently teaches bass guitar, double bass, rock ensemble, and music technology and production courses at Plugged In Band Program, a non-profit inclusive music school located in Needham, MA. He has also written and filmed a series of instructional bass videos for an exhibit at the National Music Centre in Calgary, AB. Francis earned an M.Ed in Music Education (Autism Concentration) from Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2022, and teaches guitar, iPad Ensemble, and Rock Band Ensemble classes at the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education in Boston, MA.
Francis endorses Curt Mangan Strings.
