One of Slope Day’s lesser known opening acts is Francis and the Lights, a New York City based “electro-funk” band led by charismatic crooner and frontman Francis Farewell Starlite. Personally invited by Slope Day main act Drake to appear between him and k-os, Starlite and his unique outfit will no doubt serve as an interesting interlude between the two Canadian rappers. 

Though the choice may seem odd, as Starlite’s sound definitely cannot be called hip-hop, Francis and the Lights have become something of a known quantity within the hip-hop community.  After covering Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” they made it to the rap and hip-hop mecca that is West’s personal blog, who dubbed Starlite’s singing a mixture of “Prince and Phil Collins” — a description that is mostly on point. Since then, Starlite’s outfit has been attracting the attention of other hip-hop superstars, including Drake himself. 

The first incarnation of Francis and the Lights came while Starlite was still a student at Wesleyan University — the alma mater of Santigold and MGMT (for whom Francis and the Lights have opened). As a student, Starlite got a group together to perform tracks from The Immortal Otis Redding in a tribute to the deceased soul legend.  Inspired, Starlite then left college and drove to his home state California, where began writing the songs that he would later perform with his current collective back on the East Coast. 

After self-releasing their first EP titled Striking in 2007, Francis and the Lights introduced themselves to the public through a string of exclusive invitation-only shows in New York City. After gaining in popularity, they followed Striking with the “LIME/WYN” single in 2008, and later, another EP called A Modern Promise. A far cry from their first shows, Francis and the Lights have now become somewhat of a staple of the New York City music scene, frequenting larger venues like the Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg. 

Though Starlite claimed in an interview with the Village Voice that he spent little time in the classroom while in college (“1.5 credits” worth of time, to be exact) his musical inspiration indicates otherwise. In the same interview he cited Strunk and White’s Elements of Style as his biggest influence: “That book is about doing things simply and omitting the needless,” Starlite said. “That's the most influential thing on my music.” 

It follows then that Starlite’s conception of necessity differs from most other musicians’ — the backing band has not only one, but two drummers, and Starlite is known to put on shows that are anything but simple. Indeed, the frontman is as much known for his singing as for his persona. Dressed normally in black, with impeccably coiffed hair and bone structure that is sure to cause some sighs come Slope Day, Starlite’s dancing has been likened to the late Michael Jackson.  While his shows are generally known to be a spectacle, the fact that May 7th  will bring him to Cornell — alma mater of his grammar icon E.B. White — should be enough to excite.