Frances Luke Accord is not the three names of the members of the band. The “Accord” in their name refers to the harmonies between Nicholas (“Luke” is his middle name) and Brian (“Frances” is the name of the street he lived on when the band formed). The third member tonight is Katie on violin, who drove into town today from Cleveland. 

While playing “Over Your Roof” from their 2014 album, Queen for Me, the audience is transfixed. It is expertly written, with a tapped out rhythmic backbone and dancing melody. It’s a beautiful love song.

On July 5^th of this year, they released their Cicadian Rhythm LP, which features the sounds of the double brood of cicadas that emerged this summer in Illinois. They believe it’s the most cicada filled album ever recorded. This all instrumental album features Brian and Nicholas on piano, guitar, and other instruments. Brian says that it isn’t on any streaming services, because it doesn’t qualify as music according to their rules. It clearly is music, which you can hear by listening to album on bandcamp here.

Brian tells a quick story about his wife being unable to sleep one night. She gets up and goes to the website to download the album. After listening for 10 minutes, she was able to fall asleep. Nicholas says “Your wife had to download the album?!” Brian responds, “I hate to admit it, but yes.” This back and forth is a great example of the friendly banter that always takes place during their live shows. They also say that the Frances Luke Accord promise is that after attending one of their shows, you’ll get a great nine hours of sleep. The author of this piece confirms this promise held true.

Later on, they sing “Nowhere To Be Found” from their 2016 album, “Fluke”. It features some fantastic guitar playing. If you’d like to learn to play it, the chords are available here.

They play a few songs from their 2023 album, Safe in Sound. One of these is “Maria”. It features beautiful harmonies and great guitar playing.

Lastly, FLA is like a cross between Simon and Garfunkel and Trevor Hall and they are just as musically talented.

Cost of a ticket: $31

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney