Time: 7:30

 Tickets :$37.50

The fourth show in the Empress Theatre’s 2023/2024 Centre Stage Concert Series is a double-header featuring national folk icon David Francey and Maritime songwriter Terra Spencer on Thursday, Feb. 8. 

This is Francey’s third time at the Empress, with previous shows in 2019 and 2014.

Francey worked as a rail yard worker and a carpenter for two decades, beginning his career in folk music at age 45. He put out his first 10 albums over the course of only 14 years.

Terra Spencer is a Nova Scotian funeral director-turned-songwriter. Her sharp, intimate songs and butterscotch voice have earned her a faithful following. 

The fourth show in the Empress Theatre’s 2023/2024 Centre Stage 
Concert Series is a double-header featuring national folk icon David Francey and Maritime songwriter 
Terra Spencer on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.  
This is Francey’s third time at the Empress, with previous shows in 2019 and 2014. 
Francey’s twelfth solo album, released in September 2023, is called The Breath Between, featuring his 
signature rich melodies and poetic lyrics. His 2019 album, The Broken Heart of Everything was 
nominated for a JUNO for Traditional Roots Album of the Year. He has three JUNO Awards under his 
belt, along with four Canadian Folk Music Awards and a SOCAN Folk Music Award. 
Born in Scotland and now based in Ontario, Francey moved to Canada at age 12.

His father, a huge 
Robert Burns fan, inspired him to begin writing poetry and music as a child. Francey worked as a rail 
yard worker and a carpenter for two decades, beginning his career in folk music at age 45. He put out his 
first 10 albums over the course of only 14 years. 
An avid but colour-blind and self-taught painter, Francey toured an exhibit of his artwork across Canada 
in 2018 when he was unable to perform his music due to extreme vocal strain. His paintings are simple 
but striking, mostly featuring prairie scenes and seascapes. 



Terra Spencer is a Nova Scotian funeral director-turned-songwriter. She was recruited as a backup singer 
while scooping ice cream at a music festival. Drawing comparisons to Randy Newman and Karen 
Carpenter, her sharp, intimate songs and butterscotch voice have earned her a faithful following since 
her 2018 debut, Old News. Spencer was nominated for 2024 CFMA Contemporary Album and Singer of 
the Year. She has become a sought-after studio musician, co-writer, producer, and workshop facilitator. 
Her song "Brick and Mortar" was named the winner of the Commonwealth Song Contest out of 20,000 
entries.  
“Terra Spencer is a sparklingly intelligent writer, open-hearted, insightful and eloquent,” says David 
Francey. “As natural a poet as ever put pen to paper and a soul as beautiful as her melodies would 
imply.”  
 

Tickets to see David Francey with Terra Spencer at the Empress are $37.50 each and available at MacleodEmpress.com, by calling 403-553-4404 (toll-free at 1-800-540-9229), or at the Box Office on Main Street.  Upcoming Centre Stage Concerts:

•  Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys, Feb. 29, 2024

•  John Reischman & The Jaybirds, April 19, 2024 For more information, contact the Empress Theatre at 403-553-4404 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .