Francis Henson is a first generation Filipino-Canadian, Vancouver-based artist, creator, guitarist, writer, and music teacher whose work is largely informed by his cross-cultural upbringing and guided by his growing experience as a practitioner of his art and craft.

Born in the Philippines to a musical family, Francis developed an affinity for music, the aural tradition, and the guitar at a young age. Although he grew up in Metro Manila, his childhood also included living in Kazakhstan and frequently traveling around Central and Southeast Asia until migrating to Vancouver in 2010. These experiences contribute strongly to Francis’ belief in the importance of cultural context, community immersion, and informed proficiency in the craft of music for a well-rounded and meaningful experience in music creation, artistic expression, and music education. This is an overarching ethos present in Francis’ work as a songwriter and non-fiction writer and is a guiding focus he explores with his students as a Teaching Artist at the Sarah Mclachlan School Of Music and in his own private teaching practice.

Now, as an active contributing member of the Western Canadian music community, he works and performs in various on-going music projects throughout the year including: Frankie & The Juicebox, BIG FUZZ, and Francis Henson. In addition to original acts, Francis is an active session guitarist, playing for beloved Vancouver heavies including: Michaela Slinger, Kate Yahn, Mikey Jose, Bungalow, MELGAR, Dani Camacho, Will Clements, William Chernoff, among many more.