Free concert Saturday at Poway Library

Singer-songwriter Nina Francis will bring her soothing original music to the Poway Library at 2 p.m. Saturday for a free concert.

The concert is part of the library’s award-winning Acoustic Showcase concert series. The concerts are always free and open to the public.

Francis, who has been performing professionally since she was 13, said her music “is just me and my guitar. Sometimes I add things to it, but that’s the heart of it,” she said.

Concert attendees can expect a relaxing, pensive afternoon, said Francis. “Songwriting is my passion, and I love to tell a story.” She said her voice has been described as “soothing,” and that she’s been compared to singer Norah Jones. “Like a Norah Jones that rocks out sometimes,” she said.

Francis, a San Diego native and USC graduate, has played music professionally since she was a teenager, including shows with San Diego music legend Peter Sprague. “When I was 13, Peter Sprague let me open for him,” she said.

Francis had met Sprague when her high school jazz band recorded in his studio. She was the lead singer and said Sprague was interested in her talent.

Though she said she still loves jazz, her sound is more “folky-bop.”

Her love for writing music grew out of her love of storytelling, she said.

“I’ve always loved art,” said Francis. “I always wrote short stories and drew cartoons and wrote songs. I always loved pop songs, how much emotion they could pack into three or four minutes and how they could tell a story.”

Francis released an EP in 2014, and though she hasn’t yet released her first full album, she did recently release a new single, “Boomerang,” recorded with the band FEiN.

“FEiN is a very hip group, it was really fun to work with them,” said Francis.

She said she was still working on her new album, and has been writing new songs for it. “I’ve been collecting good songs related to boy drama, so very juicy stuff. They’re very relatable.”

Francis said she hasn’t set a date for her album’s release.

Fans will have a new outlet to enjoy Francis’ music as she said she will be resuming making “Nina Francis Friday” videos on her YouTube channel, youtube.com/ninafrancismusic.

This new video series will feature Francis recording herself performing covers and her own original music once a month. “It gives people an opportunity to see what I’m up to,” she said.

Francis is also active on social media, including Facebook and Instagram under the name “ninafrancismusic,” and often performs shows around San Diego and Southern California.

While her Saturday concert will be her first time performing at the Poway Library, she said she’s previously performed at a library concert in San Marcos, so she is looking forward to it.

For more on Nina Francis and her music, visit ninafrancismusic.com.