Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Francesca Castro of NYC

We recently had the chance to connect with Francesca Castro and have shared our conversation below.

Francesca, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
When I’m on tour, I am playing 8 shows a week. We get one day off – which is sometimes our travel day. Once we arrive at the city, we usually set up, soundcheck, then play our first show. For the rest of the days, we have some free time until we play a show at night. I personally like to workout or explore the city during the day. Then after our show, we go back and rest or sometimes have outings with the company. While being on the road for so long, you start to become close with the people on tour and it’s very special!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Francesca Castro, originally from Chicago, IL. I am currently the Guitar 1 chair on the 1st National North American Moulin Rouge Tour. Before tour, I was living in NYC where I subbed on Broadway shows like SIX, Book of Mormon, and Back to the Future. I was also one of the Band Freaks in the Mean Girls Musical Movie (2024). My job as a touring musician is living the dream! I get to do what I love everyday and going to work is so much fun. We get to travel to different cities as well as play at the theaters every night. What makes this job unique from a regular 9-5 job, is that we work at night and on weekends as well as traveling every 1-3 weeks.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling powerful was when I was around 6 years old. I started performing in front of audiences, singing and eventually playing the guitar at a young age. Whenever I was on stage, I felt powerful – the energy from the crowd, the adrenaline from performing. I knew since I was little that I wanted to be a performer. It brings me so much joy to be able to share music with people and make them feel things. And it always touches my heart when I hear that I have inspired people. I would always look up to musicians growing up and I want to be someone people can also look up to.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could say one kind thing to my younger self, it would be to quit worrying about what other people think. I was very self conscious growing up, afraid of what people would say about me and would always try to people-please. I was, and am still a perfectionist when it comes to perfecting my craft. I would practice for hours and hours til it sounded perfect. Now, I’ve learned to just be myself and have become more forgiving about mistakes I make when performing. When I stopped caring about what everyone thought, I felt more free and happier.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’ve always loved the process of making music. I love writing, producing, and bringing songs to life. The whole process takes a while but I love paying attention to the little details and adding new ideas. Getting to collaborate with other musicians and producers makes it even more fun too! I’ve created an album before and I’d like to keep pushing myself creatively and write more music – or even maybe write a musical in the future.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I believe that I am doing what I’m born to do. Growing up, my parents wanted me to become a doctor or a nurse. I would study hard and get straight A’s in school in order to achieve that goal, yet I was always involved in music somehow. I feel like my hard work ethic in school also played a role in my dedication to music. I do believe in natural talent, but I also think that you have to put in as much as you want to get out of it. I have always been passionate about music and whenever I performed, it just felt right. Music has always felt so natural to me from the start and that’s why I think I was born to pursue it.

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Image Credits
Grant Harrison Mateo

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