Breakfast with Effie

With a dozen questions in my head, I walked down to the beach to my fave breakfast restaurant, Langostinos, to meet Francesca Bavaro/Effie Passero. That was one of the questions.

I remember a few years ago at Incanto, she asked everyone to please start using her real name, Francesca, as she wanted to leave the American Idol part of her life behind. But, friends in California kept referring her as Effie to audition with Postmodern Jukebox, same with Branden & James (and Carnegie Hall this month!) So, she is fine with both. Her upcoming solo album, however, will be by Francesca. Details on that amazing adventure story remain sealed for now.

She talked a lot about Vallarta and how safe and sane she is here compared to Los Angeles. Her dear friend, ally, and colleague Spencer Day suggested a trip here back in the spring of 2020, trapping them when the world stopped that March. I first heard Francesca sing at The Palm with Spencer for the first time and have been to every concert of hers in Vallarta since.

She is so excited about Carnegie Hall; her entire family will be there and, Francesca has tickets for her and her twin brothers to see Lion King while they are in the City.

2025 is stacking up like a bucket list for her, with a recording session in Nashville and appearances at the Sydney Opera House and Covent Garden with PMJ. We laughed about places and arenas she has to add to the list, including the Kennedy Center, Madison Square Garden, and maybe even Wembley Stadium.

Heady stuff, all of it, and she is right there knowing how to maintain her balance, including time well spent at home in Vallarta to regroup. She will choose her tours wisely with PMJ; last year, she was in 55 countries with them, but five months away was too long.

Her next concert in Vallarta will be in early November at La Catrina Cantina to celebrate being back in Mexico from New York and Carnegie Hall and her (our!) birthday.

Have a wonderful weekend everybody. See you back here Monday morning.