Vancouver Indigenous Singer-Songwriter Francis Baptiste Finds Healing in “Aspirin for the Soul” + Tour Dates Announced
There ain’t no Aspirin for your soul. But Francis Baptiste has a song that comes close. The Vancouver-based Indigenous singer-songwriter returns with “Aspirin for the Soul,” a searing folk-rock confession about pain, healing, and the bruised beauty of survival.
Born and raised on the Osoyoos Indian Band Reservation in Oliver, BC, Baptiste has spent the last 20 years in East Vancouver, where his lived experience—addiction, fatherhood, poverty, and healing—have become the raw material for his music. “Aspirin for the Soul” marks a new chapter in his songwriting: blunt, bluesy, and bruised with hope. “I’d trade suffering any day/trade a heartache for a hangover,” he sings. “There ain’t no aspirin for your soul. Oh no, ain’t no fixing what’s been broke”.
The single is a preview of his forthcoming album Lived Experience in East Vancouver, out this October.
“This song is about not knowing how to deal with trauma, outside of substances,” Baptiste explains. “I can numb my pain with drugs and booze, and deal with the hangover when it comes. But there’s no aspirin for my soul”.
In classic Francis fashion, the song was recorded with a powerhouse group of musicians from across the Vancouver scene. Baptiste handles vocals and guitar, joined by Ricardo Pequenino (piano, vocals), Rob Thomson (bass), Max Ley (drums), Emmett Jerome (lead guitar), Tegan Wallgrin (violin), Feven Kidane (trumpet), Darryl Havers (organ), and even a flute cameo by Mike Allen of Five Alarm Funk.
This single arrives with a stunning video filmed at the DUDES Club, the men’s health organization where Francis now works in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
“The video is centered on recovery and talking circles,” he shares. “I’ve spent years sitting in those circles, talking about trauma and healing. It felt right to film it where I live that reality every day”.
Baptiste first turned heads with his 2022 debut Sneqsilx (Family), sung partially in Nsyilxcən, the endangered language of the Syilx people. His follow-up, Senklip, the Trickster, continued to explore intergenerational trauma, oral traditions, and his role as an Indigenous father. The Georgia Straight called his music “bluesy, bruised, and blossoming.” CBC praised his honesty, calling him “unsparingly candid”.
Now, Baptiste is taking that honesty on the road. He kicks off a packed BC summer tour starting May 24 at Portside Pub in Vancouver, with dates in Penticton, North Vancouver, Revelstoke, Okanagan Falls, and more. He’ll make stops in Ottawa and Toronto this July before returning to Vancouver for the Vine Arts Festival on August 15. His full tour dates are below.
“Aspirin for the Soul” is such a vivid and raw title. What was the first line or feeling that sparked this song for you?
It all started with the opening line, “I’d trade suffering any day.” I’ve struggled with addiction my whole life, with drugs and alcohol, from a young age. And it seemed my addictions only got worse as I got older. A lot of substance use comes from coping with trauma. We seek to ease our suffering with drugs and alcohol, but ultimately, it just leads to more suffering, suffering directly from addiction. In the end, you trade one type of suffering, the underlying trauma, for another kind of suffering, the comedown from substances. The thing is, deep traumas are complicated, and we don’t always know the healthy way to approach them. So that opening line, I wrote it as my way of saying, “I don’t know how to cope with what I’m dealing with right now, so I’m gonna abuse substances and deal with that hangover when it comes.”
You’ve said this song marks a new chapter in your songwriting. What shifted for you — emotionally, musically, or spiritually — while writing it?
Songwriting for me is very autobiographical. It’s a form of therapy for me, like journaling. All of these songs are things that happened to me. Each album is a snapshot of what my life was consumed by that year. My first album was very much about the separation from my ex-wife, and the soul searching and reconnection with community (and language) that followed. The second album was focused on fatherhood. I had gained full custody of my son, and my focus was on learning of to be a father, and instilling in my son a sense of what it means to be Syilx (Indigenous). This new album is very much focused on my addiction and recovery. Emotionally, musically, spiritually–I felt I needed to address my addictions, face them head-on, before I could move forward as a person. And as a father, partner, musician, everything.
The video was filmed at the DUDES Club, where you now work. What did it mean to bring your music into that healing space, and how do those worlds — music and community health — overlap for you?
Everything is connected. The work I do at the DUDES Club supports the art I create, and supports the kind of person I’m becoming and the kind of community member I want to be. The DUDES Club means a lot to me. I think the work we do there is important, and that feeds into the direction I’m taking my life and my art. My coworker, Dakota, can be seen in the video, in the talking circle, and smudge. And Duane Howard, who is a phenomenal actor–he’s been in movies like The Revenant–is also in the video. I met him through the DUDES Club.
With your summer tour underway, how does it feel to take such personal, lived stories and perform them in front of crowds across the country?
Sharing experiences is what I think art is all about. It’s what makes art such an effective way to connect people, bring people together. I think art has a role in de-stigmatizing addiction. I try to be open about sharing my experiences so that other people can relate to them, so other addicts don’t feel so alone in their struggles, and so non-addicts can see the humanity in addicts. In Vancouver, we have the Downtown Eastside, and a lot of people demonize that neighbourhood. There’s a lack of empathy from anyone who’s never experienced addiction, and it just exacerbates the issues that face the DTES. The new album, which is titled “Lived Experience in East Vancouver” (which comes out October 24, 2025), is entirely about trying to be open about addiction in the hopes of building empathy with those struggling with addiction.
Upcoming Shows:
May 24 – Portside Pub, Vancouver, BC
May 31 – Crescent Hill Winery, Penticton, BC
June 14 – Arts in the Garden, North Vancouver, BC
June 21 – Indigenous Day Celebration, Revelstoke, BC
June 22 – Rise and Shine, Okanagan Falls, BC
July 1 – Canada Day Celebration, Penticton, BC
July 5 – Khatsahlano Festival, Vancouver, BC
July 24 – Avant-Garde Bar, Ottawa, BC
July 27 – The Bell and the Beacon, Toronto, BC
August 15 – Vine Arts Festival, Vancouver, BC
August 30 – Penticton Farmers Market, Penticton, BC
August 31 – Drug Overdose Prevention Day, Penticton, BC
Connect with Francis Baptiste:
Website
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok