Franklin native performs on New Year's Eve

St. Mary Parish native Adolph Davis returned to Franklin to help spread a positive message to the community as part of the city’s New Year’s Eve celebration.
Davis, 33, performed at the event in downtown Franklin with his band, AdoSoul and the Tribe. Davis, who was born in Franklin and raised in Charenton, performs under the name AdoSoul, a nickname given to him while attending West St. Mary High School.
“The music that I’m presenting to the community is basically inspirational,” he said. “I’m spreading positivity and really focusing in on our youth and just giving them a different perspective about what they should do and what they should follow, instead of just running the streets and being involved in violence. It’s positive vibes. It’s inspiration to let them know that you can make it, too.”
Local teacher and musician Scott Burdett played with the group for New Year’s Eve, with two other band members from New Orleans, and one from Lafayette.
Davis said he has lived in Lafayette for just over a year after living in New Orleans for seven or eight years, during which time he attended Xavier University. He’s gotten his music career in high gear with appearances at numerous music festivals, including Jazz Fest, the Essence Festival, the NOLA FunkFest and the NOLA International Arts Festival.
“Just this year alone, there was a big concert at the beginning of the year (2023) at Opelousas, at the Evangeline Downs center,” he said. “It was an amazing turnout. Then I did Jazz Fest, I did Essence Fest, which is one of the biggest festivals in the country. I also did International Festival. I opened up (the International Festival) with Stephen Marley, Bob Marley’s son.”
Davis got his start in his hometown playing the role of “Chike” in Ed “Tiger” Verdin’s award winning stage play The Quarters and appeared in the film 57 Seconds, which starred Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson.
The New Year’s Eve celebration brought his experiences back to Franklin. The celebration was held in front of the St. Mary Parish Courthouse on Main Street.
“We brought the vibe of New Orleans to Franklin,” Davis said. “We had our trumpet players. We had our keyboard players. I had a residency on Bourbon Street, so we’d be out there playing for 3 1/2, 4 hours. We basically replicated that with our show for New Year’s. It was basically a celebration of me coming home and enjoying the community, and just spreading the love.”
Davis said Mayor Eugene Foulcard called him personally to book him for the New Year’s celebration.
“It was an amazing turnout,” Davis said. “Franklin isn’t the biggest town. It was St. Mary Parish. We had people coming from Patterson, from Morgan City. We had people coming from Acadiana, from Lafayette, and we had a couple of people come in from Houston.”
Davis plans to release a couple of singles in 2024, as well as an album.
“And I want to be considered for a Grammy this year,” he said.
The performance in Franklin was a sign of his continued love for his hometown, Davis said.
“I do love the community,” he said. “I love uplifting my community, and I want them to stand behind me as much as we can so we can bring that Grammy home to St. Mary Parish.