Franklin Bruno (born December 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, academic and writer originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986.

Bruno has written music criticism for online and print publications such as The Village Voice. In 2004, he received a doctorate in philosophy from UCLA. As of 2020, he is a lecturer at SUNY Purchase. Previously he has been a faculty member at Pomona College, Northwestern University, and Bard College.

In addition to his own recordings, Bruno worked on The Mountain Goats albums Tallahassee and The Sunset Tree. He also records with The Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle as The Extra Lens. Jenny Toomey and Calexico released Tempting, a collection of Bruno's songs, on Misra Records in December 2002.

Civics, the first album by Bruno's new band, The Human Hearts, was released by Tight Ship Records in 2007.