Mick Flannery

The London Roots Festival Presents Mick Flannery

A cliché has it that you have to beware of the quiet ones because most of the time their voices speak sharper and with more range than the loudmouths. Every cliché, however, has a grain of truth in it, and so it’s fair to say that while County Cork singer-songwriter Mick Flannery is outwardly reserved, his songs are fluent in expressing layered aspects of the human condition, its flaws, triumphs, and general uncertainty.

An award-winning, double-platinum selling artist, Mick Flannery has not only Just released his self-titled sixth album which went straight to No. 1, but also oversaw the world premier of the stage musical, Evening Train (named after his 2007 debut album). As musical influences from albums by the likes of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, and Tom Waits seeped into his creative DNA, Mick absorbed, learned and honed the craft that would send him on his way into the world. The path was smoothed somewhat when, at the age of 19, he became the first Irish songwriter to win the Nashville-based International Songwriting Competition. By the time he turned 21, he had signed to a major label and released his debut album.

With his latest release, Mick touches on loose themes of ambition and the search for a meaningful life in the context of a musician’s sometimes feckless and dysfunctional lifestyle. Threading a line throughout is Mick’s uncanny knack for blending melody with thought-provoking lyrics.

Mick’s sixth studio album is his third chart-topper in total, following 2012’s Red to Blue and 2014’s By The Rule. Mick edges out Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent (2) by just 171 combined sales.

Hearing about the result, Mick said, “This is great news, I’m chuffed at the success of this week. I’d like to thank all involved from the album’s side and also everyone who bought a copy.”

An award-winning, double-platinum selling artist, Mick Flannery’s self-titled sixth album, was released last Friday 5th July. Today’s chart results marks his continuing development as one of the very best Irish singer-songwriters of his generation.

Mick began to write songs as a teenager in his home of Blarney, County Cork. As musical influences from albums by the likes of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits seeped into his creative DNA, Mick absorbed, learned and honed the craft that would send him on his way into the world.

With his latest release, Mick touches on loose themes of ambition and the search for a meaningful life in the context of a musician’s sometimes feckless and dysfunctional lifestyle. The central character, he reveals, is someone like him, “although this person achieves more notoriety than I have. He is properly famous, and he has to deal with that.” The loose theme is just that, however. “I’m not going to hammer it home. Facets of the theme are on the album, but the storyline itself isn’t an overarching one – each song can stand on its own, and not need to be part of a narrative.”