Something For The Weekend: John Francis Flynn's cultural picks

John Francis Flynn is a singer and multi-instrumentalist whose acclaimed work centres around traditional and folk music.

His latest album Look Over the Wall, See the Sky received nominations for the RTÉ Folk Award and Choice Music Prize Album of the Year. His debut, I Would Not Live Always also won great critical acclaim, including accolades as The Guardian and MOJO magazine's Folk Album of the Year. He won Best Singer and Best Emerging Artist at the 2021 RTÉ Folk Awards.

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He is also a member of the celebrated traditional group Skipper’s Alley.

Dublin-born Flynn plays the National Concert Hall's Tradition Now Festival on Saturday 4th May. The festival, which takes place on Friday 3th and Saturday 4th May and sees a wide range of artists come together to celebrate the continual evolution of traditional music; the line-up includes Bláth na hÓige, Ruth Clinton, Niamh Bury, Thomas McCarthy, Edwina Guckian, Cahalen Morrison, Helen Diamond and more.

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We asked John Francis for his choice cultural picks...

FILM

Mysterious Skin, it’s an incredibly powerful story investigating the effects of child abuse, it follows two young boys as they navigate their trauma in different ways. This film came out in 2004, directed by Greg Araki and starring a young Joseph Gordon Levitt. It is an adaptation of the novel by Scott Heim. I saw it recently on Mubi.

MUSIC

Trá Pháidín are one of the most exciting bands in Ireland at the moment. Organised chaos. Long form, experimental, jazz, post-rock, folk - it's hard to pin them down. They opened up for us on our recent Irish tour and they put on a serious show. Their latest album An 424 is excellent!

MUSIC

I Could Read the Sky. It's a novel by Timothy O'Grady and Steve Pyke, a story of an old Irish migrant remembering his life as he lies alone in London. O'Grady provides the words; Pyke provides accompanying photographs. I'm only halfway through this book but I absolutely love it so far.

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THEATRE

I was having dinner at a pop-up restaurant run by my friend Hugh Corcoran in a lovely little café called Italo in Vauxhall, London. Just outside the café as our meal ended, a puppet show began. It was a version of Robert Burns' Beggars Opera (and potentially a debut performance of it). The local community gathered around under the streetlights to watch as the owner of the café performed the recitation narrating the show, all accompanied by Irish fiddle tunes. It was such a community buzz, something that seems rare these days. A very special experience. Definitely pop into Italo if you're in London! Also, Hugh's pop-up is incredible too. Best food and wine I've had in a long time.

Geantraí was one of my favourite shows when I was growing up. It showcases some of Ireland best traditional musicians playing in their local pubs. There's a new series out now on Sundays on TG4.

GIG

Aoife Nessa Frances put on an intimate gig recently in Bermondsey Social Club in London which is essentially a small cave beneath a railway line. It was very atmospheric! She played alternate song arrangements from her latest album, with drum machine, harp, clarinet and bass, and a first airing of some new material she has been working on. Very exciting stuff!

ART

Hayward Gallery in London. The Southbank building itself is an incredibly beautiful piece of Brutalist architecture. Inside, the sculptures are less rigid. Some are even growing. My favourites were pieces by Ruth Asawa. She made large sculptures with looped wires like abstracted hanging baskets.

TECH

I'm not big into tech, but I've started using Mastertour recently and it's a great organisational tool for touring.

THE NEXT BIG THING...

Fidget Spinners.

John Francis Flynn plays the National Concert Hall's Tradition Now Festival on Saturday 4th May 2024 - find out more here.

Something For The Weekend: John Francis Flynn's cultural picks

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