John Flynn at Mainstay November 23

In an era of deep division, John Flynn’s songs are full of kindheartedness and a sense of drawing people together as they speak for the wounded, the weary, and the afflicted. Fusing the vision of an activist with the unblinking eye of a truth-teller, his music speaks to the heart and the spirit. A wordsmith and poet of rare clarity, he invokes a shared humanity as he addresses the times we live in through songs that resound with awareness, irony, humor and compassion.

Flynn’s shows draw from a significant body of work, ranging from his early country music offerings to story songs, love songs, songs for kids, funny songs, songs of social justice, and meditations on loss, tolerance, faith and hope.

The open heartedness and resonant decency in Flynn’s work have made him a staple of Phil Ochs Song Nights across the country, and brought him the respect and friendship of his longtime heroes Kris Kristofferson and Arlo Guthrie.

Flynn opens his new CD, The End of the Beginning with the lines “Like river stone, it may be that some edges get worn smooth, or maybe it’s just that these days you don’t have as much to prove”. These words seem to capture not only the mood of the disarmingly acoustic release, but also something of the songwriter himself.

“Every song I write always feels like my first,” Flynn says of the trade he’s practiced for more than three decades. ‘I guess that’s why I love it so much. It’s almost like that Buddhist concept of the beginner’s mind.  Each song challenges you to seek and see new possibilities. Maybe that’s where the album title came from. After all these years, I feel like I’m just getting warmed up.”

Few people who knew John Flynn as a boy would have predicted the path his life would take. A self-professed “straight arrow”, as a senior at Ridley High in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the former altar boy who once strummed a New Year’s Day banjo in the world famous Mummers parade was named president of the National Honor Society and Scholar Athlete of the Year while receiving two congressional nominations to the United States Naval Academy. He was making plans to play lacrosse for Navy when he found out he would not be able to take his guitar with him to Annapolis. Although music had always been an important part of hiss life, he was surprised to realize how much he had come to rely on his beloved Guild twelve-string.  The thought of leaving it behind, even for a few months, caused him to begin to admit to himself that he had other dreams.

He abruptly changed course and began writing songs in earnest. He put himself through Temple University playing in bar bands. Though his degree was in political science, he abandoned the idea of studying law when he was offered a staff songwriting position at Combine Music in Nashville, following Billy Swan’s Top 40 country recording of Flynn’s song “Rainbows and Butterflies”.

It was Swan who first introduced Flynn to Kris Kristofferson. Since then Kristofferson has written liner notes for Flynn’s recordings, sung on three of Flynn’s CDs and even recited the lyrics to a John Flynn song “Without You with Me” at Stephen Bruton’s funeral.

Among the recognitions Flynn has received for his work are the Dominican’s Shining Star Award, the Rotary’s Paul Harris Fellow Award, Pacem in Terris’ Peacemaker Among Us Award and the American Library Association’s Notable Recording for Children Award. He was also honored for his contribution to the anti-bullying project, “All About Bullies, Big and Small,” which won a Grammy as Best Children’s Album of 2012.

The 54 year-old father of four spurned touring when his children were young but as the kids grew older, folk icons began to welcome their dad’s arrival to the national folk stage.

In 2005, Arlo Guthrie invited Flynn to join musical legends like Willle Nelson and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott on the historic “Train to New Orleans” tour following Hurricane Katrina. And Ticket Magazine wrote that “John Flynn is at the near end of a long line of American poets, thinkers and folk artists stretching from Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman, all the way up to Kris Kristofferson”.

Kristofferson himself said this about John Flynn: “The truth is in the details; the gifts are an ear for accurate dialogue, an eye for powerful imagery and anything funny, and a heart open to surprises and the possibilities of moving the emotions. John Flynn is one of a special breed of good-hearted artists whose reaction to the Human Condition finds kind, humorous expression. God bless them.”

Flynn resides in the Brandywine area of Northern Delaware with his family and his running partner, Chief, the world’s most exuberant Frisbee-catching German shepherd.

The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street. It is a 501(c)(3), non profit dedicated to the arts, serving Rock Hall, MD and the surrounding region. It is committed to presenting local, regional and national level talent, at a reasonable price, in an almost perfect acoustic setting. Wine, beer, sodas and snacks are available at the bar.

The Mainstay is supported by ticket sales, fundraising including donations from friends and audience members and an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.

For information and reservations call the Mainstay at 410-639-9133. More information is also available at the Mainstay’s website  HYPERLINK “https://www.mainstayrockhall.org” https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.