It takes a special character to construct life-affirming sing-along tales about politics, redemption, death and life. William Elliott Whitmore’s debut and sophomore albums – 2003’s Hymns for the Hopeless and 2005’s Ashes to Dust – were the first glimpses into his gravelly-voiced, banjo-driven rural roots music that crafts compelling anthems of hard times and tough soil. Whitmore’s haunting, raw, songs are products of living his entire life on his Iowa family farm, where he sketches out songs between feeding animals and tending crops, plus immersion in the punk scene and hard touring. Marrying a patient sense of craft with a distinct DIY spirit, his songs are bathed in an organic accessibility and hum with exigent electricity—amplified or not. Whether Whitmore is singing the blues, observing social injustice, commenting on the meaning of life, or running from the law, his gravitas is augmented by a sense of humour at the absurdity of it all. His rapt audience responds by becoming instant kindred spirits who raise a glass, sing along, stomp and hoot and holler.
Thank you to our supporters
Presented by ATB
Funding provided by Rozsa Foundation
Supported by Big Rock Brewery
Supported by ENMAX
Virtually Live presented by ATB
About Mick Flannery · County Cork, Ireland
Raised by a music-loving family in a farmhouse in Blarney, County Cork, Mick Flannery's early influences were Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and the pragmatic desire to not be a starving artist. He often stepped away from his guitar and piano and picked up a chisel in order to make money as a local stonemason. He gave up that dream life of crafting wealthy homeowners’ property walls and doorways, however, once it became apparent he was really, really good at fashioning and performing songs. As in, a buttery voice that makes the lyrics about betrayal and hurt sink in and stay with you, good. As in, win the International Songwriting Competition in Nashville, good. As in, two consecutive albums hitting No. 1 in Ireland, good. Last year, he collaborated with widely praised songwriter Susan O’Neil on the album In the Game- an intense, exquisite themed work about the coming together and falling apart of a relationship: the joys, depth, wild abandon and despair of love. These add to his canon of dark, intense songs, melodic poetics that express layered aspects of the human condition - its flaws, triumphs, and general uncertainty. When the old stonemason is chipping away at something greater, expect to be inspired.