Singer hopes to bring tense, gritty theatre production to Limerick, as new album is set for release
Mick Flannery has just finished a theatre production of The House Must Win in both Dublin and Cork
BUILT on the premise of a single released in 2019, Mick Flannery is releasing a new album to tie in with a spectacular theatre production.
The House Must Win is a concept album based on Evening Train, which came out seven years ago.
Hailing from Cork, but now living in Ennistymon in Clare, Mick Flannery has been working on the music, which ties in with the play of the same name, for some time.
“The album is the set list for the play,” Mick explained.
The play has just finished its run in Cork, after debuting in Dublin and Mick said that every time he sees the play, he spots something that he wants to change or tweak.
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Speaking before the run finished in Cork, he said: “The album needs to be slightly augmented now. When the album was done, the show was still in flux and there was a song I was fighting, but I gave up the fight and wrote the song. It made it into the play and now I have to go back and tack it onto the album.”
Mick is also hopeful that the play will make its way to Limerick, but nothing has been planned as of yet.
Speaking about developing a concept album with a view to creating a musical around the story of the songs, Mick said: “Generally, I'm pretty happy to let albums be themselves and move on.”
However, he added that there is a beauty to behold in having music that is living and breathing on stage in a very different way to an album or song being enjoyed by a person in their own way.
“The back and forth songs are fun to watch and they really show the tension and bravado of playing poker.”
He added that while he hopes the play will go further, it has been challenging to produce it all themselves.
“It's a tough thing to put up financially, we hope to attract producers - so far, it's been very self-made.”
Mick said that he had to upskill a lot himself to bring out this production.
“I needed to learn a lot about script writing, structure and plots - if I'd done this play back when Evening Train came out, I wouldn't have had those skills back then.”
Tommy Tiernan's role in the play also just “fell into place” and Mick said: “It was obvious he had the chops for it.”
Speaking about his next move, Mick hinted: “I do have a batch of songs I'd like to release as just songs, but I wouldn't shy away from doing this again. I spent so much time learning new things.”
The House Must Win is out on May 22 and Mick Flannery plays the Doolin Folk Festival on June 14.