"Nothing makes me cling to hope more than a song from rabble rouser do-gooder John Flynn." ~ Kathy O'Connell, WXPN
Fannin County, Texas -- Fellow music lovers, I (Faye, host and fan) have been working for two years to book JOHN FLYNN here at Harmony House Concerts. Living in Delaware and having toured for about 30 years, he has cut back on touring Texas and other Southwest states. However, when I emailed him in 2022, I planted a seed and he got to work on planning a Texas tour, focusing on returning to play here. He stayed in touch with me. In the meantime, he was asked to play Main Stage at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival (KFF) and to serve as the Master of Ceremonies at KFF's New Folk Competition. After his successful appearance there, he was able to put together a TX tour and notified me.
Hence, you are invited to attend one of John's memorable Harmony House Concerts on Saturday, January 11, 2025, 3-5 pm. He will play 2 45-minute sets with a 30-minute intermission, so you can visit the Necessary Room, grab a cuppa joe and a plate of delicious snacks, and interact with this man of tender mercies at his CD table. More about John below!
Make your reservations for this concert by calling 903-583-2661 (home landline, no texts). If we (hosts Faye & Scott) are unable to answer, please leave your name, contact info (email/phone #) and how many seats you'd like to reserve. Faye will get back to you to confirm. Reservations are $25 per person, payable in cash or by check made to John Flynn, at the Reservation Check-In table on the day of the concert. Please cancel your reservation ASAP, if unable to attend. No shows are a No-No! Reservations are limited, so make yours now. We hope to have a sold-out show so John will be able to pay his travel expenses and so you can be entertained by this special songwriter.
Harmony House is located about 10 miles N of Bonham and about 65 NE of Dallas. When you make your reservation, notify us if you need directions. If you have GPS, we'll give you the physical address; otherwise, we can send you a Word doc with directions. Our reclaimed vintage home was moved to 160 acres of natural surroundings about 26 years ago, and we started hosting these intimate house concerts about 3 years later. We are proud of the outstanding independent performing artists from various genres we've been able to bring to this rural area and of the welcoming musical community of friends we've made. We (Faye & Scott) will provide bottomless cups of java, delicious tea punches, and genuine well water. We also will provide assorted cheeses with crackers, along with whatever treats Faye can manage to make or purchase. We request that each guest (couples included as one) bring a finger food to share. This could be as simple as various nuts or as complicated as the all-time favorites, deviled eggs, small sandwiches, etc. You get to decide. There will be tables in the dining room and in the master bedroom for these delectable morsels.
MORE about JOHN FLYNN . . . www.johnflynn.net
His songwriting is influenced by his values about kindness and equality. As a young man, he passed up the opportunity to attend the Naval Academy because they would not let him bring his guitar to Annapolis. He attended Temple University instead, so he could continue songwriting. He decided against going to law school when one of his songs, Billy Swan's recording of John's song "Rainbows and Butterflies," went top-forty on the country charts and John took a staff songwriting position at Combine Music in Nashville.
The father of four did not tour while his kids were young, but as they grew older John began to widen his performance circles. In 2005, Arlo Guthrie invited John to join musical legends like Willie Nelson and Ramblin' Jack Elliott on the historic "Train to New Orleans" tour following Hurricane Katrina. It was on that trip that Ramblin' Jack generously dubbed Flynn "the John Lennon of the plasma generation," whatever that was supposed to mean!
It was Swan who first introduced John to Kris Kristofferson. John was honored many years later when he found that Kris had selected the lyrics to Flynn's song "Without You With Me" to recite at the funeral of Kris' longtime friend and guitarist, Stephen Bruton.
Kris became both a mentor and close friend of John. In fact, in John's closing song at the Philadelphia Art Festival in August 2024, Kris came onstage to sing with him. Then, in September 2024, Kristofferson crossed over the river of life. This was a loss that brought John pain and sadness. Only recently was he able to write a song called "Kris's Rules". He used a quote he'd read from an interview with Kris and asked his wife's permission to use it. She suggested that he list Kris as his co-writer, which he did. You'll probably hear it at Harmony House on Saturday, January 11, '25, 3-5 pm.
"John Flynn is the real deal. His work follows in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, and other social justice troubadours as he speaks the truth and gives a voice to society's disenfranchised. His work fills your heart and opens your eyes as he continues to walk the walk of a true advocate for equality, justice, and peace."
~ Deana McCloud, Executive Director, Woody Guthrie Center
"The only reason John Flynn doesn't have half a dozen songs in Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Alan Lomax's book “Hard Hitting Songs for Hard-Hit People” is that, when they started writing, John hadn't even been born yet. But he's a worthy heir to the tradition and to the commitments Seeger, Lomax and Guthrie represent. John can hit hard, but he does it with humanity, heart and often humor. When he follows a powerful ballad about the tough lives of prisoners with a children's song about ‘duck doo’ on your pickup truck, it's hard not to imagine Pete, Woody and Alan smiling and singing along."
~ Si Kahn
