Music from the Heart

Kenan Flannery is a 22 year old award winning folk songwriter from Dublin, Ireland. Kenan’s unique sound stems from his childhood roots of Irish folk music and his passion for deep storytelling from his influences such as Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan and Luke Kelly. Kenan stands out with his distinctive north Dublin accent. His music has been described as poetic and the “embodiment of an old soul in a young heart.” and that it “hits you with the intensity of a hundred Irish poets and musicians that came before this man.”

Compared to the likes of Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, David Keenan and Bob Dylan to name a few, his music has been played on some of the biggest Irish radio stations such as RTE Radio One and worldwide in America, The UK, Canada and many places in between. Selling out his debut headline show and having a headliner booked in the Button Factory, Dublin and a festival slot in Montana’s biggest folk and country festival “The Red Ants Pants Festival” pre covid, Kenan is definitely becoming an Irish one to watch in the folk scene.

His new single Manchester Streets was written around 9:30pm on the floor of Manchester Airport on the 14^th of August 2019, “Manchester Streets” at its core is a song about searching. Searching for oneself and hitting all the brick walls on the way, and wondering if it is even worth it. Last minute plans landed Kenan in Manchester on the 13^th of August. Feeling lost internally he thought that getting out of Dublin for one night and adventuring to a brand new city would help him find some purpose or meaning in his life. After an unsuccessful trip leaving him with more questions than answers his flight was delayed and he began penning “Manchester Streets”.

The song starts with delightful guitar picking and from the first tones it has the feeling of an indie classic. Flannery's vocal carries a strong resemblance to David Keenan, there's a similar sense of urgency in his delivery. He also shows the expressive side of his voice, effortless but commanding. The melody is gentle, letting the words come across and demand an undivided attention from the listener. There's a little bit of harmonica towards the end of the song, reminding us of some folk evergreens.