CLAREMONT, N.H. – Singer-songwriter Myra Flynn will perform on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 6:30-8 p.m., at the Claremont Creative Center, 56 Opera House Square in Claremont, N.H., presented by the West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts. Tickets may be purchased on a sliding scale at www.wcc-ma.org/event/myra-flynn-6. Students are admitted free.
Flynn spends her career embracing dichotomy. Half Irish and half African American, her original indie/soul songs blend soulful vocals with a lyrical delivery that doesn’t let one get too comfortable. As the New England Deli Magazine put it, “Her vocal influences have as much in common with Ani Difranco and Shawn Colvin as they do with Rihanna and Jill Scott.”
Flynn’s latest album, “Shadow Work,” was released in the summer of 2023. Margaret Grayson, of Seven Days, describes “Shadow Work” as follows: “Five songs deeply concerned with relationships of all kinds. Flynn, who splits her time between Vermont and Los Angeles, sings of mothers and daughters, romantic relationships gone wrong, and the people who get us through the hardest times. She considers big questions about how a person ought to be in the world, but she conducts her case studies on the most intimate of stages. In certain moments, she questions herself, wondering if she’s doing enough for the people she loves; other times, she offers full-throated declarations of her own worth in the world. The same song can hold both sentiments, and Flynn’s ability to capture complicated, conflicting emotions in her lyrics swept me away.”
Flynn is a lyrical storyteller who uses her voice to empower, inspire, and even educate. She fearlessly tackles topics that others shy away from in both her music and in her journalism career. She says that motherhood has left her no more time to be self-conscious and there is no room for shyness. She finds a new strength, independence, and inspiration in her daughter, Avalon, and her husband, Phil. Flynn is a singer, songwriter, journalist, advocate, ally, mother, wife, and always, unapologetically, human.
Her podcast with Vermont Public Radio, titled “Homegoings,” is a “righteous space for art and race.” It’s a show that invites listeners to be a fly on the wall, privy to candid and genuine conversations about race. It explores themes that fearlessly straddle the line between necessary and uncomfortable, as she speaks with artists, experts, and regular folks all over the country about their literal skin in the game of everyday life. “Homegoings” is storytelling with a heartbeat. No topic is off the table, and there’s no such thing as going “too deep.”
Currently, Flynn lives a bicostal life, still holding onto her roots in Vermont part of the year while also working and living in Los Angeles under the guidance of Swift Street Management Team. She has created a jewelry line made from recycled piano parts and recently partnered with Shelburne Vineyard in Vermont to create a namesake wine, Flynn. She has toured the United States as well as Wales, London, Ireland, and, most frequently, Australia. Her motto regarding next steps and fame tends to be, “If you’re doing it, you’ve already made it.”