Johnny and Lillie Flynn announce Beam Cottage with “The Ghost of O’Donahue”

The record takes its name from the cottage in the south of England where the siblings lived as children. “We rented the cottage – our parents weren’t wealthy, and they never owned a house together – but when we remember a childhood home, this is it,” Johnny and Lillie say. Across its 14 tracks, Beam Cottage gathers new songs, covers from the Flynns’ childhood, and reworkings of Johnny’s back catalogue, with contributions from their River Band.

The involvement of The Joy had a particular pull: the siblings’ mother was from South Africa. “To have these incredible voices singing in Zulu and weaving with ours felt like a conversation with a culture we knew and loved from childhood,” they say.

Of the newly shared “The Ghost of O’Donahue”, Johnny says: “I wrote this song in the back of the van looking out over the lush greenness of Ireland and thinking of my own family's journey away from Ireland.” Other covers on the record include Johnny Mercer, Hank Williams, Billy Bragg, and Paul Simon.

The siblings will play London’s Royal Festival Hall on 21 November. Pre-ordering Beam Cottage via Johnny’s store gives access to an exclusive ticket pre-sale on 19 August; general sale follows on 21 August.

Beam Cottage artwork

Beam Cottage tracklist

“The Music of the Spheres”
“The Ghost of O’Donahue” (featuring The Joy)
“The Boy In the Bubble”
“The Lady is Risen”
“Tell Old Bill”
“Moon River”
“Rambling Man”
“Brockwell Park”
“Hares on the Mountain”
“Between the Wars”
“Dink's Song”
“Idumea”
“Been Listening”
“Sleepy Head”