Former ‘The Voice’ singer Ian Flanigan to perform at Stamford Palace
Fresh from his recent TV appearance honoring country singer Blake Shelton on “The Voice” finale, country singer and former contestant Ian Flanigan will be heading to Stamford.
The bio on the singer and songwriter’s website refers to Flanigan as a “professional nomad” and with his recent trip to Los Angeles to perform at Shelton’s farewell and a brief trip back home to Nashville before heading to Connecticut for his June 1 concert at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, it seems like he’s a busy man.
“I’m really just stopping in Nashville to basically feed the dogs,” he said. On May 24, Flanigan and 14 other former contestants who were part of Team Blake performed a song honoring their former mentor’s last episode of the show during the finale. Flanigan was a member of Team Blake during season 19.
“Blake has been amazing,” he said. “Fifteen of us surprised him and performed ‘Good Riddance’ by Green Day. Great song selection, I think, by the folks there.”
Flanigan wasted no time after his stint on the series, recording an 11song album, and signing almost immediately with a label. “I was fortunate to sign with ReviverMusic,” Flanigan said. “Blake was, of course, instrumental. Maybe we’ll do something together down the road, maybe not. He’s going off to do family stuff first and foremost. Just watching him on the show and then recording my record has been so rewarding as a student of music.”
Besides, there’s already one collaboration with Shelton in the can: the song “Grow Up.” Flanigan released his full-length LP “Strong” last year. He quickly followed that up with recording the EP “The Muscle Shoals Sessions.” The first single “Under A Southern Sky” dropped in late May, with the EP having a July 28 release date.
From coming in third on the 2020 season of “The Voice” to his show at the Palace, Flanigan’s road has always been one involving music. He spent more than a decade on the road before even auditioning for the show.
“I grew up with three records always playing in my house: Clapton’s ‘Unplugged’ record, Bob Marley’s ‘Legends’ album, and really the whole Creedence Clearwater Revival discography,” he said. “I’d go for these long drives with my mother and we’d make up songs together, with her singing a line and then me making one up, line for line, rhyme for rhyme.”
His love for playing music began when he was young. “I started taking guitar seriously at ten. It was a best friend to me as an only child, and living out in the woods like we did,” Flanigan said.
As for what to expect at his Stamford concert, he’s not about country covers at his shows. “I like to take pop hits and flip ‘em on their head,” he said.
His show at the Palace is a solo acoustic one. This being the case, Flanigan’s somber take on the Britney Spears bop “Hit Me Baby One More Time” just might make the set-list.