John Francis Flynn and Paahto Cummins announce debut album as Paahto & The Bull

John Francis Flynn and Paahto Cummins have announced their debut album, The 123, scheduled for release August 21.

The news comes at the same time as the announcement of their Irish and UK tour, with a show at Whelans in Dublin on October 28.

The Irish folk duo, Paahto & The Bull, met in 2011 and helped form the Irish traditional group Skipper’s Alley in 2013. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair experimented with music on two guitars, inspired by Paahto’s interest in bluegrass flat-picking and John’s unique accompaniment approach.

Paahto & The Bull gradually worked towards recording a full studio album with help from Brendan Jenkinson and Ben Rawlins.

Their music is “a very honest reflection of the unique kind of sound that Cummins and Flynn have consistently created with each other over the past fifteen years,” according to a press release.

“This is what we play. This is how we play. And this is what we are going to play,” said the band.

The album’s name comes from the old Dublin bus route that connected the two musicians' areas – Paahto’s home on Errigal Road in Drimnagh on one end and St. Declan’s Road in Marino on the other, where John grew up.

Paahto & The Bull played Beyond the Pale Festival last month and have upcoming sets at All Together Now and Electric Picnic.

Tickets for the Whelans show are available here.

Listen to the first single off The 123, ‘The Tenpenny Piece/Elizabeth Kelly’s Delight’ below.

Full list of tour dates:

Sat 1 Aug - All Together Now, Waterford

Thu 17 Sep – Dolans, Limerick

Sat 19 Sep – Clonakilty International Guitar Festival

Sun 20 Sep - Joe Lee's Bar, Tullamore

Fri 25 Sep - The Dock, Carrick-On-Shannon

Mon 28 Sep - Coughlan's Bar, Cork

Tue 29 Sep - Róisín Dubh, Galway

Wed 30 Sep - Saltwater Festival, Bundoran

Sat 3 Oct - Paper Dress Vintage, London

Mon 5 Oct – Gullivers, Manchester

Tue 6 Oct - The Attic, Leeds

Wed 7 Oct - The Golden Lion, Todmorden

Thu 8 Oct - The Hug and Pint, Glasgow

Fri 9 Oct - Star And Shadow, Newcastle upon Tyne

Sat 10 Oct – Rise, York

Sun 11 Oct - Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

Sat 17 Oct - Levis Cornerhouse, Ballydehob

Sun 18 Oct – The Green Room, Dingle

Sat 24 Oct - Pot Duggans, Ennistymon

Sun 25 Oct – Connolly’s of Leap, Leap

Mon 26 Oct - Prims Bookshop, Kinsale

Wed 28 Oct - Whelan's, Dublin

Fri 30 Oct - Cleere's Bar, Kilkenny