An evening with Ray Flanagan at The Treehouse

I love how live music presents itself in so many varying environments. The powerful impact of an impressive stage show is easily identifiable, yet sometimes music touches you in a manner just as profound when delivered in a much more nondescript environment. When music carries passion, inspiration and expression it does not necessarily need the extra flair of the stage production—it can break through the mundane and find its way into your heart and soul.

The Treehouse is a long-standing neighborhood bar on the corner of College and Professor in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. Marked with a unique tree sculpture in the middle of the bar, surrounded by tables and chairs made from slices of wood, the space truly embodies its namesake. A nice beer and cocktail selection and a solid menu make it a great place to visit on any given night. On Sunday evenings, patrons of The Treehouse get the added bonus of some of Cleveland’s finest local musicians sharing their talents.

On Sunday, June 24th, I headed up to The Treehouse with a good friend of mine to enjoy the music, a few drinks and good company. While the artist we had set out to see ended up not being present, we were pleasantly surprised with the sounds of Ray Flanagan. A local artist whose name I had been hearing for awhile, yet had never had the opportunity to witness perform.

We arrived shortly into his first set, and the bar was alive with patrons more focused on camaraderie than musical enjoyment. Despite the inattentiveness of the majority of the crowd, the artistry in Ray’s music twisted through the cracks in conversation, filling the space with the beauty of song. I was thankful when the boisterous, joviality of the environment subdued before his first set did.

As the night progressed, the favor to the music increased. The extraneous chatter present upon our arrival became the background and the music emerged as the driving anthem of the evening. Ray Flanagan’s voice carried a smooth, velvety timbre accentuated with a touch of twang as he delivered poignant and impassioned songs to the increasingly attentive audience. The stories and emotions in the lyrics and sounds of his music infiltrated the mood and mind. The background had become the foreground, and as the last chords of the evening were strum—the applause took the main stage, honoring the impactful performance that had been delivered from the front corner of the room.

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