Pat Flynn

Patrick Flynn (born 1985) is an American punk rock vocalist, songwriter, and schoolteacher, best known as the frontman of the hardcore band Have Heart and the post-hardcore band Fiddlehead. Active in the Boston hardcore scene since the early 2000s, Flynn gained prominence leading Have Heart from its formation in 2002 until its breakup in 2009. He later co-founded Fiddlehead in 2014 and has fronted the group through three studio albums in the 2010s–2020s.

Early life Flynn grew up in a military family and moved frequently during childhood; his father, Richard Flynn, was a U.S. Army officer and speechwriter for General Colin Powell. In his youth Flynn developed a passion for punk and alternative music. During his teens, his family settled in southeastern Massachusetts, and Flynn became involved in the straight-edge hardcore scene of New Bedford. He attended a Catholic high school and cultivated a strong interest in history, which he went on to study in college. The group's debut album, The Things We Carry, was released in 2006 on Bridge Nine Records, followed by Songs to Scream at the Sun in 2008; both records were acclaimed in hardcore circles. Have Heart disbanded in October 2009 after a final show on National Edge Day.

After Have Heart's breakup, Flynn pursued a career as a schoolteacher but remained musically active. In 2010 he and former members of bands like Dropdead formed the hardcore project Sweet Jesus, which issued a demo and later an album. The following year, Flynn and guitarist Austin Stemper launched a straight-edge band called Clear, releasing a demo in 2011. Fiddlehead debuted with a self-titled 2014 demo and signed to Run For Cover Records in 2018. The band's first full-length album, Springtime and Blind (2018), was written as a concept record processing the death of Flynn's father in 2010 and its emotional aftermath. Fiddlehead's second album, Between the Richness, followed in 2021, further reflecting on themes of fatherhood and legacy. Their third album, Death Is Nothing to Us (2023), completed what was characterized as a trilogy on depression and grief.

Musical style and influences Flynn's songwriting is noted for its emotional depth, which, according to critics, distinguished him among hardcore punk vocalists. He continues to identify with the straight-edge punk subculture, maintaining a sober lifestyle.

Discography

Studio albums with Have Heart The Things We Carry (2006, Bridge Nine Records) Songs to Scream at the Sun (2008, Bridge Nine Records)

EPs with Have Heart

What Counts (2004, Think Fast! Records) You Can't Go Home Again (2008, Bridge Nine Records)

Studio albums with Fiddlehead

Springtime and Blind (2018, Run For Cover Records) Between the Richness (2021, Run For Cover Records) Death Is Nothing to Us (2023, Run For Cover Records)

EPs with Fiddlehead

Out of the Bloom (2015, Lockin' Out) – demo EP Get My Mind Right (2019, Run For Cover Records) Baby I'll Change (2026, Run For Cover Records)

with Free

Demo 2015 (2015, self-released) Ex Tenebris (EP, 2017, Triple-B Records)