Who Is Meghan Patrick? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music 2024
Who is Meghan Patrick? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…
Meghan Patrick // Photo credit: Ford Fairchild
This week we shine our spotlight on an artist who has been on our radar for a while, Meghan Patrick. Patrick is a creative powerhouse and a force to be reckoned with in the industry. We chatted with the singer-songwriter about her unique journey and of course, her brand new album, Golden Child.
“I was born and raised in Bowmanville, Ontario. I definitely grew up in a very musical house,” began the songstress. “My dad played some guitar and we always had music playing in the house […] When I was about twelve years old, I auditioned for the school musical and that was kind of when I figured out I could sing.” The singer recalls her teacher recommended a vocal teacher for her, which catapulted into taking lessons.“I’m actually classically trained. […] I did that all through high school,” shared the singer. Adding, “I honestly grew up on a pretty eclectic taste in music. I loved all genres and I just really loved music and came from a family that loved all kinds of music.”
At the same time that Patrick was honing her talent as a singer, her focus was on competitive snowboarding. “In my senior year of high school, my goal was to get on the national development team and eventually go to the olympics. My parents really wanted me to go to university after high school, but I wanted to keep snowboarding, so they made me a deal. They said “if you make the national development team, we’re cool with you deferring school.”
Unfortunately, the singer ended up getting severely injured causing to walk away from snowboarding. Music became her fallback plan, and she went on to study opera at a college in Canada. “One year of that made it very clear to me that, that was not the path for me. I loved the singing aspect of it, but I wasn’t really passionate about the genre of opera,” shared the singer, who decided to try snowboarding again. Unfortunately, another concussion halted those dreams yet again.
The Turning Point:
Despite her snowboarding career coming to end, music remained a constant in Patrick’s life. She ended up switching into the Jazz program at her college, which landed her in a 10 piece soul band. “Outside of my first ever band when I was thirteen, that was the first time I ever got to experience touring and playing some big shows. That’s when I started realizing that this is what I wanted to do.”
Then, Patrick transferred to a school in Ontario, where her dreams began to take shape. “I ended up meeting some musicians from my hometown, and we started a bluegrass band. We made a couple of records and did a bunch of touring and that was the final tour for me. I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” The singer decided to quit school and focus on music full-time.
While performing with her bluegrass band, Patrick gained an even bigger appreciation for country music, falling in love with new artists at the time like Eric Church. “When I went my separate ways with the band and started writing songs by myself, they were country songs. That’s what kind of seemed to naturally come out of me,” she shared.
Her hard work, busking, working odd jobs, and continuously grinding in music led her to her first Canadian record deal. “After I signed with Warner, I had wanted to move to Nashville then but I decided to spend a couple of years in Canada and build up my career there. I didn’t have an offer on the table from a U.S. record label at the time, I just wanted to be able to tour and get music out, so that’s what I did.”
Patrick earned many accolades in Canada, but ultimately felt the pull to move to Nashville, so the fall of 2019 she followed that urge. Unfortunately, the pandemic halted her progress and she was eventually dropped from her record label in Canada, due to restructuring. Instead of letting that stop her, the songstress took it as an opportunity to drop deeper into herself as an artist and as a person, intuitionally creating music that felt distinctly her.
Today:
Flash forward to today, that intentionality Patrick had in 2020 led to her American record deal, as well as, her latest project, Golden Child. “‘Golden Child’ was the catalyst for everything that happened after that where I made myself a promise that I would write songs that I wanted to write and I would be unapologetically myself. […] That’s when I started writing a lot of songs that ended up on this record,” she shared. Adding, “It’s autobiographically. Some parts are really heavy. I think the underlying theme of it is more so focused around the journey of healing and empowerment and self-love.”
For Patrick, this record is the biggest and most honest project of her career. “It feels like I’ve been trying to write this record my whole life, and I kind of have been, because it’s all of my heart and all of my happiness, my relationship with my husband, and the journey of that, and all the stuff that came before it. At the end of the day, I always write these songs with hopes that people will find some of their selves in them or relate to them or it will be empowering or healing for them.”
While all the songs off the album are incredible, the title track stands out, as an important turning point for the songstress. “Joey Hyde and Aaron Eshius, who were the co-writers and producers on the track, when I told them I wanted to name the record that, they said we need to write that. It was rooted in me deciding I wanted to tell my real story and show people who I truly was for what felt like the first time in my life. […] Getting to a place where I finally felt I could be myself and totally honest was important.”
Meghan Patrick is the real deal. Stay tuned for what she does next!
Connect:
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Meghan Patrick’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.
