CMW 2015 Spotlight: Meghan Patrick

On Wednesday night in Toronto, Meghan Patrick took the stage at Supermarket to kickoff The Agency Group CMW Showcase, and move one step closer to reaching her goals.

When we first saw Meghan she was the lead singer of Roots/Bluegrass group the Stone Sparrows. That was 3 years ago at Boots & Hearts, just outside of her hometown of Bowmanville, Ontario (about 1 hour east of Toronto). Now, Meghan has struck out on her own, and she is finding her way on a new journey in country music.

Patrick has been staying busy as she builds towards her solo career. Progressing in her craft by playing songwriter’s circles, hosting open-mics, heading west to record tracks, and making songwriting trips to the Capital of Country Music, Nashville.

And after all of that, Meghan’s CMW Showcase with The Agency Group should now signal a new step. The start of something bigger, louder, and stronger.

The old Harlan Howard definition of a great country song being nothing more than “three chords and the truth” is ever present in Meghan’s music. She writes about life, relationships, what happens after relationships, and she sings it all with the sound of honesty in her voice.

And Paul Brandt’s lyrics, “the best things around that I have ever seen, came from small towns and big dreams” seem to guide her. Hell, she quotes them in her Twitter bio.

But for all the glowing things we can say about her, the music and the talent still have to carry the load. And they do. As the lead singer of Stone Sparrows we watched and impressed (long live the Sparrows), and now, every time we see Meghan live, alone with her guitar, or on stage with a full band like she was Wednesday night at the Supermarket for Canadian Music Week, we become bigger believers and supporters of this small town girl with big dreams.

CMW Showcase Set Highlights

Wednesday was the first time we’d seen Meghan with a full band since the Stone Sparrows. And it worked. With keys, fiddle, drums, guitar and bass up on stage with her, the sound was full and electric.

The 45 minute set included a selection of Patrick’s original music, with Falling Forward and I Don’t Drink Anymore standing out as tracks likely to make an impression on a crowd seeing her for the first time. And the band came together to give us pretty fantastic covers of Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man and an uptempo rendition of Dolly Parton’s Jolene.

It was a good room at 8pm on a Wednesday, with faces that we know are familiar to Meghan, as well as industry types, some of whom I know were seeing her up on a stage for the first time.

Good job Meghan. We can’t wait to see what’s coming next.

Personal fav time… I Don’t Drink Anymore from @MegPatrickMusic. #CMW2015

— TheReviewsAreIn (@thereviewsarein) May 7, 2015

My goodness, @MegPatrickMusic singing Son Of A Preacher Man is all I could have hoped for. #CMW2015 #livemusic #Toronto #countrymusic

— TheReviewsAreIn (@thereviewsarein) May 7, 2015

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Joshua Murray

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