Season 12 kicked into high gear last night with the amazing Pat Green and his band as our guests. In front of a sold-out audience at Dosey Doe, Pat entertained and delighted with stories about himself, his career, fellow musicians, and told a few jokes about his ups and downs in the music industry. Pat once again proved that he is not only a great singer, songwriter, and overall musician, but his stage presence and warm persona made everyone feel like they got an intimate glimpse into the heart of this huge country music star.
It was an exciting moment when host Kyle Hutton welcomed Pat and his band mates, Michael Ramos on keyboard and accordion, and Brett Danaher on guitar, to the stage – the culmination of five years of work on Kyle’s part to get Pat on the show. And that work really paid off! Early in the show Pat and Kyle discussed a mutual friend, Walt Wilkins, and the influence Walt had on Pat’s early songwriting. Pat followed with the song “Carry On” his first co-writing experience with Wilkins that has become one of his favorites. Next came “Songs About Texas,” one of Kyle’s favorite Green tunes, and stories (and impressions) of famed Texas producer Lloyd Maines.
In addition to Walt Wilkins, Pat has had the opportunity to write with other famous artists. The song “Feels Just Like It Should” was written while on tour with Keith Urban, stuck in a blizzard in Michigan. He wrote “Three Days” after sleeping on the couch at Radney Foster’s house. That one was later nominated for a Grammy. Host Kyle Hutton chimed in with a Foster co-write as well, “She Does,” from his latest release, and Pat and the band jumped right in!
You can tell how well-loved Pat is by his fans. There were several times throughout the night when the audience was singing along, people were standing up to cheer, some were even dancing in the cramped spaces between the tables, and on a couple of occasions Pat just stopped and let the crowd complete the lines. You can also tell how much Pat loves his fans by the huge smiles and laughter from the stage and his comments about how he’s never worked a day in his life.
Pat shared some funny anecdotes about all the fun he had touring with Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and the Dave Matthews Band. He shared about his recording contracts and how he sometimes felt forced into recording songs that he wasn’t crazy about, but understood that the ultimate goal of the business machine was to make hit records. When talking about the new release, due out later this year, he expressed a peace about where he is now in his career – somewhat removed from the machine and calling all the shots. Towards the end of the show, Pat gave everyone a sneak peak at the new project by playing a track called “Girls From Texas,” a song that in its studio version features a duet with Lyle Lovett. Pat humbly admitted that he caught himself giving advice to Lyle in the studio on how to sing like Lyle! Definitely said that he wouldn’t make that mistake again! He also gave the crowd one more sneak peak of a song entitled “Right Now,” a love song he wrote for his wife and recorded with Cheryl Crow. As Pat sang the last few notes the entire room was silent, everyone hanging on his words and in awe of his voice.
Pat closed the show with a fantastic rendition of his biggest hit, “Wave on Wave” about a spiritual journey that Pat leaves open to interpretation. This is the one that “put me on the map” he said, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect night.
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