"Music that isn't afraid the get its hands dirty on the back roads of life"--Dylan Walker A native of Vermont whose great-grandparents emigrated from Ireland (her dad still has an accent despite being born on American soil), she has long been driven by a deep sense of tradition. Her dad played trumpet in a weekend swing/jazz/pop band, introducing her to the gigging life at an early age. She and her three siblings all played instruments; she started out on the flute and pennywhistle
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"Music that isn't afraid the get its hands dirty on the back roads of life"--Dylan Walker A native of Vermont whose great-grandparents emigrated from Ireland (her dad still has an accent despite being born on American soil), she has long been driven by a deep sense of tradition. Her dad played trumpet in a weekend swing/jazz/pop band, introducing her to the gigging life at an early age. She and her three siblings all played instruments; she started out on the flute and pennywhistle, sang in the school chorus (she doesn’t remember being good), and eventually moved on to study guitar in her twenties. Her first paying gig was in 1989, in a Montpelier, Vermont coffeehouse. She is a prolific songwriter and has perfected her own New England-flavored bluegrassy style, one that shines equally with welcome, familiar sounds as well as undeniable originality. She has recorded four solo albums, and her latest, The Edge of Grace, is aural testament to, "the sweetest voice and some of the finest songwriting to come out of Vermont…" (Vermont Public Radio). With an impressive roster of accompanying musicians (Pat Donohue, Gary Raynor, Pete Sutherland, Colin McCaffrey, Kristina Stykos, Sarah Blair…) – attesting to the respect she inspires within her own milieu – the album is the apple, ripe and ready for picking, the reflection of her musical maturity and drive to constantly hone her creations. Her career has taken her to many places along the way : she has appeared live on "A Prairie Home Companion" with Garrison Keillor, has won Texas’s prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk songwriter's competition, and was a winner of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at the legendary Merlefest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Just a quick look at her calendar tells you that audiences love what Patti is about: honest tales of everyday life and quirky looks at life’s intimate details, sung in a voice that doesn’t easily compare to others on the scene today. Patti is a master of vocal understatement, simple, pure; like a jazz vocalist whose heart was somehow – for some unknown but wonderful reason – thrown into gospel mode.
