As a musician and songwriter I have known about Patrick Davis for years. I have been aware of his success and accomplishments in the music industry beyond the borders of South Carolina and I have watched his career grow with interest.
I attended the Greenville Song Writers Workshop last year hosted by Edwin McCain and Maia Sharp and at the last minute Patrick was added as a guest speaker, which I thought was pretty cool and might be interesting - I had no idea. Patrick was the central speaker and he pretty much took the floor and owned it. He proceeded to explain to the writers in attendance everything about writing music for money, about the industry, about every red cent you make and every red cent you will not make. It was an eye opening experience for me and the strongest dose of truth and reality about the business I probably will ever receive. He spoke rapid fire and non stop for nearly two hours, the room literally had to run to keep up as years of experience poured out of him. Honestly, it left me scared as hell but in a sobering way.
This sort of leads me to the clearest observation of Patrick Davis as an artist and as a person I could share with you. Patrick is a force of nature, by design he is a down home country boy with deep roots in his hometown of Camden, SC but the other side of that coin is a young man driven by an incredible desire to continuously move up and out and to make a place in this world for himself and his craft. Basically Patrick Davis is an American success story on multiple levels, he left home and made a name for himself but he never forgot where home was and he even brought his family along with him for the ride. He suffered great loss with the untimely death of his brother, Roger Davis but he stayed the course and persevered. Through all of his life events he has refined the ability to take his experiences and turn them into songs - fairly successful songs at that.
Thanks to Patrick, Jean, and Rusty for the opportunity to put this showcase together. A special thanks to Jean for lending me the pictures, articles, and show posters to include.
Bio (Provided by Shane Axson)
Patrick Davis was born on November 12, 1976, the son of Rusty Davis and Jean Davis in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He was raised in Camden, South Carolina before moving to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a career in music.
Davis attended Camden High School in Camden, South Carolina where he was an honors student and athlete. His interest in music began during high school, and at the age of 16 he joined his father on stage for his first ever performance. His talent developed throughout high school and into his college career at University of South Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in History. It was during this time he became a mainstay of the Columbia, South Carolina music scene and decided to become a professional musician.
In 2003 Patrick Davis released his debut solo album, Chances Are, which was co-produced by Hootie & the Blowfish guitarist Mark Bryan. While touring for Chances Are, Davis landed a songwriting and publishing deal with EMI Music Publishing of Nashville, Tennessee.
Davis' first wide scale commercial songwriting success came in 2006, when he co-wrote “Dixie Lullaby” for Pat Green, which in turn went into the top 20 for the country music airplay chart. This led to a series of songwriting collaborations with Darius Rucker, Jewel, Guy Clark, and others from 2007-2009. During his time writing, Davis also opened for several artists, including Darius Rucker and Hootie & the Blowfish.
In 2009, Davis' “Big Ole (Game) Cock” became a cult anthem at the University of South Carolina before he released his second solo album, Numbers, in 2010. During this time he also wrote Jason Michael Carroll's “Where I'm From,” which went to #1 on the XM Highway Chart and the top 10 Billboard Chart. This led to his nomination for Music Row Magazine's top up and coming songwriter in Nashville for 2010.
Throughout 2011 and 2012, Davis continued writing while also transitioning into production and experimenting with genres outside of country music. He left EMI Music Publishing during this time to join Ben Vaughn at Warner Brothers' Warner Chappell Music Publishing in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2011 Davis produced an album for Jason Michael Carroll and another project for Texas songwriter Django Walker. During this time, Davis had the song "Love I've Found In You" recorded by country trio Lady Antebellum and also wrote 15 of the 18 songs on his long time collaborator Jewel's debut children's album, The Merry Goes Round, after which the pair performed their song “Only Shadows” live together on Regis and Kelly in 2012.
In 2013 Davis created the “Songwriters In Paradise Hope Town,” a three night songwriters festival hosted at the Firefly Sunset Resort in Hope Town, Abaco in the Bahamas. Davis then partnered with his alma mater to produce The Gamecock Album, which featured the track “We Ain't Far,” wherein University of South Carolina alumni Patrick Davis, Darius Rucker, and Edwin McCain shared lead vocals. The Gamecock Album reached Top 20 on the Billboard Country Album Charts. 2013 also saw Jimmy Buffett release Davis' “Something Bout a Boat” on his Songs from St. Somewhere album.
In 2014, Davis released Red, White & Blue Jeans, his fourth full length studio album, which contained guest appearances from many of his long time and new collaborating artists such as Jewel, Robert Randolph, and Branford Marsalis. He spent the remainder of the year touring with Darius Rucker in Europe.
In 2016 Patrick Davis formed the 11 piece touring band Patrick Davis & His Midnight Choir. The band's members included his sister Megan on backup vocals and his father Rusty on lead guitar. They toured the southeast heavily throughout 2016. During this time Davis also opened for Vince Gill and performed at Bill Murray's Caddyshack Charity Golf Event and Hootie & The Blowfish's Monday After the Masters. He was the guest singer for the US National Anthem and also performed "God Bless America" at the Baltimore Orioles game that same year. He also co-wrote “Let It Do What It Do” with Robert Randolph and “Call Me” with Imelda May.
In 2017, Patrick Davis hosted both his “SIP Hope Town” Songwriters' Festival in Hope Town, Abaco and his “SIP Cabo” Songwriters Festival in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He also headlined Nashville's Bluebird Cafe, sold out multiple venues in the Southeast with his Midnight Choir, and performed with several of his long time collaborative acts like Darius Rucker, Amos Lee, and Charles Kelly of Lady Antebellum. When the University of South Carolina Gamecock men’s basketball team made a run for the final four in the NCAA tournament, Patrick wrote and recorded the ode “God Bless Sin”. This same year saw Patrick’s ninth music release with Where Does It Go.
Patrick Davis lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He is also the president of the Roger J. Davis Memorial Fund, which he and his family started after his younger brother Roger was killed in a single vehicle alcohol related accident on June 29th, 2008. The RJDMF hosts fundraising events intended to raise awareness about driving safety and prevent alcohol related driving deaths.
