Singing farmer playing his part in country revival
Farmer Patrick Feeney will be waving goodbye to his wellingtons next month when he takes to the bright lights of Vicar Street, Dublin to entertain the masses with some country music favourites.
The beef farmer from Gurteen in Sligo will perform alongside country music stars Mike Denver, Philomena Begley and Jimmy Buckley for the Country Roads concert on November 11 and 12.
Patrick’s love for music goes back a long way.
“My dad was in a band and I remember at the age of four climbing on stage wanting to join him. I went for piano lessons when I was very young and started practising songs with my dad so I would eventually have enough songs to do a gig with him,” he says.
In his late teens Patrick was approached by Big Tom’s management team, and “never looked back”.
“I began performing all over the country. Country music has always been my passion. It is what I feel most comfortable singing but I love Bruce Springsteen and cover a lot of his songs in a country way,” says Patrick.
In recent years Patrick says the revival of country music has been due to the fact that young people are singing the genre again.
“Country music doesn’t have that old-fashioned stigma any more. You have the likes of Lisa McHugh and Nathan Carter making it popular again among all age groups which is fantastic,” he adds.
Patrick says that if he didn’t have his singing career, he wouldn’t be able to farm as it would be impossible to survive on just beef farming as an income.
“The farm is a sideline thing for me. I finish cattle which suits me better as a lot of the work is done in sheds and I can balance it with my singing as I’m on the road a lot. It has been a challenging time for beef farming — the worst my father has ever seen it.”
Beef farmer Patrick Feeney is performing at Vicar Street next month
This is the second year that Patrick will perform at the Country Roads concert; he says he was “blown away” last year by the atmosphere.
“It’s a great gig and is really intimate too. Vicar Street is one of the country’s best venues.”
Tickets for Country Roads are €35 and are on sale now through www.ticketmaster.ie
‘Country music doesn’t have that old-fashioned stigma any more’