Pat Swenson
Utah’s newest and brightest country music star, Pat Swenson from Spanish Fork, Utah, is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has become a respected songwriter, having received great feedback and recognition of many of his songs by music industry professionals in Nashville. He currently performs at a variety of venues and events and continues to work on pitching his songs to major country artists.
Pat’s musical influences range from classic country artists like Don Williams, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson, to the hugely impactful Garth Brooks, George Strait and Chris LeDoux, and ultimately to more current and unique artists of today like Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Gary Allan and Eric Church.
He sings, “Everybody has a story – a little tragedy, a little glory.” His story begins when he first heard Don Williams sing “Good Old Boys Like Me.” He was only 12 years old at the time but his desire to become a country singer/songwriter was set. He said, “Something about that song just spoke to me. It changed me somehow, and I remember thinking, ‘that is what I want to do. I want to write songs that stir up this kind of emotion in people.’”
He learned to play the guitar and wrote his first song when he was 15. Jokingly, he says that he began writing songs at that age for one main reason – the only reason that matters to a boy that age – to impress a girl.
Believing that often our most glorious moments come during our hardest times, Pat tried to capture such moments on his debut album released through Sonic Valley Records, titled Helluva Cowboy. His sound and style have been often compared to Garth Brooks, but on his album, listeners will hear a little Brad Paisley, Gary Allan, George Strait, and Eric Church coming through. According to his official website, “The album seamlessly blends introspective, heartfelt country songs like “Living with A Broken Heart” and “Helluva Cowboy” with punchy, energetic songs like “Anything but A Love Song” and “Let Me Be Your Cowboy.””
Pat Swenson says that at the heart of it all, its really all about the songs. He said, “I just want to write songs that strike an emotional chord in my listeners. Songs they can relate to, songs they can live by. That’s my goal. If I can touch people with my songs, that’s the biggest win for me.”
His song “Bleeding” has been nominated for Single of the Year by the Utah Music Awards. He has also been nominated as New Artist of the Year.
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