Get To Know: Patrick Droney [Exclusive Interview]

There is a difference between being a singer and an artist, and Patrick Droney is the latter. The Nashville-based triple threat has been in the music scene for a long, long time. Growing up in South Jersey and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, music was always a part of Droney’s DNA. At the age of 13, he won a Robert Johnson New Generation Award as “Best Young Blues Guitarist,” and began sharing the stage alongside legends such as B.B. King, James Brown and Elvis Costello. Captivated by the Big Apple, Droney moved to New York City and eventually enrolled as a student at the famed Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU. Later, he packed up to move to Los Angeles, signed a publishing deal, and then relocated to Nashville in 2018 to work on and release his critically acclaimed self-titled EP.

The five-track project, which boasts the sounds of blues, rock, soul and pop, cemented Droney’s position in the music landscape and even became a fast favorite among Nashvillians, especially those in the music industry. One of the standout songs, “High Hope,” was even featured on ABC’s award-winning medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, which further catapulted his career.

Now, Droney is gearing up to release his highly anticipated debut album, State Of The Heart, via Warner Records on May 21. Though not a country record per se, all 15 tracks showcase sterling songwriting, instrumentation and production—something that is largely attributed to his time in Music City thus far.

Sounds Like Nashville got to chat with the prolific artist last week to find out more about his journey to music, influences, how Nashville shaped his artistry, favorite hangouts in town and what fans can expect from the human condition-inspired State Of The Heart. 

Introducing the next artist you have to “Get To Know”: Patrick Droney.

Where did you grow up, and how did music become a part of your journey?

I grew up between Lancaster, Pennsylvania and South Jersey. East Coast boy. My Dad was a session guitar player back in the late 60s, early 70s in Philadelphia, before he became a doctor. I grew up hearing my dad play guitar as it was always around the house, and from as early as I can remember I was enamored with how he played it. I picked up my first guitar when I was around 6 or 7 and it just never left my hand. So, I kinda owe it all to my Dad.

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Who are your biggest musical influences?

I grew up really deeply into Blues and Soul music. As a guitar player, a lot of my influences come from B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King etc. There’s a lot of musicality there. But from a songwriting perspective, I grew up with The Eagles’ songbook, Don Henley, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and Springsteen. Stories were always just as important as the music is to me.

How would you describe your sound?

My sound has become an amalgamation between classic tendencies of songwriting and melody with modern production flair. “New classic” is a genre I kind of put myself in because it harkens back to something familiar but looks forward too.  As far as country music goes, having lived in Nashville the last five years, of course, the storytelling in my craft has only heightened as I spend my time here.

How has living in Nashville shaped you as an artist?

My time in New York and Los Angeles was very formative from a musical standpoint. A lot of life happened in those places, and I was really searching for my place within my own musical journey. When I moved to Nashville, it was a place where I was able to take all that life experience and articulate it. I experienced what it means to really lean into the craft of storytelling and to be around such talented writers everywhere you go. I found my tribe of songwriters that really helped elevate my story and helped me find the best way to articulate all this stuff behind me. And not only that, but living in a town that’s so music centric it is incredibly humbling because there is an amazing guitar player, writer and singer on every corner. It really also taught me to just be the best me that I can be. Whatever I have to offer, just lean into that because everybody here is great. You just gotta try to find your own voice.

How did your song, “High Hope,” land a spot on the TV show, Grey’s Anatomy?

I wrote “High Hope” the first year I moved to Nashville, and that was on the 2018 self-titled EP, which I produced with Ian Fitchuk (best known for co-producing Kacey Musgraves’ Grammy-winning album, Golden Hour). That song was immediately a very special song to me. Kasey Truman, who is the music supervisor for Grey’s, is one of my close friends and I wrote that with Aaron Wright who also lives in town and he writes for Kasey’s publishing company. It just was one of those things where I got the call like, “Hey, this is a perfect Grey’s spot for this episode. Are you cool with it?” And you know, I grew up finding a lot of my favorite music on television and film, Grey’s being one of those important shows. So it was an honor to be on that show and to feel the ripple of what it still does. You know, it still has an impact, and people still find music television.

Your guitar shredding prowess can also be heard on Thomas Rhett’s “Put It On Ice,” a song from his brand new album, Country Again: Side A. How did that collaboration happen?

TR and I are good friends and he’s really like family. Being under the same management company, we kind of all live in the same world. I have such a high respect for him and what he does. We’ve always talked about doing something and it just kind of happened. He had posted [an Instagram story] of “Put It On Ice” when he was just sharing demos on Instagram and I heard it and texted him. I said, “Man, What is that? It sounds great.” So he sent it to me and I was already in the studio, so I just sent him a video of me shredding to [the song] just for fun and he asked if I would give it a go on the record.  So, I went over to [Nashville producer] Dann Huff’s place and we sat down and crafted a little bit of a thing, which was a blast and a lot of fun. Hopefully once the shows start cranking up, we’ll play some.

What can fans expect from your upcoming debut album, State Of The Heart?

With the self-titled EP, I wanted to make sure I left an open playing field for myself to not feel like I was in a box, right? So you had “Ruined” and you had “Brooklyn” and, “Brooklyn” is definitely connected to like “The Wire” (the lead single off State Of The Heart). You know,  if you connect those dots you can see the progression. But I think for me, this is my chance to really lean in and dig in on production. I had time, I had space and frankly, I had growth. You know, [it’s been] a couple of years since that debut EP and I think for me, it was my ambition to stretch out and lean into how much I love the synth world and building out atmospheres and leaning in to really big sounds to tell these grand stories. I think it was just allowing myself to kind of be as free as possible, but mainly in the production sense, to really flex my muscle.

We wanna wrap up this interview with two quick, fun Nashville-related questions. First, where’s your favorite place to get coffee in town?

I really like Steadfast in Germantown.

Favorite Nashville music venue?

Oh, good question. I want to say The Ryman. I mean, just having heard of it all my life and then coming here and experiencing shows there, it’ll be a real dream to play there someday.

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And since this is a country music outlet, we got to ask: who are some of your favorite country singers? 

Great question! I love Caitlyn Smith. Obviously I love Thomas Rhett and love what he’s doing. Caylee Hammack, Tenille Townes, Ingrid Andress—[they’re all] incredible. A lot of these women are just killing it! I’m lucky enough to call them my friends and it’s really been a joy to support them.

Sounds Like Nashville also got to chat with Droney in detail about his forthcoming album, State Of The Heart. The conversation will be shared later this month. Stay tuned for more!