Abby Shroll

Senior Drew Patterson might be heard throughout the halls playing the guitar, singing in Mr. Heitkamp’s room, or performing in The Essentials for the VB show choir. He has been known to give performances at Coffee Amici where numerous students cram into the small venue to watch him perform. He is a musician in the midst of Van Buren and will be trekking to Belmont University in Nashville next year. While he plans to become a dentist, the music scene will be prevalent around him.

His first solo performance was in 2012 (as a sophomore) at Van Buren’s annual Cabaret. Where he had a lot of experience being the man behind the piano for the show choir, he had little experience with stage lights. Drew did not originally plan on performing in Cabaret until Mr. Heitkamp encouraged him to.

“I played ‘Dancing Daze’ and I was so nervous. My knees were shaking the whole time  but when I was done, it was like the best feeling ever,” Patterson explained about his first time performing in front of an audience.

After taking the giant step from his room to the stage, he has played at five different venues which includes Coffee Amici, Logan’s Irish Pub, and Rocking U here in Findlay. His favorite place that he has performed is Legend’s Corner in Nashville.

Patterson explained his experience. “There was a band playing [at Legend’s Corner] called ‘Lefty and the Right Hand Band.’ They weren’t famous or anything -- just a band trying to make it big in Nashville. During their break they went around with a big metal tip jar. I got to talking to them and they said ‘hey do you wanna come up and play a song?’ So I went to my car and got my guitar. Once I got up there we decided we would play ‘The Weight’ by The Band. We just kind of winged it.”

What sparked his passion for music? Patterson stated, “My mom made me pick an instrument of my choice at age five to play, so I started playing the piano. I probably didn’t enjoy playing the piano until high school. In middle school I was more into music and I started to take guitar lessons in the seventh grade. That’s when I started to get really into it.”

Drew can play the guitar, piano, and banjo which he taught himself. He gets a lot of inspiration from The Avett Brothers, Kenny Vaughan, Josh Garrett, and his guitar teacher of 6 years Terry McClanahan. With many performances on his belt, Drew has no plans to stop.

Favorite song to perform: “The Weight” by The Band.

Have you written any songs? No. I’ve tried but I’m not very good at it. Hopefully when I get to Nashville I will figure it out.

Where would be your dream venue? The Grand Ole Opry (in Nashville) or Red Rocks Amphitheatre (in Colorado).

What does it feel like to perform? Performing by myself is fun, but there’s no feeling like performing with a full band.

Do you get nervous performing? It depends on the place. I don’t usually get nervous at the local coffee shop or pub, but for Cabaret I get nervous because I know everybody in the audience.