Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Meghan Patrick: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1862

Episode Date: March 10, 2026

In this 1862nd episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with country musician Meghan Patrick about her start in Bowmanville with Stone Sparrows, her pivot from bluegrass to country, her decision to move to Nashville and her recent success with Golden Child. Meghan Patrick also delivers the #realtalk with regards to the Canadian music industry. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Nick Ainis, and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail].

This industry rewards people who don't have a strong sense of self. They reward artists who are easily malleable, who do what they're told, who don't really have, you know, a sense of direction or integrity to what they're making. They're just trying to do the quickest, fastest thing to become popular or to make money. And that's never really been my goal. So. Welcome to episode for honey I'm true

Tempty by I'm small And you're willing You can take the shit Because everything Welcome to episode 1,862 of Toronto Mike

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Palma Paws Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees. From Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Visit palma Pasta.com for more. Fusion Corp's own Nick Aienies. He's the host of Building Toronto Skyline and Mike and Nick. Two podcasts that you ought to listen to. Recycle MyElectronics.c.c.a.comitting to our planet's future means

properly recycling our electronics of the past and Ridley Funeral Home Pillars of the communities of 1921. Joining me today making her Toronto mic debut it's Megan Patrick. Hey, how are you? I'm good. How are you?

Good. Thanks for making some time to chat up a guy in his South Atobico basement. Of course. Can you hear me okay? Yeah, you sound good. Good. I always, anytime I think about Atobico, this is so random. Well, when I used to do gymnastics out in Atobico, but I also always laugh because I don't know if you ever saw the,

don't fuck with cats documentary. Yeah, the way they pronounce it. Edmicoke. So that guy, that's a creepy story, but. Oh, yeah. Luca or Lucas, I can't remember. Yeah. Yeah, Luca.

But when he was hiding out in a cyber cafe in Berlin, so before he gets arrested and jailed, he's hiding out in Berlin. I had, like, evidence that he, I had written about him on my blog, Toronto Mike.com, and I had evidence that he was reading the comments on my blog from a cyber cafe in Berlin. No way. Yeah. That's great. Well, I know, like, I know people.

that went to the same school as him. And then also when he lived in Montreal, I was also in Montreal at that time, very close to where he was. So yeah, a lot of creepy, a little too close to home. Creepy, and it all starts with, you know, cats. And it tells you, like,

if you see anybody abusing an animal, like, as horrific as that is, they're hurting a helpless, harmless animal. But what kind of person, a person who does that, what else are they capable? of. Well, exactly. For sure. But yeah, sorry that when you said that I was just, when my husband and I were watching, I kept laughing. And he's like, what's so funny? I'm like, Edibok. He's American. He doesn't know,

get the reference, but that just always cracked me out. Are you talking to me from the United States of America right now? Yeah, I'm at home in Nashville right now. So how long have you been living in Nashville for? It's been nine years. That's a long time. Yeah, yeah, it's, yeah, it has. It's like I've lived a whole life here and, you know, put down roots and met my husband. And we actually, where I'm home right now, and this is, this is like our forever home. So, yeah. And your husband's also a musician?

He is, yep. Okay, it's all in the family there. Okay. But, you know, you were taking dance lessons in a tobico. Gymnastics. Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. I'm trying to remember which gym it was. Or was that in East York? I can't remember. But anyway, a different lifetime. Okay, because Atobico and East York are very far away from each other. Yeah, maybe I'm mixing them up. Maybe I wasn't in Atobico. I might be just mixing them up. So right off the top here, Megan, let me just congratulate you on your 2026 Juneau Award nomination. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, huge honor.

Will you be in Hamilton for the Juno's? Unfortunately, I won't. I had already accepted a couple show offers before anything got announced. I honestly was not expecting a nomination. So I'm super honored. I hate to miss it, but I'm going to be working. Okay, you got a gig that day. Yeah. Why, like, is that, maybe that's because you're Canadian, you didn't expect the nomination, but Golden Child, like, again, I've been listening to Golden Child, okay? Like, absolutely worthy, not only worthy of the nomination, I think it might win the Juno for country music album. Wow, that would be incredible. You know, it's, it's funny. It's kind of ironic, too, for this, I mean, on the one hand, I'm so incredibly excited and honored. that this particular project got nominated just because of how special it is to me.

But I also find it kind of ironic because, you know, a lot of the sort of underlying theme of Golden Child and the whole like story of that album was sort of about, you know, a lot about healing and kind of trying to move myself away from needing so much external validation and tying myself worth to that external validation, which awards and nominations definitely sit in the category of external validation. So, yeah, so it's kind of funny and ironic to be nominated. Well, you know, irony is a very Canadian trait, thanks to Alanis Morissette.

Hey, there you go. That's true. So it all makes sense. Now, I'm going to just run down the competitors in this fiercely contested category, okay? So you have to beat the James Barker band, Brett Kissel, there's a big name for you, Josh Ross and Cameron Wickholm. So you have some heavy hitters to beat out, but I think you got a great chance.

Well, thank you. That would be amazing. That would be very cool. And it would also be aligned with my Juno experience of not being able to physically be there when I win because my only Juno that I have currently was in 2020 where we did not get to have the actual award show and it was announced over like a live stream. So I accepted that award in my sweatpants in my living my living room in quarantine. Oh, I'm wondering, do you have that

Juneau on display somewhere? Oh, of course. I mean, it's, you know, it's still a Juno, but it was, you know, I'll, I have to admit, it did feel a little bit bittersweet because it was the biggest moment in my career. It was the biggest award of my career and it felt like it just kind of, I don't want to say that it didn't matter, but I mean, there was just, there was bigger things going on in the world, you know, and there wasn't the usual fanfare around it. I didn't get to, you know, go up and give a speech and go to the after parties and, you know, walk the red carpet and all of that. So, you know, it did feel, it wasn't the way I always pictured it, but still an honor nonetheless. Now, you're in, you've been to Nashville now for nine years, you know, you're forever home.

You married an American. And let's face it, like golden child, this is like kind of your American breakthrough, right? Yes, yeah, Golden Child, the song, the title track to the album, was my first U.S. radio single. So, yeah, this was definitely my kind of U.S. breakout project for sure. Could there be a day when your household name in country music circles in the United States and there's no room on the shelf, no desire to show off the Juno Award? Oh, no. I mean, it's, you know, I've never seen it as one or the other. The two are not mutually exclusive. I see it all as just a way to grow my fan base. I have, I've never wanted to limit myself in terms of being able to tour. I mean, and not just to the U.S. I got to do my first tour in Europe last year. And, you know, I want to be able to tour internationally and make as many fans as possible and travel the world. doing what I love. So, you know, it's always, I'm just looking to grow and build, but that doesn't push out, you know, my roots are where I started. And, you know, my Canadian fans, especially, they will always have a very special place in my heart because they've been with me since the beginning. They've stuck with me, you know, through lost record deals, pandemics, you name it. They are still there. We just, you know, announced a bunch of Canadian tour dates for my headlines. tour and the tickets are selling like crazy and I've got you know a lot of my day one fans messaging

me telling me what shows they're coming to and how excited they are so um yeah that's that's never going to go away for me well no I'm happy to hear this I I just uh like I'm just pleased to hear that you're you know proudly Canadian regardless of what happens with your success in the United States yeah I mean to me I just I don't see it so much as US and Canadian I just I just see it as country music fans, people who love music, and I want to meet them all. And I just want to continue to grow and get my music to as many people as possible. Because, you know, I think the kind of music that I'm putting out and I'm writing, and especially most recently with the Golden Child record, you know, it's meant to help people.

It's meant to help people heal. And I think that it's my responsibility with the platform that I build to put something good back into the world with the music that I create, not just build a living off of it, which I have to do as well. It's also how I pay my bills. But, you know, it's to build a legacy of just fans who have been changed and healed by the music that I've written. Yeah, no, without a doubt. And you said it when you said, you know, you want to reach as many fans as possible. And it's simply a numbers game, right?

I mean, there's 10 times as many people in the States. But when it comes to country music, I can only imagine the country. country music fan base in the United States dwarfs the country music fan base we have here in Canada. Well, and, you know, I think a big part of it for me was, you know, there were two main reasons why I made the move. You know, one of them was on the songwriting side of things because there's such an incredible huge community of amazing musicians and songwriters all right here in Nashville. Like, you know, I write every day that I'm at home and I'm not on a really. road, I'm usually in the writing room and I get to be creative and I get to work with people from

all over the place, different genres as well. So that was a big part of it for me was the creative side, the songwriting aspect. But it was also from a touring aspect, you know, as big as Canada is, there's only so many markets that you can tour. And as somebody who has built a career more off of touring than anything else, that was super valuable to me. Yeah, without a note, but you just teased a headlining tour in Canada. So what are the details there? Yes, we, we've officially announced all of the dates now. We just released new dates for Eastern Canada, Ontario. We're out in, like, New Brunswick and a little further east. And then we've got a whole, we've already announced all of the West Coast dates. So I'm going to be pretty much all over the place. And it's awesome.

your headlining, I know you did a, like a stretch of dates with some guy named Brad Paisley. Never heard of him. Never heard of him. But apparently he's a big deal. Yeah. That was an amazing tour. We had a great time. You know, for me, that was just, you know, to share the stage with an icon and legend like Brad Paisley, getting to sing whiskey lullaby with him every night. I mean, one of the greatest country songs of all time. And it was awesome because I think it really set us up in a good position to do this headlining tour this year because the only negative feedback I got about that tour was that my set was too short. And so, you know, I really, that was really encouraging for me.

It's always nerve-wracking to go out and do a headlining tour. It can be, it's expensive and you're just like, oh, my gosh, are people going to show up? Are they going to buy tickets? So it was really exciting, just getting to play to those crowds and seeing, I mean, they showed up early for me. They were, you know, we had a lot of people in seats before we even set foot on the stage, which isn't always the case when you're first of three on an arena tour. So I just, you know, I love getting to headline because to me, I get to give them their money's worth. I get to give them the full Megan Patrick experience.

You know, I get to give them a full, you know, we usually play 75 to 9. 90 minutes depending on, you know, if people are really feeling it, we'll keep playing. And, you know, I'll do some stripped down acoustic moments throughout the set. I get to have a chance to let my band show off a little bit because I have an incredibly talented band. And I get the opportunity to kind of set the rules on, you know, meet and greets and all that. I mean, I go and stand at the merch table after every show and see everybody who wants to say hello. And I just, I don't really get to have that kind of impact when I'm opening for somebody else. And so that's why I really love the opportunity to get out and do my own

tour. And Brad was nice to you? Oh yeah. Yeah. He was great. He was, uh, he was very kind. His team was was awesome. They, they took great care of us. Um, I mean, they, they carried all of our backline and their trucks, which was a huge help to an opener, just saving money and, you know, all of that. So they were very, um, very opener friendly. Not all, not all headliners are. Can you, like, I've never been a musician, Megan. Okay, if you heard me sing, you'd understand why. But I would, I can't imagine why a headliner would be anything but gracious to their opener.

Like, what would, like, what would, kind of an ego trip? What would that be about? I hear these stories, but they don't, they don't make sense to it. Yeah, I mean, I will say this. I think, I haven't seen it as much in country music. I would say that the vast majority of headliners that I've opened for have been like that, very kind, very accommodating. but you know for some people the the fame the money it it does change you i mean it changes your

life and it you get to decide how much you let it change you um and some people you know it it changes them not for the better okay i want names i'm just kidding all right no no no i need that list okay but okay so i wonder aloud and then hopefully you'll let me take you back to Bowmanville for a moment, right? But I wonder aloud, like, because of these, you know, record label issues and then the pandemic and all these, like, spit, like, it's almost like your career had these, like, starts and stops, and it's almost like your career is really taking off now, and I'm not going to, like, age you. I'm not going to disclose your age, but it's almost like you have the career of somebody, like, 15 years younger almost. Like, this is,

now happening for you, even though you might be in your mid to late 30s? I mean, yeah, it's just, that's just how it goes sometimes. And I've faced a lot of really incredibly difficult roadblocks that would have ended a lot of careers. So I don't see it as me being behind the ball. I see it as me being incredibly resilient. And, you know, I also, I have done it with integrity. Were there ways I could have done things bigger and faster, for sure, but they weren't aligned with my integrity.

They weren't aligned with my ethics. They weren't aligned with what I wanted to do creatively. And when you are somebody who has really strong opinions about your art and how you want to do things, it takes longer. This industry rewards people who don't have a strong sense of self. They reward artists who are easily malleable who do what they're told, who don't really have a sense of direction or integrity to what they're making. They're just trying to do the quickest, fastest thing to become popular or to make money. And that's never really been my goal.

I think we call those controllable assets. Yes, I am a decidedly uncontrollable asset. No, I knew I liked you from the get-go. Okay, so could you be a little more specific? I almost thought I was going into like a Ross on friends there. Who would say that? No, it wasn't Ross. I didn't watch Friends.

Am I the only, maybe I'm the only Gen Xer who didn't watch Friends. Chandler. I didn't get into Friends either. Okay, another check for you. I'm taking notes over here. Megan Patrick, beloved FOTM here. But I think it's Chandler, actually, Matthew Perry's category. Could you, so could you be, could you be a little more specific?

Like, like an example or two of how you were, you could have taken a shortcut and done it their way rather than your way? Sorry, you kind of froze for a second there. Okay, well, look, I've got to pay my bell bill over here. But could you give me an example of how there might have been a moment in your career where you could have done it their way and taken that shortcut to fame, but you, with your integrity, you said it's my way or the highway, even if it takes me a little longer. Yeah, I mean,

I think a lot of it has to do with, one, the music, you know, I've been pitched songs that are more pop-leaning, more sort of down the middle, so to speak, that, you know,

just weren't really aligned with my message, but like probably, would have been very successful, you know, if I had chosen to go that route. So part of it was just me not wanting to release music that didn't feel authentic to me, or not wanting to work with certain people, not wanting to collaborate with certain people that also were not aligned with my ethics or behaved in a way that was not aligned with who I am. And that leaves a much smaller group in the industry when you make decisions that way. You know, and I think also me wanting to protect a certain level of privacy as well, you know, in a world where everything is on social media.

And you really can, you know, you can elevate a career really quickly by talking about everything. sharing everything, you know, on social media. And I just, there's just for certain things that were not up for grabs in terms of sharing publicly, you know, my marriage, for one, you know, my relationships. You know, my husband and I have been approached many times about, you know, doing a show or a something, you know, for as, as two musicians in the industry. And, we just, that was not worth it for us to potentially drive a wedge into this beautiful foundation that we built in our marriage of just of trust and privacy. I'm just not willing to exploit that for clicks or views or attention. I don't want attention for anything but my music. I'm not trying to just, you know, stir up drama and for clicks to get people to pay attention. in my music. And maybe, you know, like I said, that's, that's what it seems like these days, that's what works. We're more in the entertainment industry than we are in the music business. And if you are not entertaining outside of the music that you create, then you're not making

headlines and you're kind of falling by the wayside. And I just, I guess I'm just not willing to do that. I'm not, especially when it comes to my marriage. No, good for you. Like, kudos to you. That's, that's refreshing to hear. Yeah. I mean, it's probably not the most business sound decision. But, you know, at the end of the day, I have made a career off of my music and my music alone for over 15 years doing things that way.

And has it been hard at times? Absolutely. Has it been challenging? You know, have I been scraping by at times for sure. but I can feel proud about the way that I got there. I don't have a lot of regrets. And there's not a lot of things out there about me on the internet that I wish would go away.

And I like it that way. And yeah, there are times where it feels it's tempting to want to kind of play that game, but it just doesn't feel right in my gut. It just doesn't feel like that's what I'm meant to do. And so I just try and make really great music and trust that the right fans will find me and find my music. And the thing is, when I make a fan, I make a fan for life. I don't have fair weather fans.

I don't have casual fans. And so making those types of fans, it doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen quickly. It happens over years of just touring and putting in the work and putting in the time. And that's how I've always built things. And, you know, I don't know, who knows, one of these days. maybe something will blow up and go viral and I'll get that boost. But if I don't, that's fine.

I've been able to build and sustain a career without it. Well, A, I think you're on the cusp. But B, this doesn't surprise me. You're from the land of Neil Young, for goodness sakes. Well, I grew up on Neil Young big time. That was definitely one of my biggest earliest influences. The first song I ever learned on guitar was Needle in the Day. image done.

Wow. You are looking at a big Neil Young fan. Oh, you know, I have a picture of Neil Young, a painting of Neil Young hanging in the hallway upstairs. That's awesome. Neal's a big deal. Fun fact, I actually, I did a cover of Unknown Legend as part of a Warner project. So if you love Neil Young, check it out.

I love that song. Well, no one told Neil Young, you know, what music to make. Neil made the music he wanted to make. And that sounds like what you're doing. Yeah. Okay. No, love it. Okay.

So I don't have forever with you. Although I already realize why, like, when you get a new fan, you get them for life. It's because you're a breath of fresh air. Like, I'm not a country music fan. Like, listeners, no. I might have made the odd joke about country music. That's all right. I'm ashamed to tell you this.

But I like what I'm hearing from not just from your music, but from you, like this is, this is, this is so refreshing. So could I take you back like for a moment to a place I only know because it has, it had past tense, it had a zoo. The zoo, yeah. So shout out to the Bowmanville Zoo, but you're from Bowmanville. I am, yeah. So were you always into country music when you were growing up in Bowmanville, Ontario?

I mean, I think what I grew up on was a little more eclectic than that. I mean, country music was around, you know, it was a fairly rural area growing up. So I had a lot of friends that listened to country. I listened to a lot of what I would call like country adjacent things, you know, a little more fokey, Americana. Can I guess? Can I guess? Please, yeah. I'm going to guess the band formerly known as Dixie Chicks. I never listened to the Dixie Chicks that much.

As far as like actual, like more mainstream country, like the only country I listened to really growing up was some of the older stuff like Waylon and Hank and then like more, a little more like Neil Young, John Prine, like bluegrass, like things that were, you know, or even like Southern Rock, like the Allman Brothers and the Eagles and Eagles and. you know, and where there are sort of like elements of country woven in and out of it. And I really only got into like more modern country, honestly in like my early 20s. I was playing in a bluegrass band at the time. And we, Boots and Hearts was in its first year. It's back when it was at Mossport. and we were performing in the emerging artist showcase as the Stones Faroes, which is my bluegrass band.

And so that was like my first experience just being at like a country festival and like seeing a lot of newer country acts and being around the fans. And I really just, I love the fans. I love the atmosphere. And I started getting into more country then. And when my bluegrass band, when we parted ways, you know, it was, I mean, it was amicable. we just all kind of had different plans, and I had to start writing songs by myself.

Like, I'd always been part of a band. I had never been a solo artist before. And so when I sat down and started trying to just write songs on my own, like they were country songs. I wasn't even necessarily trying to do that, but I think, you know, the aspects of country music that I liked, the storytelling of it, I, of course, loved the instrumentation.

I mean, I love a steel guitar, you know, And there was also, you know, I always say that bluegrass was like my gateway drug to country music, you know. Okay. So now I'm going to, I was wrong, very wrong about the Dixie Chicks, okay? I like the Dixie Chicks, but that was not a band that I grew up on or listened to until like much later. Okay. So what about the soundtrack to, Oh, Brother, where earth thou? Massive, massive impact on me for sure.

Yes. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Dan Timminsky, I mean, Allison Krauss, Union Station, one of my favorite bands still to this day. I've actually had the opportunity to golf with Dan Timmonski, which was crazy to a younger me. Yeah. Like that's an album, that soundtrack, which would take a, it would convert a lot of people to bluegrass.

I feel like it's a gateway drug for a lot of people. Absolutely. Yeah. No, that was. that soundtrack and movie had a huge impact on me for sure. And actually, I would say the other one that was big for me was the Steel Drivers, which is how I figured out who Chris Stapleton was. And I remember back when he was their lead singer,

and I remember thinking at the time, like, we listened to so much steel drivers, like just on repeat. And I remember thinking, like, how is this guy not the most, like, famous singer in the world? Like, his voice is incredible. And, you know, lo and behold. And that's the thing is like I look at careers like Chris Stapleton. You know, he played in multiple bands, multiple genres.

And, you know, it wasn't until all of a sudden he's on an award show with Justin Timberlake and he starts doing, you know, more solo country stuff, which really, it hasn't been that long when he really like skyrocketed the way he has. So, you know, I just, I'm a strong believer that your time comes when your time comes. And for me, when I would pray for success, I would always pray. pray, like, I wanted, I didn't want just success. I wanted good success, like, on my terms. I wanted success with music that I loved, that felt authentic, that felt impactful. And to me, Golden Child is that project. Yeah, well, okay, so we're going to get back to Golden Child, I promise. But you mentioned

it was an amicable split for the Stone Sparrow. So, of course, I needed to do my thorough research, Megan, okay? I'm very thorough. And I listened to Stone Sparrow's, and I liked what I, heard magically everybody parts ways amicably back in 2013 or is there any more to that story? Yeah, I mean, I mean, the other lead to tell us, Jesus, 12 and 10, free to save us, we see. We'll help take the love, not trip back, picture show, the show. I mean, the other lead singer, Sam, we were dating when we started the band. We used to sing as a duo. And then we had broken up and still, but we still played as a band for almost a year after we had split.

So, you know, we were friends. It was kind of a, it was a thing where we had just sort of naturally transitioned into being more friends and bandmates than a couple. And I mean, I'm not saying that wasn't, that wasn't painful. There wasn't some Fleetwood Mac-esque, you know, songwriting at each other. You know, it was challenging at times. But I, we both had a lot of respect and care for each other as musicians and as people and still do. I mean, Sam is an incredible musician and I attribute a lot of, you know, I mean, he taught me a lot about just guitar and songwriting. And so I have zero regrets.

I mean, that was a huge part of molding me as a songwriter and as a musician. But it really was, it really was amicable. You know, part of it was two of the other guys in the band had actually started a brewery in town. And so they were really focused on that. And, you know, the other guys, they had other jobs and other interests that they were pursuing. And for me, it was really just music. And I really was starting to naturally write songs that were more country than bluegrass and kind of starting to find my own voice as a solo artist. So it kind of, we all just, it kind of just made sense, you know.

Okay. Okay, but there is a little more of the story there as we dig into it here. But the brewery guys, did they have beards? One of them did, yeah. Okay. I do a lot of work with a local brewery. I just imagine all the brewery guys when it comes to craft breweries.

They're all bearded the guys. Yeah, it does seem like kind of a prerequisite. All right, just checking. I cover the important stuff on Toronto Mike Tier, but also because before we get away too far from the Boots and Hearts music festival, because Boots and Hearts is named after a very country-esque, tragically hip song from up to here,

which is, by the way, my favorite tragically hip album. Were you a hip fan? Um, you might hate me for this. I, I have the utmost respect and love for the hip. There's a few songs that I love for sure, but I never was like a huge tragically hip fan. If any, I was more of a blue rodeo girl. Oh, I love Blue Rodeo too. Yeah, I love Blue Rodeo too.

Blue Rodeo is one of my favorite bands. Okay. At my wedding, I, uh, for the first dance of my mom that, you know, that dance for you, dance with your mom, uh, was to Blue Rodeo's Try. I mean, does it get, like, that's one of the, I think that's one of the greatest songs ever written and sung. And I can tell you, I break just randomly, I'll break into, I know I said I wasn't a musician. And if you heard me sing, you'd realize why I'm not a musician. But like, I do do this thing where I just burst into a song.

So out of nowhere, because my daughter, my 10-year-old mimics it. But I'll just go, don't tell me I'm wrong, like just out of nowhere. Also, just because I'm annoying, and I'll tell you that the woman who was in the video for Try, her name is Michelle McAdory, she was in a great band called Crash Vegas. And at the time, she was dating Greg Keeler, which is how that all works out.

And Keeler was in Crash Vegas for a while too. But she was just here. So I always say, as talented as she is, she's always the gal from the Try video to me. So, okay. So lots of love for the, for Blue Rodeo and no love for the hip,

but I'm not going to end the Zoom because... I don't say no love. I just, I think that maybe my love for the hip is slightly below what most Canadians are comfortable with. Well, you are born, like you're,

you're in diapers when up to here is released. So it's not exactly, you know, usually it's, because, you know, if you're a teenager when the hip hits, it sort of sinks in differently,

I'd say. Yeah, I mean, my parents definitely listen So I mean, I know the music. It was definitely a part of my childhood. It just wasn't, of all the music my parents listened to, that wasn't one that really stuck with me. Do you think there's a little bit of, I won't call gatekeeping, but do you think there's a little bit of that?

Like, oh, if you don't love the hip and love hockey, you're not a true Canadian. Do you think we do a little too much of that? Yeah, definitely. No, now that I said, because I'll say that, so my wife is, she's, okay, she's not white, okay? She's a woman of color. And when the hip were having that final show in Kingston, I was actually, we were on a road trip, and I was in Inganish Nova Scotia, like Cape Breton.

And I was watching it live, of course. And I made some proclamation. I made a proclamation that everyone in the country was watching this hip concert, and it was the biggest thing in this country. And then she showed me her Facebook feed, and her Facebook feed was primarily, like, people of Filipino descent. and they were radically indifferent to this event. And then I did further digging into this and I found out,

oh, Quebec didn't care either. So this event, I think, has the entire country united. No, like it's only English Canada primarily again. English Canada white people. Like that's not Canada. Yeah, that's true. So we need to check ourselves. I don't like Tim Hortons either.

So if that makes me a bad Canadian, I mean, I guess, you know, No, that means you have good taste in coffee. Yeah. Okay, I know, again, you're easy to talk to and I'm going to cook with gas here. But I'm going to ask you about some Canadian artists you work with in the past, okay? Sure. One I want to ask you about, speaking of mega Canadian acts that did very well in the United States of America, tell me about your professional experience with Chad Kroger from Nickelback.

Yeah. I mean, honestly, I can't say enough good things about Chad. I think Chad is awesome. I mean, he took a chance on, like, a new artist. There was no real, like, benefit or reason why he should care. You know, there was a connection with my old management team, and he had heard some of my music, and I guess was intrigued enough to write with me.

and we wrote my first ever single to radio together. And, you know, after that, he had said, you know, stay in touch, send me stuff that you're working on. And there was this one song I'd written that ended up being a duet with Joe Nichols called Still Loving You. And when I sent him the work tape, he was just like, oh, my gosh, like this is a hit. I'm obsessed with this.

I love this. Like, let me produce some stuff on your record. And my house was like, let you. I mean, yeah, dude, you could do whatever. You could do that. I don't know if I can afford you, but, like, yeah, that would be awesome. And so, yeah, you know, I ended up, he produced, like, half of my first record. And, you know, it became abundantly clear to me why he has been so successful.

I mean, outside of raw talent, he is an incredibly talented, you know, just songwriter, a musician. but the attention to detail and the intention he approaches going into the studio. I mean, when we were picking songs and going into the studio, he sat down with me. He made me go through each song with a fine tooth comb and was like, do you think you can beat this lyric? Do you think this melody is as good as it can be? And what do you mean by this?

And I'd be like, well, you know, it means blah, blah, blah. And he said, well, when somebody turns on their radio, you don't have the luxury of sitting next to them in the shotgun seat explaining, you know, what's happening in the song or whatever. And so he really, he really taught me a lot just about how to, what, you know, what separates a great song from a hit song. And yeah, I mean, he just was, he's very generous with his time and his talents and very supportive. I mean, since working together, he's you know if I come play a festival or something and he's in the area he'll come watch me play so yeah I love Chad he I don't know why people love to give him so much shit but he's awesome

well you know we like to eat are young in this country yeah I mean I guess I guess if people are hating on you you're doing something right yeah it means he yeah I hate to say it but um they got big and they're there are they're you know arena rock which it has a corporate taste to it I suppose and it's an easy target. It's an easy target, you know. But we do tend to eat our young in this country. But I was almost like I was almost having one of those moments. I almost,

this is how you remind me of what. That song was everywhere. Yeah. Like, I mean, there's so many hits. It's crazy. But lots of hits for Nickelback. But that particular song, which went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States,

States of America. That particular song was seemingly absolutely everywhere. It was like, oh my God. Like it's there it is like our national anthem for a while there. Yeah, huge shit. And lest we forget not to bury the lead, Megan, but you were nominated for songwriter of the year with Chad at the 2016 Canadian Country Music Association Awards. for it's funny because we talked about you know these songs and everything and the title of this song what song got you nominated

for songwriter of the year in 2016 that would be bow chika-wow-wow-wow and yeah you did some great work with Chad Kroger from Nickelback who I never make fun of on this show because they had an album

before they broke so before Silver Side Up is that the one that had yeah before how you remind me. They had an album called the state, I think it's called, but they had three radio hits I would hear on CF and Y, our local alternative rock station here in Toronto. And old enough, but these three

songs I sincerely liked. Like, I enjoyed these three songs. So after they broke and everyone said it was really cool to hate nickelback, I was always saying, I'll I gotta defend these guys because if you listen to the state, That was some good alt rock. No, they were. I mean, I remember seeing them play at like cool house, you know, in a club.

Like, rest in peace, it's gone. Yeah. The government. Yeah. Yeah. And it was, you know, and they were, it was awesome. It was great, you know. And their rise was meteoric because I saw them on the small stage at Edgefest one year in Molson Park and Barry.

Another shout out to Ridley funeral home. That venue is no longer with us. But I saw them small stage. And the very next year, I saw them headline edge fest. That's a meteoric rise. Okay. All right, there's another Canadian artist I want to ask you about. I could do this all day, but again, you didn't carve out the four hours I requested.

Okay. Did you support fellow FOTM, that means friend of Toronto, Mike? Did you support the legend Tom Cochran on his 25th anniversary tour for Mad Mad, Mad World? I did. Yeah, that was one of my first big tours after signing with Morner. Was Tom nice to you? Yes, he was nice to me. I'm just checking in on these people. Okay, did you get to golf with Tom Cochran? I did not get to golf with him. I did get to sing Life is a Highway, though. So that was pretty cool.

That's, okay, so we just talked about how you remind me. That's the other song that was seemingly everywhere. Life is a Highway. What a great song. I mean, it's a classic. Although Americans think it's a cover of some Rascal Flat song. We have to educate them. Yeah, I know, it's true. I realized that when I moved down here. Okay, so we talked about Golden Child,

and, you know, it's charted in the USA's. So I guess I'm wondering, what's it like when you hear your song on terrestrial radio down in the U.S. of A? and what does this mean for, you know, the future, Megan Patrick? If I could send a letter back in time to younger me and her wilder days, a daydreamer with her head in the sky and always learning the hard way. I bet she thinks she knows better than me. Nothing stubborn is her and her heart.

But I tell her while you're reaching for the stars. Careful what you wish for, honey, never know my come true. I'm small and your diamonds only in child. Get back and everything's going to be okay. I mean, it's an incredible feeling. I mean, hearing your song on the Rick Video Anywhere is, I don't think that feeling will ever get old for me. It's, I mean, that's part of the, that's part of the dream. And, you know, especially when you're just, you know, driving somewhere, whatever, going about your life.

And all of a sudden, you're like, oh, my gosh, this is me. This is me on the radio. And it's just so, you know, it's so sobering to realize, like, people are just going through their everyday life. And then all of a sudden, my voice is coming through their radio or, like, you know, I'm in tractor supply or at a gas station or something. And all of a sudden, there's my song. and, you know, having friends and family and stuff, send me videos. Oh, I heard your song, you know, on the radio today, or I heard your song here. I heard your song in a casino, you know, whatever.

It's always, it's always encouraging. And, you know, it's really easy in this industry to feel like everything you're doing is not enough. And so those little moments are, you know, they fill your cup up a little bit. And, you know, I think the reality is for me, you know, having that success at radio in the U.S., I just see that as a way to continue to grow my presence in Canada. Because, you know, if I'm being honest, the truth is that, you know, Canadian radio and the Canadian music industry still very much throws more attention and favors international artists over their own. And, you know, that's not an opinion. I mean, go look at the charts right now and tell me.

who's in the top 10 at radio. And I guarantee you there's very few Canadians at any given time. And, you know, it's hard for a Canadian artist to get a true number one at Canadian radio over, you know, major international country artists. And, you know, for a lot of Canadian artists who have had success in Canada, a lot of that came after going to the U.S. and having success and attention there first. And now I didn't do it that way in my career.

I built in Canada first and then came to the U.S. and then ever since have just been trying to continue to maintain and grow within Canada. But I can tell you that even I was not rewarded for staying in Canada and being a Canadian grown built-in artist. In fact, I was overlooked and pushed aside for other Canadian artists who had success in America. And so, you know, I think it, because it does, it does upset me sometimes when people view me, you know, moving to the U.S. or pursuing a career in the U.S. as some sort of snub of Canada or, you know, trying to relinquish my Canadian roots. This is just, it's a business choice. And it's one that many, many artists have made because that's what we're faced with. And, you know, if Canada wants to stop losing their artists to the U.S., then they need to start treating their artists like they're as valuable as their international counterparts. That is some fantastic context because I think off the top, I gave you a little of the business, like, for going down.

Oh, yeah, I'm used to the business. And then the way you just put it, it's like, no, you made this business decision because we have this mess. up and I know why we have a bit of it. We share a border with the largest military, you know. There's a reason we have this infuriary. That's what's going on since this term of the president. You know why. I mean, I heard the 51st state rhetoric and I went on CNN to talk about it.

Okay? So that actually happened. But we do feel like if you are beloved by another country, like if you have success in the states and then we sort of reward you for that. Oh, you are good enough for us because you hit there. So the way you did it. And I mean, we talked about the integrity of earlier. We talked about Neil Young.

Okay, we both talked about our love for, what integrity he has. I just saw him at the freshwater stage, which is what we call it when Neil plays it, but the amphitheater. But Neil lives in the United States of America. You know, Joni Mitchell lives in the United States of America. Like you simply went to Nashville, which is. The world capital. Chenya, Terry Clark, Justin Bieber.

You know, it's most every Canadian artist that has reached international success or success on a large scale has had to do it in a roundabout way outside of Canada. And, you know, and I do think that this particular issue, I think it's a bigger issue within country music over other genres. And I think part of that is just this idea that country music only lives in like the South, which is just simply not true. There's great country music coming from not only all other parts of the U.S., but also from Canada. There's incredible country music coming out of Canada. But even coming down to Nashville, there is, feels like a little bit of a stigma that you have to work past. to be seen as like a part of the community and to be taken as seriously.

And it's a really frustrating thing when it's like you're not being taken as seriously in your own country, in your own industry where I went and did radio tours and I toured there and I put the time in and I made the relationships just to have my single be pushed down in favor of an American single. and the reality is for an American artist to chart in Canada or even get a number one in Canada, that's not moving the needle for them. That is not, you know, that might be like, oh, hey, we went number one in Canada. Cool, like lunch is on me. You know, whereas, you know, a number one for a Canadian artist in Canada is career changing. It's, it moves the needle. It matters. But yet it's, that's not how it works. and you know and I don't I don't want to say that to you know to sound bitter or you know

throw shade or anything it's just a fact it's just the truth and and I feel that I have to share that because I want people to understand the true motives and reasoning behind the choices I've made in my career no I get it like I like to call back some earlier snark I was mildly throwing your way hey listen it's it's okay I get it all the time And it doesn't bother me. I know why I made the choices I made. I love my Canadians. And I'm very proud of who I am and where I've come from all aspects of it.

And, you know, I will never apologize for doing what was best for me and in my career. Just like many people do. Outside of music as well, you want to be an actor, you go to L.A. You know, you want to be a country singer. You go to Nashville. Right. Do you ever bump into Dallas Green? I've never bumped into Dallas Green, no.

Or do you mean Dallas Smith? No, I mean Dallas Green. He's a guy from, so he can only because I know he moved. He's from, yeah, city in color, right? I should have called it. I was going to call him in color. I am a former emo kid, okay? I am well acquainted with who Dallas Green is.

Yeah, shout out to Alexis on fire, St. Catharines. Man, I bet you they're tired. to hearing their music on Canadian radio. You hear all rock radio playing a lot of Alexis on fire here. Okay. So, okay, so you were amazing. I did, I was going to remark on you mentioned golden child and hearing it on the radio. And it's kind of neat to have a slow burn like that, right?

Because I was checking out like, okay, when does it hit the chart? And it was like December 2024 or something. But it's still charting a year later. It had this incredible, it's got an incredible lifespan, like a slow burn. Yeah, American radio is quite different from Canadian radio. I mean, now, especially for like a new artist and add on top of the fact that I'm also a female artist and also on an indie label, it is not at all unheard of for a single to take over a year to reach its peak on the charts, wherever that may be. whereas, you know, in Canada, I mean, when I had my first number one with walls come down,

you know, we had gone to radio in, I think it was like the first week of September, and it went to number one before Christmas. But he never said that she'd forgive, but it turns out that she came. She fell into the arms of another, but waiting on the line just seemed to crush her now. Daddy paces and Mama cries. That's a significant That she's always trying to fight I swear she's got control

And so they trust that she'll be fine I think it's bliss to just ain't That's a significantly shorter lifespan on radio And I mean, there's pros and cons to both I mean, in the U.S. You make a lot more money because of just one, they're the sheer number of reporting stations

and the number of spins you're getting and then what you're getting back in royalties, especially if you are a short, songwriter, which I am. So, you know, you definitely, you can make life-changing money with a hit at radio in the U.S. You can make the living with hits at radio in Canada, but not life-changing money from one song, just from radio. I mean, if it blows up on a grander global scale outside of radio, then sure, you can make life-changing money. But for a normal, you know, lifespan of even a top 10 or number one record in Canada, you're making good money, but, you're making

good money but not life-changing money. No, without a doubt. And it explains why so many of our greats feel a need to move to the states. Yeah. Yeah, and again, too, I think part of it, if you are an artist that loves to tour,

which I am, I think that's a big part of it too, just because, like I said, I mean, Canada is big, but there's only so many markets. There's only so many places to play. And it's hard. It's hard touring, you know. everything is really spread apart. It's treacherous in the winter.

You know, it's meanwhile, you know, you go down to like Texas. I mean, especially in the country. I mean, you could tour Texas alone for an entire year and not run out of places to play. Oh, my God. There's a great, it's a book, but it's also a great movie called Hardcore Logo. I don't know if you caught Hardcore logo, but yeah. Touring in this country is a nightmare. Like when I see, many a band comes on this show and talks about how they,

They almost went broke trying to tour this damn country. But another thing I can imagine is an issue of country music, musicians like yourself, is that the largest market in this damn country is the one I'm speaking to you from right now. And I guess the only countries, we now have a new country station, but I mean, almost nobody listens to it. Like, country music, I mean, Garth Brooks had a moment in the with Shania Twain, et cetera, in the Kiss 92.5 era, which is way in the rearview mirror. But, you know, the biggest market in this country doesn't seem to embrace country music.

No, it's true. And I do think that's changed a little more over the last few years because I think country has become more popular as a whole, as a, you know, as opposed to earlier, you know, say maybe like 30 years ago. And it has brought in, you know, a younger audience. but, you know, the markets that do love country music, I mean, without getting too off topic here, I mean, even just from an economical perspective, like, people are struggling right now. People are struggling to pay their bills and the cost of living. And we're talking about like blue collar, middle class, like lower class communities, hardworking communities who don't have a ton of money for just fun.

people are struggling to get by right now and so when you've got massive you know american tours like a morgan wall and a luke holmes tour coming through and tickets are like you know a thousand dollars of pop and everybody is going to you know they save up that's their that's their that's their that's their money like that's their fun thing that they get to do that doesn't leave a lot of room for anybody else to come through there and expect to sell tickets um you know it's it's tough so and that's why you know i try and like when I when we're doing the my headlining tour you know we don't charge for meet and greet and we try and keep the tickets really low and really reasonable and if you've got extra buy t-shirt you know buy some merch and it puts gas in the van but you know I really to me right

now I'm in a place of like if I can if I can just break even without breaking the bank of my fans and get get my music out there and make a fan for life that is still a good business plan that keeps in mind what my fans are faced with right now. So well spoken, so reasonable, so intelligent. Listen, you're going to be a great F-O-TM, Megan. So let me tell the listenership that Megan Patrickmusic.com, and let me just tell them, because they're probably walking their dog right now listening, but Megan is M-E-G-H-A-N because I know from experience.

There's multiple spellings of the name Megan. Yes, people forget the H. Don't forget the H. Never forget the H. I do know you're coming to places near me, but not actually Toronto. But I guess that's because of what we talked about. But you're in Hamilton in June at Bridgeworks. But before that, you'll be in the dirty schwa. Oshawa, all the way out to Peterborough, you know, close to home.

June 18th, you're in the patch. Peterborough at the venue, and you'll be in Oscewa. and you'll be in Hamilton. I urge people to go to Megan Patrickmusic.com. Just before we say goodbye, I'll just let you know there is a tremendously talented CBC reporter that I follow very closely whose name is Megan Fitzpatrick.

And I used to see your name in the wild and I'd always have this double take. That can't be Megan Fitzpatrick. You're Megan Patrick. So I just want the listeners make sure they're not confused because Megan Fitzpatrick is a known entity on Toronto Mike. But you are Megan Patrick.

And you were amazing. I hope this was okay for you. Thank you. No, it was great. Thank you for your time. And thanks for chatting with me. And maybe give Road Apples another spin. And maybe you'll become a hit head.

Okay. I will give it a spin. And that brings us to the end of our 1,860 second show. Go to. Toronto Mike.com for all your Toronto mic needs. At the top of Toronto Mike.com right now, you'll see a link for Elmo Gig. I'm headlining at the Elma combo on May 21st, and I would absolutely love to see you there. Tickets now available.

Come see me and FOTM Hall of Famer Rob Pruse. And who the heck knows who else will show up. Be there. Much love to all who made this possible. That is Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Nikaiini's, Recycle My Electronics.C.A., and Redley Funeral Home. See you all tomorrow.

It's a double header. We have Stu Stone early in the afternoon, and in the evening we have Cam Gordon. See you all then.