North Carolina-based quintet High Windy will be featured on Sirius-XM’s Bluegrass Junction tomorrow morning.

Members of High Windy – Ty Gilpin (mandolin), Patrick McDougal (banjo), Tim Gardner (fiddle), Mark V. Davis (bass) and Shane Lail (guitar) -  join Bluegrass Junction host Kyle Cantrell to talk about the band’s recently released and much acclaimed CD, A Greater Storm, during tomorrow’s program, January 14 at 11:00 a.m. (EST).

Kyle will spin each track from the CD and get input from the band on the songs, arrangements and stories contained therein.

Highlights on the CD include several original songs by the excellent songwriter Patrick McDougal, including Richest Man To God, Dancin’ Round The Daisies and Stuck Out In The Rain; three songs penned by Shane Lail including Love Of A Lifetime, and one from Ty Gilpin, Iron Horse.

Bluegrass Junction can be found at XM 14 and Sirius 65.

Don’t worry if you are not able to listen at that time… the show will be repeated on Saturday, January 17 at 11:00 a.m. and Tuesday, January 20 at 9:00 p.m.

This post is the first in what will be an occasional feature – Songwriter Profiles. If you have a suggestion for a bluegrass songwriter we might want to consider, please contact us. 

Patrick McDougal was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina and he grew up watching his father, Robert McDougal, perform at the Grand Ole Opry in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was influenced by the first generation of bluegrass musicians, Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs and the like.

He lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where he owns and operates Music Plus, a music store and instruction studio, as well as teaching a music course at Blue Ridge Community College.

Currently McDougal is a member of  High Windy. In the past Patrick has performed with such notable musical talents as Herschel Sizemore, Jimmy Haley, The Blue Dogs and country star David Ball. He is 43 years old and has been with High Windy for two years.

McDougal is best known for writing the title song to Dan Tyminski’s Grammy-nominated CD, Wheels. The song was September’s No. 1 on Bluegrass Music Profiles‘ Top 30 Hot Singles chart in and is noted in the December edition of Bluegrass Unlimited at No. 2 in the National Bluegrass Survey, having been five months on the charts. His work has also been performed and recorded by Del McCoury, Alan Bibey and Blue Ridge, The Lonesome River Band, Jeanette Williams Band, Dixie Creek Revival and The Blue Dogs.

Recently, I chatted with McDougal about his background and his song writing …….

Tell me about your formative years in music.

“I always wanted to play banjo, since I was about 6 months old. They told me that I would cry unless I could go to sleep holding on to the banjo players pants leg when my dad’s band would practice. My dad played in a very successful band in 1960s and 1970s; even played the Opry some. I got my first banjo at age 12 and practiced some times all day.”

Who was the first bluegrass songwriter that you took noticed and why?

“Bill Monroe was. I noticed most of his songs were about every day things or events that really happened. I sorta got the bug when I heard two friends of mine sing their songs and thought that was a true way of expressing your thoughts. Tim O’Brien was one of my favouritess. But Tim Stafford makes me cry…” (more…)