By Anne Ward Ernst
Patrick Davis is a storyteller at heart, but until recently his stories have been lyrics sung to melodies. Now he adds interviewer, historian and treasure finder to his repertoire in his newly released public access television series, Southern Songwriters with Patrick Davis.
A private VIP preview of the limited series was held on Oct. 14 at Costeaux French Bakery, hosted by owner Will Seppi and Mike Brennan, chair of the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce, Lando Wines and others.
Southern Songwriters features a group of musicians who have performed locally at the Songwriters in Paradise (SIP) music festival, last held in Healdsburg in July. Those who haven’t made it to the festival can get a taste of what they are missing by watching Davis’ TV series.
Just like at SIP, singer-songwriters take turns telling the stories behind the songs they are about to perform. But in Southern Songwriters, Davis takes viewers to small towns in his native South Carolina and introduces us to the nuances of the place.
Davis himself is an accomplished singer and songwriter who has penned songs with the likes of Guy Clark, Darius Rucker and Jewel, and had his songs performed by such artists as Jimmy Buffet and Lady A.
For the SIP music festivals, he curates a lineup of fellow musicians. Some are sought-after songwriters in the music industry whose names might be unfamiliar. Gabe Dixon, for example, appears in the “Sumter” episode of Southern Songwriters and has performed at several SIPs, tours with Tedeschi Trucks Band and has played with Paul McCartney, Loggins and Messina, and released his own albums.
Also in the “Sumter” episode is Charles Kelley of Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, and Maggie Rose, a soul and country music artist.
Davis modeled his TV storytelling style after celebrity chef Anthony Bordain, whose popularity soared with his food and travel shows such as Parts Unknown, No Reservations, and A Cook’s Tour. And, like Bourdain, he finds nooks and crannies to explore and interesting people to converse with.
In tiny Sumter, a town of under 43,000, we meet a man some may have known from his Major League Baseball playing days—Bobby Richardson. Richardson was born in Sumter and played for the New York Yankees from 1955 to 1966. He won the World Series in 1962 with the team, but two years earlier he was voted the World Series Most Valuable Player despite the Yankees losing that year, making him the only player in history to earn that title while playing on the losing team.
But Davis gives us a different glimpse of Richardson and the former second baseman’s personality and life experiences during this first of four planned episodes of Southern Songwriters.
In addition to Sumter, Davis performs in and visits three other South Carolina cities: Camden, Greenwood and Columbia. Southern Songwriters with Patrick Davis airs on KQED starting Oct. 20, and can be streamed on the PBS app.
