We love makin’ music together.
When there’s just two people, there’s not much room for making mistakes. We both have to hold our own, ‘cause nobody’s gonna be there to cover it up! We’re probably best known for our harmonies together. There ain’t nothing better than harmony singin’, and we’ve been able to do that since day one when we met at a music joint called Foots in Brooksville, KY. We love singing for live audiences and being able to touch people directly with our gift. It means so much to us when someone tells us that they’ve been blessed by our music. We also love workin’ in the studio creating new music. There’s something very special about putting words and melodies together that come straight from our lives and hearts. We thank everyone who’s always been there along the way and hope to see new faces down the road.
Hey ya’ll,
Pat here. I grew up in Bracken County, KY, near a small river town called Augusta, where my wife, Brandi and I still reside.
I developed a love for music, especially classic country and bluegrass, at a young age. It runs very deep in my blood. My mother and her family were musically inclined, and I remember as a child my sister had an old flat top guitar that someone had given to her. I started plucking around on it with just two strings on it and I was limited to say the least. One Christmas, when I was around 8 or 9-years-old, Dad bought two small guitars for my brother and I—$13 for each of them. Boy, it was on after that.
We played those guitars morning, noon, and night. We were lucky enough to have a family friend who was a very good guitar player. He would show us how to make chords. We were both like sponges and couldn’t wait ‘til the next time to learn more.
So, fast forward several years, my brother and I played out in public quite a bit and were in a few different bands. We also won a local talent contest during which Mr. Nick Clooney was the MC. Then, a few more years down the road, my brother Mike started playing fiddle for the “Father of Bluegrass,” Bill Monroe. While playing with a band called Harvest, we had the opportunity to open up for Bill where I got up on stage with Bill and Mike and played a fiddle tune called “Faded Love.” Later on, with a band called the Fugitives, we opened up for the great George Jones, and after that show George signed the back of my fiddle. At that same venue, we opened for my other hero Merle Haggard and the fabulous Marty Stuart. That was such a great time.
My brother moved to Nashville after he got the job with Bill Monroe. He has been there ever since playing with people like Doug Stone, Jerry Reed, Dean Dillon, Melvin Goins, Larry Sparks, and Mel McDaniels—just to name a few. Mike has been on the Grand Ole Opry several times.
My beautiful wife Brandi and I, are now playing, writing, and recording as much as we can and enjoying every minute of it. We have made many great friends on our musical journey and changed a lot of guitar strings. We’ll keep on doing it for as long as the Good Lord will let us.
Yours Truly,
Pat Feagan
Hey everybody!
I, Brandi, was raised in the hills of Murphysville, KY. I’ve always been around music from the time I was born, and my musical roots go generations back. My great grandfather started the Courtney Band (pictured here in the “Musicians” photo) around 1934 which—besides him—included my papaw, my great uncle, and two close family friends. They played in North Central Kentucky and were often aired on the Cincinnati radio station. They got offered a deal to cut records and tour but decided to stay close to home. The music stayed in the blood and passed to my dad and then passed on to me.
I was just a tiny thing the first time I went to Nashville, TN, but I knew that one day I’d live there and be a country music singer. My dad taught me chords on the guitar at a young age. I later got a small piano and learned how to play by ear, writing my first song before I could even play an instrument. I have recordings on cassette tapes of songs I made up when I was no more than 5 or 6-years-old. As a teenager, I performed at Renfro Valley, a country music venue in Mt. Vernon, KY. I also became a regular at The Grapevine in Lexington, KY with Troy Gentry of the Montgomery Gentry duo. I also had my own band and played extensively around the state.
When I turned 21, I left the Bluegrass State and headed to Music City. I worked as a performer at Opryland and Opryland Hotel, and had shows all over town including The Nashville Palace, The Bluebird Café, Robert’s Western World, The Station Inn and so on. When Opryland closed down, I had the opportunity to go to a different theme park. I called a family friend, hit songwriter Frank Myers, to ask his advice, and he advised me to stay in Nashville. I busted my butt and it paid off.
Through all my hard work in the music business through the years, I have had the opportunity to travel and tour and share the stage with some pretty awesome artists who have also become great friends—Loretta Lynn, Vern Gosdin, JD Crowe, IIIrd Tyme Out, Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson, Mike Ward, Dierks Bentley, Vince Gill, Troy Gentry, Eddie Montgomery—just to name a few. I even had the opportunity to get one of my songs cut by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill several years ago, but I passed because I wasn’t giving up my publishing just as I learned from Loretta and Dolly to never give up publishing rights!
One of the most memorable experiences in my life was being managed by and touring with the American Indian Movement founder, Dennis Banks. Through his friendship, I experienced a whole different world and met amazing musicians, and shared the stage with Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman, Robby Romero, Martha Redbone and other fabulous musicians from Japan. Later on, I got invited by Kevin Costner to be on a movie set with him and “Red Crow” in New Mexico when Kevin first formed his band, Modern West!
Me and my husband Patrick, have been blazing the trail together for many moons now. From a 5 piece bluegrass band, to our current country duo, including our own Opry by the River show which became a hit nation wide (pretty good for our little river town)! We’ve had the most amazing experiences and opportunities, including a performance in one of our favorite places, beautiful Cody, WY. There’s only room for more adventures to come! When we’re not doing live shows, we are writing and recording in the studio on our farm River Hills Farm in Augusta, KY.
Love,
Brandi Courtney-Feagan
