Pat Robitaille (born 1986) is a Canadian

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk music, folk and rock music, rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the American fo ...

musician.

Early life

Robitaille was born and raised in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

, Canada. He grew up listening to the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

soul and gospel music from bordering

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

.Schneider, Jason (January 8, 2009). "Singer has seen the light: Pat Robitaille has come a long way in a short time", ''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee Ge ...

'', p. F4. He was given his first guitar when he was 11 years old.(August 24, 2011). "Entertainment: Weekend Line-up: Pat Robitaille Band", ''

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

'', p. E12. Despite being close to graduation, he left high school at age 16 to focus on his music career.(May 2, 2008).
Focus on indie: Pat Robitaille
", SooToday.com. Retrieved September 6, 2014.

Career

Robitaille has independently released four full-length albums and several EPs. One of his music videos reached the #1 spot on MuchMoreMusic's Daily Top 10 countdown. He has played hundreds of shows, performed at the Mariposa Folk Festival and the

Hillside Festival The Hillside Festival is an annual three-day, five-stage (including one kids' stage) summer festival occurring in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, hosting musicians, spoken word artists, workshops and more. The Hillside Festival occurs in late July on Gue ...

. His first record sold about 10,000 copies. He released his second album, ''Summer of Love'', in 2007. The ''

s reviewer called him "raw talent in the making", and wrote, "at the root of each song is a guy and his guitar, and Robitaille has the smoky voice and sense of melody to hold your attention." In September 2008, he released ''Two Forty Eight'' (the title comes from his house address) to a strong consensus of positive reviews. He recorded the album at home, using

GarageBand GarageBand is a line of digital audio workstations developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices that allows users to create music or podcasts. GarageBand is developed by Apple for macOS, and was once part of the iLife software ...

. His album ''Change'' was released in September 2010. ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' magazine described it as "a well conceived, albeit poorly executed, collection of songs, featuring a man with a golden voice." Robitaille took a break from his solo career in 2012, returning to his home town of

. Here he formed the band The Walkervilles (named after a neighbourhood of Windsor) with members of the folk band Michou. The Walkervilles include Robitaille on vocals and guitar, Mike Hargreaves on bass, and Stefan Cvetkovic on drums.(August 24, 2013). "TD Music Stage Entertainers", ''

'', p. H6.

Discography

Albums

*''Acoustic EP'' (March 21, 2006) *''Summer of Love'' (June 5, 2007) *''Two Forty Eight'' (September 2008) *''Change'' (September 2010)

References

External links

*
Pat Robitaille
on Myspace
The Walkervilles official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robitaille, Pat Musicians from Windsor, Ontario 1986 births Living people Canadian folk rock musicians Canadian male singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian male singers