Sean Patrick McGraw, an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

singer, is a former ''

Nashville Star ''Nashville Star'' is an American reality television singing competition program that aired for six seasons, from 2003 to 2008. Its first five seasons aired on USA Network, while the last season aired on NBC. Its five seasons on USA made it the ...

'' semi-finalist who leads a prominent unsigned touring act. Following the 2005 release of his CD ''

Songs for Saturday Night A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

'', McGraw and his band went on tour and continue to be on the road. In 2007, McGraw played over 140 dates, from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

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, garnering good reviews from critics and concert-goers alike. Describing his music as "something like

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957)Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and releas ...

singing Springsteen songs while wearing

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...

's hat", McGraw has earned respect among songwriters as well. His song "Fiona" won top honors at the 2007 Independent Music Awards, first place at the American Songwriting Competition and at the

Mountain Stages New Song Festival A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

, as well as being named finalist in the

International Songwriting Competition The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), founded in 2002, is an annual songwriting contest for both amateur and professional songwriters. There is no physical event to attend as the competition is held online, and anyone in the world can en ...

and the Mid-Atlantic Song Competition. An esteemed Music Row critic/columnist hailed "Fiona" as "The classiest country rocker I've heard all year." This cut and others from ''Songs For Saturday Night'' are featured in the short-length documentary''

Ten Days on Tour Ten, TEN or 10 may refer to: * 10, an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11 * one of the years 10 BC, AD 10, 1910 and 2010 * October, the tenth month of the year Places * Mount Ten, in Vietnam * Tongren Fenghuang Airport (IATA cod ...

'' which aired on CMT in 2006. McGraw is also sponsored by Fender Guitars, Jagermiester,

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unre ...

The Summit Group ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

Harley Davidson Footwear Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, in ...

and

Gowanda Gowanda is a village in western New York, United States. It lies partly in Erie County and partly in Cattaraugus County. The population was 2,512 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from a local Seneca language term meaning "almost surrou ...

. A song he co-wrote, "Dollar Ain't Worth a Dime", with

David Kroll David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, appeared in regular rotation on CMT in 2009.Smith, William (May 25, 2009). "Former resident's song lands on CMT",

McClatchy-Tribune Business News The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states and ...

. Originally printed in ''

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''. During the summer of 2009, he made his national television debut on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and opened several dates for Toby Keith and Trace Adkins on America's Toughest Tour, garnering great reviews as well as expanding his dedicated fan base. Following the tour with

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

and

Trace Adkins Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

, Sean Patrick McGraw headlined his own show at the

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Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

on January 27, 2010. Critics claimed that the show "Bubbled over with the Zietgeisty brand of country-rock that Sean Patrick McGraw has become known for." February 2010 brought many new accomplishments for McGraw. He was published in ''

Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overvie ...

'', a prominent country music magazine, as a selection for their "Who to Watch in 2010" feature. Later that month, Sean joined

Eric Church Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's ''Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billboar ...

and Josh Thompson for the 2010

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Tour. He opened six dates in cities such as

Clifton Park, New York Clifton Park is a suburban town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2020 population was 38,029. The name is derived from an early land patent.Bits and Pieces of Saratoga County History by ...

, Boston, Massachusetts and

. His stay on the tour spanned from February 12 to the 25th.
On April 18, 2010, McGraw sang the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europe ...

at the

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(National Hot Rod Association) Summit Finals race in Las Vegas.
In June 2010, McGraw took part in Nashville's annual

CMA Music Festival The CMA Music Festival is a four-day music festival centered on country music, hosted each June by the Country Music Association (CMA) in Nashville, Tennessee. Beginning in 1972 under the name Fan Fair, the event now draws over 400 artists and ...

and joined several popular country acts like

Cowboy Troy Troy Lee Coleman III (born December 18, 1970), better known by his stage name Cowboy Troy, is an American rapper and singer. He is best known as a representative of the country rap genre. He has released seven studio albums and one EP, including t ...

, The McClymonts, and

Sarah Buxton Sarah Jane Buxton (born July 3, 1980) is an American country music singer, formerly signed to the independent Lyric Street Records. Between 2006 and 2008, she issued three singles from an extended play titled ''Almost My Record'', in addition t ...

among others to perform on the

stage.

is a yearly concert series that features performances and autograph events from both up-and-coming acts and veteran, established country artists. Also in June 2010, two of Sean Patrick McGraw's singles were featured in episodes of the HBO vampire series "

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" - "Drink with Hank" on June 13 and "Anyone but Me" on June 20. On July 26, McGraw delivered another

performance as well as acoustic set on the home plate of US Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox. The crowd numbered around 30,000 for the event, with Sean singing prior to the first pitch of the game, in which the White Sox played the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

. McGraw, a native of

Dunkirk, New York Dunkirk is a city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 census. Dunkirk is bordered on the north by Lake Erie. It shares a border with the vil ...

, often appears at events in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

*
Post-journal.comCountrymusictattletale.comCountrymusictattletale.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGraw, Sean Patrick American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Living people Nashville Star contestants Year of birth missing (living people) Independent Music Awards winners People from Dunkirk, New York Country musicians from Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Singer-songwriters from New York (state)