Pat KAY
PAT KAY
My name is Pat Kay. I'm a singer, songwriter, storyteller, multi-instrumentalist perpetuating Ozark music tradition. My performances are composed of songs spanning over 100 years of history, with a few from last week. Many are my own, and many more are from a bygone era. Much of the latter refrains and melodies that once filled the barns of our ancestors on Saturday and again in churches on Sunday are an endangered species. These tunes were kept alive in our homes for centuries through oral tradition. Before radio arrived, it was all we had, and each generation made their own contribution of new ideas, lyrics, and entire new songs to the collection. Celebrating what it was then isn't enough. I find my life's work in picking up right where we left off and tending my own garden of these songs. I am truly humbled by the notion of being their caretaker long enough to see them passed on to our children's children.
Pat Kay plays clawhammer banjo & guitar with his hands, bass drum & tambourines with his feet, vocals & harmonica with his face, and enjoys sharing exceedingly tall tales in between. Apart from these one-man-band solo shows, he also performs with his two bands, the Kay Brothers and The Spooklights.
The Kay Brothers feature Pat performing the same material but in a trio format alongside his brother Bryan Kay (upright bass) and their mascot, Shakin' Jake (shakers, washboard, leg kicks). The Spooklights present an interesting and highly innovative vehicle for this old time music culture. A collaboration between Kay and fellow Ozark music torchbearer, Ben Miller, this duo weaves old time music DNA with electronic dance music instruments & elements. "Its an incredibly fun science project." Read more on this below.
2025 SHOWS
∞ Pat Kay
∆ The Spooklights
Ω The Kay Brothers
1.10 --- KANSAS CITY, MO ---------- Knuckleheads Saloon ∆
1/18 -- CALIFORNIA, MO -- [SOLD OUT] -- Finke Theatre Ω
1.24 --- PETTIGREW, AR -------------- Buffalo Headwaters ∆
2.01 --- COLUMBIA, MO ----------------------- The Penguin ∞
2.02 -- MISSOURI RIVER ----------------- Coopers Landing ∞
3.05 --- CHARLOTTE, NC ------------------ Visulite Theatre ∆
3.06 --- ATLANTA, GA ----------------------- Terminal West ∆
3.07 --- CHARLESTON, SC -------- Charleston Pour House ∆
3.08 --- DURHAM, NC -------------------------- Cats Cradle ∆
3.17 --- COLUMBIA, MO - Paddy's Day @ Rose Music Hall Ω
3.28 --- ST. LOUIS, MO ---------------------- Atomic Lounge ∞
3.30 -- MISSOURI RIVER ----------------- Coopers Landing ∞
4.05 --- JOPLIN, MO ----------------------------- Blackthorn ∆
4.19 --- ST. LOUIS, MO - Pickin On Spring Flink @ 4 Hands ∆
4.27 -- MISSOURI RIVER ----------------- Coopers Landing ∞
5.02 -- JASPER, AR ---------------- Dawn of Times Festival ∆
5.03 --- FULTON, MO ------- Morels & Microbrews Festival Ω
5.10 --- JADWIN, MO ----------- Rendezvous on the Ridge Ω
5.17 --- DES MOINES, IA --------- Greenbelt Music Festival ∆
5.18 -- MISSOURI RIVER ----------------- Coopers Landing ∞
5.24 --- ST. LOUIS, MO ---------------------- Atomic Lounge ∞
5.25 -- FORISTELL, MO ----------------- Private Barn Party ∞
5.30 --- COLUMBIA, MO --------------------------------- TBA ∞
5.31 --- VERSAILLES, MO ------------ Bee's Knees Brewing ∞
6.01 --- CENTRALIA, MO -------------------- Anchor Festival Ω
6.07 --- ST. LOUIS, MO ---------- Cosmic Kinection Festival ∆
6.12 --- YUBA, WI -------------------- Bonfire Music Festival ∆
6.13 --- EDMONTON, KY ----------------- PlayThink Festival ∆
7.12 --- COLUMBIA, MO ------- Kay Bros Summer Fish Fry Ω
7.19 --- HUTCHISON, KS --------------------------------- TBA ∞
7.25 --- GLEASON, WI --------- Moon Dance Music Festival ∆
7.26 --- PEORIA, IL -------------------- Jammin on the Lawn ∆
8.08 --- MELBOURNE, AR ----------------- Off the Grid Fest ∆
8.09 --- REPUBLIC, MI -- Summer's End Smokeout Festival ∆
8.30 --- HARMONY PARK, MN ------------- Shangri-La Fest ∆
9.20 --- ST. JAMES, MO ------------- Music on the Maramec Ω
10.11 --- EUREKA SPRINGS, AR ---- Hillberry Music Festival Ω
10.26 -- LABADIE, MO ------------- Point Labaddie Brewery ∞
L I N K S
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY
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YOUTUBE
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LISTEN ON SPOTIFY
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THE SPOOKLIGHTS [continued]
On their own, Pat Kay and Ben Miller can each be found performing their own "stompgrass" or "Ozark stomp," respectively, in what they consider conventional utilitarian methods using an arsenal of tools true to a time & place in the past... homemade instruments, banjos, harmonicas, foot drums, etc. The pioneers of old time Americana used only what they had, and they didn't have much. With so little, however, they were able to successfully perpetuate songs for generations. But what happens for these songs, if those restraints are removed? What if they had synthesizers and electronic dance beats in the 1800s? Take, for example, the litmus in a dance remix of the old time standard "Cotton Eyed Joe" (1994) skyrocketing to a #1 hit lighting up dance floors alongside the most massive pop hits of the time, ultimately cementing the song as a household name for a generation. Whether you love it or hate it, you know it. The chorus of that song was penned 200 years ago and an entire living generation can sing it.
Working to provide pieces of American oral music tradition a new lease on life through this kind of drastic contemporary reinterpretation is precisely the collaborative aim. Kay and Miller together hope to reinvigorate more classic Old Time songs on the ever expanding 'endangered list', while reimagining original works of their own with the same shiny new set of tools. Having gained some traction with their debut album release "MK Ultra," The Spooklights have become a national touring act for clubs and festivals across the country. "No matter the audience, there's something magical about seeing large crowds sing and dance to a song their great great grandparents likely did. We love it so much when people can identify and appreciate that. We love it no less when they don't, and in those instances we perhaps find the greatest reward: a new person to help keep a 200 year old song alive."
For show listings, videos, streamable music and more, click HERE.
Pat performing both banjo and synthesizers on "Cluck Ol' Hen" with The Spooklights to a packed house in Chicago, IL.