Local Vocalist Makes Music To Soothe Soul

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Paige Patterson

After her mother passed away in 2012, local vocalist Paige Patterson decided that singing would be her form of therapy.

Patterson, of Huntington, began performing what she called “Pure Joy with Paige Patterson: Musical Therapy for the Soul” in libraries and other small venues around Huntington.

Over the last several years the popularity of Patterson’s live shows has grown, and tomorrow night she will perform a pre-Fourth of July tribute to American music in the Sky Room of the Cinema Arts Centre.

Patterson said her shows feature a wide variety of music from the 1940s era, to more contemporary hits. She uses songs from American songwriters like Carole King or from Broadway musicals to stir the emotions of her audience.

“The songs I pick are songs you’ll know,” Patterson said. “They’re songs that have touched me, so I hope they’ll touch the audience by evoking a memory or a feeling.”

Patterson, who dedicates every show to the memory of her parents, said she tries to ensure that her audience leaves feeling invigorated, and the intimate atmosphere at the Sky Room helps create the right atmosphere.

“There’s something about that room,” Patterson said. “The audience that comes in there is an open audience… it’s very social and engaged.”

The interactive nature of her show, Patterson said, leads to a lot of audience participation. At all of her live shows Patterson is known for inviting audience members onto the stage to dance.

“It’s almost like a ministry for me… I’m really passionate that I don’t just want you to sit there and watch me sing,” She said.

Patterson said the therapeutic nature of her show is as much for herself as it is for the audience.

She said, “I work everything out on stage- It’s something that I have to do and that I want to do.”

Patterson’s show is scheduled for 8 p.m., tomorrow night at the Cinema Arts Centre, and tickets cost $11 for members and $16 for the general public.