An Evening with Patrick Droney and morgxn

On Friday, February 11th Patrick Droney and morgxn graced the iconic East Dallas venue, The Kessler. From laughs, tears, and a few good stories from both artists, the duo gave us a night the sold-out crowd will remember forever.

Photo by Shabby Talebi

It was a crisp winter evening in Texas, and by that, I mean that it was 73 degrees and beautiful outside.

Even more beautiful was the parking at The Kessler which is surprisingly close to the venue. Upon arrival to the venue, every show-goer was required to show their ID as well as a negative Covid test or proof of vaccination. After that, you would walk towards the door where VIP would get their lanyards and all attendees would get their wristbands. Once inside, we were greeted by smiling staff members and cleverly positioned Patrick and morgxn merch in the corner of the foyer.

The stage was set with a New York backdrop and vintage movie lights making the room feel warm and welcoming. The show was sold out and the space was tight, but the fans made it work - big shoutout to my new friend Will who let me get in front of him so I could see better #ShortPeopleToTheFront. At approximately 8 PM, morgxn walked on stage wearing an eye-catching holographic star kimono that set the tone for the superstar experience he had in-store for us. He began singing without any accompaniment, without any microphones, and without added flare. Just his vocals dripping with raw emotion. The crowd instantly fell silent; mesmerized. Many eyes around me looked up in pure disbelief at the caliber of talent we were witnessing. Wow, that was all you heard as soon as morgxn sang the last note of his first song to a completely unified crowd. Before diving into his full set, morgxn touched on how hard life has been through Covid, hiding no emotion as he shared his story. That relatable moment led to a song written about struggling with anxiety. Emotionally morgxn was all of us, and the stories he shared in between songs made it feel like we were all there to support our friend.

Here's my heart, I hope you like me... but like me. -morgxn

That quote tells us everything, are you a Pisces morgxn because I think yes. All in all, there couldn't have been an act more perfect than Morgxn to open for Patrick. Check out MERIDIAN: vol 2 now out on all streaming platforms.

After much anticipation, the moment we had all been waiting for had finally arrived. The band filed the stage one by one, followed by Patrick in an all-black outfit with a brown leather jacket giving us major New York vibes. He began his set with "Yours In The Morning", a crowd favorite.

photo by William Read

Patrick's energy and excitement complemented the tone of the room. It was very visible he was excited to be on stage and kicking off his tour with us and the crowd ate up every second of every song. It's always hit or miss with artists performing a good ratio of new to old songs but Patrick immediately made it clear no EP would be left behind by following up with "Brooklyn". Fun fact: this is the first song I ever heard by Patrick back in 2019 and was what made me fall in love with his music! Patrick made sure to talk plenty with the audience and share some exclusive information about his music, his process, his family, etc.

The third song was the tour titled "State of the Heart" and Patrick laid it all out on the stage for us - so much so that he ended up taking a (graceful) fall and stopped the song. The majority of the crowd, myself included, was so swept up in the moment, that we had no idea what happened until Patrick acknowledged the number of Youtube videos he’s seen of artists taking an accidental dive (we're looking at you Jesse McCartney) and that he had also just fallen. We all laughed together as we realized many caught it on camera before he jumped right back into the song and finished it out.

About a fourth of the way through his set Patrick told the crowd about a new song he has been working on that is coming out soon - as in, during this tour soon. He asked the crowd if they wanted to hear him play it. Of course we did, Pat. It was the only song from the entire set that the crowd wasn't singing along just as loud as him. Trust me when I say, it's a good one. He followed the new song with a quick "vibe check" to make sure the crowd was still feeling great.

photo by William Read

Patrick took some time to talk about the process of creating his album and how a lot of it was created by

trading files on the internet due to the pandemic and being excited to get back to creating with his friends before diving into a jaw-dropping acoustic version of "River". I've got to say, I wish I could have this version on repeat. The blend of his voice with Melissa Fuller's creates a beautiful harmony. The song finished with the crowd singing it back to Patrick which gave pretty much all of us goosebumps.

Throughout the entire night, I heard the audience shouting things such as "60 more songs", "I love you Patrick", "10 more songs", "Sing 'Guess That's Why I'm Calling", or anything else they could to prevent the night from coming to an end.

Before "ending" his set, Patrick did a mash-up of his song "Where You Are" with a cover of "Purple Rain". A very unexpected mashup that surprisingly worked very well together.

photo by William Read

For his four-song encore, Patrick came out with an outfit change and played "The Wire" and "When The Lights Go Out", both fan favorites. He then proceeded to tell the back story on why he chose to cover the ZZ Top hit "Rough Boy" and the significance of that song to him and his dad before performing the song for the crowd. Patrick ended the night with "Always Been The End Of The World", keeping the balance of old and new songs until the final moment.

Although Patrick went well over the anticipated 90-minute set time with a 120-minute set, it still didn't feel like enough. Patrick if you see this, please come back and do "Passerby" and "Like The Water" for us. After his set, you could hear audience members talking about how amazing the performance was as they exited the venue. Many fans stopped to purchase merch and chat with morgxn at his table before leaving. And for the few who decided to hang around the venue a little bit longer, we had the opportunity to meet Patrick and get a photo/autograph from him.

It was a great night of live music at The Kessler. You can catch Patrick on his headlining State Of The Heart Tour through April, and again opening for NEEDTOBREATHE on their Into The Mystery Acoustic Tour. If you haven't had the opportunity to see morgxn or Patrick Droney live yet, this is your sign. You won't regret it. Until next time, keep rocking!

For more reviews and the stories of creatives and their work follow Artist Uprising on Instagram and online. Check out more of Will Read's work on Instagram and of course stream Patrick Droney and morgxn on your preferred listening platform.