Meghan Patrick Stands Strong at Hagersville Rocks festival!!!!

Unfortunately, what happened to Meghan Patrick, when she was headlining at the Hagersville Rock Festival is all too common, for female artists in any genre.  Its been over 24 hours since the incident and the internet is still reeling from a single comment, from a single fan, at the Rock festival in Hagersville, Ontario on Saturday July 27^th.  

Until this point Meghan was having a blast as she went through her set. The crowd was having a blast. That soon changed when one man yelled for Meghan to expose her breasts (it was said in a much more vulger way) to him.  What happened next is epic and is what needed to happen.  Meghan deserves to be treated better than what was hollered out from the crowd, as does any female artist on a stage.  

Meghan Stops Show

As soon as she heard the comment, she stopped the show, asked to have the crowd lights turned up and asked whoever said the comment to show themselves.  Without thinking they were pointed out to Meghan and Meghan did something that I am sure was what many female artists have wanted to do.  She called him out.

"This is not a hobby, This is my livelihood, my heart and soul. I give everything I have into the songs I write and my performances. To have something that means so much to me be degraded to that? F--k that. And f--k the guy who said that. I have worked my ass off for a long time to get to the point where I earned a headlining slot. I earned it. And I deserved a hell of a lot more respect than that."

Meghan later posted on Instagram 

View this post on Instagram

Ok, I’m about to get really real here for a second. I’m gonna use some choice words, and probably some run-on sentences because I got a whole 30 mins of sleep last night and I’m exhausted... not sorry. More days than not, I’d say I feel confident in my ability to do this for a living, and do it well. But some days, It breaks me a little. Last night I got to headline Hagersville Rocks... it’s an incredible festival run by great people, in a great town, and I’d been seriously looking forward to it. The night started out with a great interaction with a particular fan in the crowd, so I want to shout out to Ian, my drinking buddy. You were so energetic, positive, respectful, and singing every word, and it made me so happy. In fact, I saw a lot of happy, enthusiastic faces out there last night, even if it was less than I’d hoped, due to our very delayed late set. Then, in the midst of that incredible high...I hear someone obnoxiously yelling out “show me your tits” from the crowd. I saw red. I stopped playing and asked for the lights to be put on the crowd, and demanded that whoever said it, own up to it. He was quickly pointed out to me, so I told him to get the fuck out. Despite the incredible roar of the crowds support, the situation still broke my heart a little. This is not a hobby. This is my livelihood, my heart and soul. I give everything I have into the songs I write and my performances. To have something that means so much to me be degraded to that? Fuck that. And fuck the guy who said that. I have worked my ass off for a long time to get to the point where I earned a headlining slot. I EARNED it. And I deserved a hell of a lot more respect than that. Moral of the story... be like Ian. Or I will call your pathetic ass out and send you home, because I can, and because fuck you. On a positive note: words can’t describe my appreciation for the incredible audience that did stay for the long haul and partied with me after a very long, very hot day. Thank you, You guys rock 🤘🏼⚡️ #WildAsMe #BeLikeIan 📷: @billwoodcock

A post shared by Meghan Patrick (@megpatrickmusic) on Jul 28, 2019 at 10:13am PDT

Link  https://www.instagram.com/p/B0d-kOoBsHy/

Other Artists have chimed in including 3x CCMA Male Artist of the Year Brett Kissel on Instagram

brettkissel  It’s really quite something, actually. Someone with no balls has bigger balls than anyone I know. Your confidence and elevated level of self worth and self value is inspiring @megpatrickmusic.

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame member Terri Clark

terriclarkmusic  Yes girl !🙌

Female artists have it hard in the music industry, especially in the Country Music genre, with minimal airplay because apparently male artists draw bigger audiences.  I would disagree, I know a number of female artists, who excel at their craft and Meghan Patrick is definitely one of them.  As a photographer I have followed the Country Music scene for over 10 years and am a member of the Canadian Country Music Association.  I have photographed Meghan, I know her and I know her convictions.  First and foremost, she works hard to do what she does, and I respect any artist who puts in the time to hone their craft and also meet up with all the fans who listen to the music, go to the concerts and that want to meet them.  This is Meghan Patrick to a tee.  This also why she is currently the 2x Canadian Country Music Female Artist of the Year.  

I was shooting the 2017 CCMA awards when she recieved her first CCMA award for female artist of the year, in Saskatoon.  I also had the opportunity to photograph her for the Edmonton Muse Magazine, when she played the Station on Jasper.  But what she did in Hagersville, is why I support her even more and Canadian Country Music in general.  I am there not only to shoot the artists, but to show everyone why these artists are the best there is and that they are the real thing.  Meghan just moved to top of the list with this take down.  It was a classic and will show the industry that she is here to stay and won’t put up with the crap. I will also bet that the next heckler may think twice before opening his mouth for some exposure.

After the incident she turned around and explained her next song, about how it’s okay for the boys to sing about sex, which is a natural and beautiful thing but that she had been told that females shouldn’t, well if you know Meghan now, guess what she did……….. Well Done Meghan Patrick, you have my support, amongst that of the many others, who have tweeted, I.G.’d and commented on Facebook.

From the 2017 CCMA show in Saskatoon.

Figure 1: Meghan Patrick receiving CCMA Female Artist of the Year

Let's show Meghan and all female artists our support on Social Media
Facebook: Meghan Patrick
Instragram: Meghan Patrick
Twitter: Meghan Patrick Music

this article will be reprinted in the August 2019 edition of the Edmonton Muse Magazine