Monday Spotlight: Patty Castillo Davis making a name in Modesto music scene

In Monday Spotlight, we’ll share information about and highlight the movers and shakers in regional arts and entertainment, community organizations, businesses and more. The Monday Spotlight will run every other week in Monday’s Explore: Life section.

This week, we spotlight a Modesto singer-songwriter that has made a mark on the local music scene.

Name: Patty Castillo Davis

Home base: Ceres

What you do: Indie, Americana, R&B singer songwriter

How you knew: By the time I was 3 or 4 years old, I knew I wanted to perform. I was raised in a very musical household where I was exposed to many eclectic genres of music with a mother who sang. My parents were very supportive of my call to music. I began writing songs in elementary school on the piano.

My music education came from being in choirs my whole life, and my solo experience was sharpened in church, where I learned that I could minister and emote to people when I sang. While in college I sang demos for budding artists and commercial jingles for advertising agencies and radio stations – the most famous of which was the “Turlock Auto Plaza” jingle. I also got hands-on experience in production and arranging vocals in a studio setting.

Go ahead, brag: I had the great fortune to sing a solo selection in a choir piece for Pope John Paul II during an audience at the Vatican in Rome, and cantor a Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in 2006. I received the 2014 Modesto Area Music Association Award for best singer-songwriter. My demo was acquired by Big Machine Nashville Vice President Jennifer Ewell Johnson, and I have a new recording project that I am not at liberty to discuss, but will announce before the fall.

I am very proud of my partnerships with Modesto Sound and Peer Recovery Art Project. I have been embraced by the local scene and blessed with performances at the State Theatre and Gallo Center for the Arts. I have opened for Beth Hart, Buddy DeFranco, Frank Hannon of Tesla and Jimmy Vaughan (the last two shows as part of the band Cisum). Just last year I was the solo opening act for Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Los Lonely Boys during their 2014 Northern California tour date at the Fox Theater.

I have side projects – The Heart Beats, The Modesto Super Band and Kent Whitt and the Down Beats. The most exciting news is this incarnation of the Patty Castillo Davis Band. I am playing alongside some fantastic, award-winning musicians including Joe Barretta on guitar, Tim Allen on the keyboards and bass and David Rogers on drums and percussion.

Check you out: Saturday, June 20, at the San Francisco Free Folk Festival; Sunday, June 21, and June 28 for Breakfast Music at Deva Cafe; and Tresetti’s World Caffe June dates TBA. Also a grand-opening gala of Gallery Red in Las Vegas this summer.

Online: www.pattycastillodavis.com

This story was originally published June 12, 2015 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Monday Spotlight: Patty Castillo Davis making a name in Modesto music scene."