Dark Shadow Recording has signed mandolin player, singer, songwriter and podcast host Daniel Patrick, adding the Charleston, South Carolina-based musician to its roster.
Patrick is expected to release his Dark Shadow Recording debut in 2027. The deal follows his 2024 album Around the Clock, which reached No. 6 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart.
Dark Shadow Recording owner Stephen Mougin first worked with Patrick while engineering sessions featuring Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury and Sharon Gilchrist.
“A couple of years ago, Daniel reached out to me to engineer Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury, and Sharon Gilchrist on his duet record,” Mougin said. “I was knocked out by his singing, playing, and overall in-studio personality. I knew I wanted to find a way to continue working with him and I’m thrilled that he is joining our Dark Shadow Recording family of artists. He’s got a stack of really cool new original songs and I can’t wait for folks to hear ’em.”
Daniel Patrick Built ‘Around the Clock’ Through a Podcast
Patrick launched The Mandolins and Beer Podcast in 2019, building the show around conversations with mandolin players and other musicians.
Those interviews eventually led to something more tangible. After meeting and playing with musicians he had admired for years, Patrick invited many of them to record with him.
The result was Around the Clock, an album of songs drawn largely from outside the bluegrass repertoire and reworked around Patrick’s voice and mandolin.
The project includes Sam Bush on the Allman Brothers Band’s “Blue Sky,” Ronnie McCoury on Jerry Garcia’s “Deal” and Tim O’Brien on The Cars’ “Drive.” Sharon Gilchrist, Jacob Jolliff, Mike Guggino, Matt Flinner and Joe K. Walsh are also among the featured players.
Billboard placed Around the Clock at No. 6 on its Bluegrass Albums chart following the album’s 2024 release.
A Studio Relationship Becomes a Record Deal
For Patrick, the signing grew directly from his experience recording with Mougin.
“To say I’m excited to be part of Dark Shadow Recording is an understatement,” Patrick said. “From the moment I worked with Stephen in the studio, I knew that I had met someone who understood what I was trying to accomplish and who was able to capture what I was hearing in my head.”
Patrick said watching Stephen and Jana Mougin operate the label also shaped his decision.
“During those sessions I was able to see how much work Stephen and Jana put into DSR every day,” Patrick said. “It was more than a label to them, it’s a family, and I am proud to be part of the Dark Shadow family.”
Dark Shadow Recording operates as both a studio and independent label under Stephen and Jana Mougin. Its roster spans bluegrass, Americana, country and folk, including Becky Buller, Rick Faris, Laura Orshaw and Henhouse Prowlers.
Daniel Patrick Prepares New Original Music
Patrick came to music full time after leaving his longtime day job in 2016. In the years that followed, he developed his work as a mandolinist, singer, songwriter and frontman while maintaining a heavy live schedule.
The Mandolins and Beer Podcast later gave him another foothold in the mandolin community. More importantly for his recording career, it helped create relationships that eventually moved from conversations to collaborations.
Now, Dark Shadow Recording will become the home for Patrick’s next chapter.
Mougin said Patrick already has a collection of new original songs in development. His first release for the label is expected next year.
For Patrick, that makes the signing another step in a second career built less around a conventional path than a willingness to keep finding the next useful door and walking through it.