Pat The White (Patrick Leblanc) is an award winning artist from the Gaspé region of Quebec.
Pat was born on July 21, 1975. He grew up in the town of Carleton, Quebec. He started playing guitar at a young age. It was his uncles who taught Pat the basics.
In 1997 Pat left his home and worked for a while in Banff, Alberta. It was there that Pat discovered his biggest musical influence, The Allman Brothers Band. In 1999 he relocated to Quebec City and formed "The Pat The White Band".
Since 1999, Pat has been playing festivals in and around Quebec. Festivals include the Mont Tremblant Blues Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Maximum Blues Festival, the "Woodstock en Beauce" Festival and the Sun Flower Gospel & Blues Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S.A.
In 2002 Pat was involved with a small group of Gaspésie musicians, including Nanette Workman, who went down to Clarksdale, Mississippi to experience the Blues at its roots. This trip became a documentary film presented on Télé-Québec. Pat returned to Clarksdale in 2004.
In 2003 and 2004 Pat was awarded with Quebec's prestigious "Lysblues" Award for "Best Live Performance."
In February 2004 Pat released his self titled debut album; he collaborated on two tracks with Nanette Workman. That year he also headlined the Maximum Blues Festival in his home town of Carleton. His show drew a capacity crowd.
Since that performance Pat was invited to perform on the television program "Belle et Bum", hosted by Quebec celebrity Normand Brathwaite. Pat has become a regular guest on the show.
In 2005, Pat was nominated for the Maple Blues award "Best New Artist in Canada". The band was showcased at Healey's Roadhouse as part of the Maple Blues awards.
In 2006, Pat released his second album, Reviver. It was released at Quebec City's historic Capitole Theatre on February 10, it was a tremendous success.
The album "Reviver" includes a 14 minute version of the Allman Brothers classic "Whipping Post".
Since the album launch, Pat's music has been featured on radio stations across Canada the U.S.A. and Europe.
In late June Pat appeared for the first time on national television, the Radio-Canada program Bons Baiser de France. A few days later the band performed to a huge crowd at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Pat finished off 2006 with a return engagement at the Capitole Theatre in Quebec City.
In 2007, Pat was invited to perform on "Belle et Bum" to celebrate the program's 100th episode. The band performed at the Quebec Scene Festival in Ottawa, Ontario. The album "Reviver" was re-issued in Europe as "The Quebec City Sessions" through Dixiefrog records. The band performed at the NXNE festival in Toronto as well as on Canada day, at the Rock the park event in Toronto's Downsview Park. On September 16 the album "Reviver" garnered 2 Lysblues awards, one for Songwriter of the year and the other was for Album of the year. In December the album Reviver was released in Japan through BSMF records.
In 2008, Gibson Guitar featured Pat The White as its artist of the week on myspace. Pat toured France 3 times to promote the European release "The Quebec City Sessions". Pat also performed in Georgia & Florida to promote Reviver, which was made available though The Allman Brothers Band official retail outlet "Hittin' the note."
In 2009, Pat returned to Europe for another series of shows and Sennheiser Canada sponsored Pat with their microphones. Pat The White Band headlined in Gaspé on July 11 as part of the city's 475th birthday celebration.
2010 marks the release of his new album "Strange Fascination." through Pat's new recording label "Le Vaisseau D'Arts".