We have exciting news including two upcoming performances including an album release show!!!

On April 19 at Klub Khrome we will be participating in a Battle of the Bands. This is not something we would normally do, but the temptation associated with a chance for a $3000 prize and a bunch of other goodies is hard to pass up on. For those on Facebook the event link is here.

You can support Free to Grow (or another band if you must) by buying tickets in advance and choosing Free to Grow. Login or create an account at the Bounce site, search for the “Battle of the Bands (3rd Battle)” and buy a ticket in support of Free to Grow. Online tickets are $6.45 ($5 plus fees) and tickets at the door are $10. If you buy a ticket at the door you will get a ballot and your opportunity to vote for Free to Grow. We will be competing with two other great bands and all will put on a great show.

The second live performance we are announcing is the kick off of the 2024 Living Roots Music Festival on Wednesday June 5 at Dolan's Pub. Check out the Facebook event. For us it will be an album release show for our 4th studio album. The CD has arrived so contact us if you want an advance copy of the album ($10). A special thanks and shoutout to the Jane LeBlanc Legacy Fund. The 2023 JL Music Composer Award helped fund this project.

Peace and Love to all

Jeff Patch

Hi Folks

At long last our LIVE album is available on our website, on Bandcamp plus the usual suspect suite of music sale and streaming sites. A huge thanks to our friends The UnHeard who invited us to open for them; to Roots and Soul Music Promotions for hosting the show; and to MRD Studios for recording the event. In addition to the audio recording, a video playlist is available on YouTube which includes all 11 songs performed. Liking and subscribing is a great help to us so please feel free to do so.

We had a great time on February 25, 2023 as we performed live for the first time in 4 ½ years. Yes cancer sucks as did the pandemic, but it's awfully good to be back. An amazing highlight was performing “Miracle Man” live for the first time in front of the man himself. It is so great to have both the audio and video documentation.

Stay tuned as we plan to release a full length (14 songs) studio album in the near future. 

Peace and Love

Jeff Patch

Hi Folks

Happy to announce that we are releasing two new songs today. “Weekend Freaky Girl” is a rocker which features Dan Doucet on lead vocals and we once again have Vaughan Evans (The UnHeard) as guest lead guitarist.

Towards the other end of the Free to Grow spectrum, we have 'I Dig This" which is an acoustic song featuring Marie-Hélène Michaud on lead vocals and Dave Palmer on dobro with Chris Browne on mandolin.  

We are most grateful to the Jane LeBlanc Legacy Fund for the JL Music Composer Award which has funded the mixing and mastering of these tunes.

While the original plan was to release our fourth album earlier this year it is looking more and more like it will be early 2024 before the full album is ready. That album will be our next studio release.

You can listen to and purchase the music on our own website as per links above, or on Bandcamp. If you stream music, it is now available on Spotify and other streaming services.

Peace and love to all

We were very sad to get the news last month of the passing of Doug Barron who, among many other things, was a former cohost of CBC Weekend Mornings out of Halifax NS. Doug was supportive of our band and would send us positive messages saying how he enjoyed our music. We had discussed the possibility of a joint show with his band and had made tentative plans to pursue that this year. RIP Doug and condolences to family and friends.

In band news, original member Joe Bonnell has left the band and we wish him all the best in future endeavours and thank him for all his outstanding contributions to our music and shows over the years. 

Our August 30 outdoor show was rained out but we did get to perform on the rain date of Monday September 4. We closed off the Fredericton Northside Concert Series sponsored by Business Fredericton North with a fun performance where we played 22 original Free to Grow numbers. We even played the song Miracle Man in front of the man himself and I had an opportunity to test out my new Insta 360 X3 camera and make a video of that part of the event. Friend of the band Doug Schwartz took some video and we have been using it to make some shorts on YouTube and Reels on Facebook. We'd love it if you subscribed to us on YouTube and followed us on Facebook if you haven't already done so.

Peace and Love to All

Jeff Patch

Hi Folks

Lots of news to share: the most recent, wonderful and exciting being Jeff's receipt of the JL Music Composer Award from the Jane LeBlanc Legacy Fund. This $1000 CAD award will substantially offset our studio expenses as we continue work on our fourth studio album. This is awesome news for us!!!

We continue to prepare for our next live performance (Facebook Event Link) on August 30 at 7-8:30 pm at Mitch Clarke Park on Fredericton's Northside. This free performance is sponsored by Business Fredericton North as part of their Northside Concert Series. We even made a YouTube Short Promo Video!

On a last note several people have enquired about what happened to our June 23 gig at The Tipsy Muse Cafe. Unfortunately one of our members contracted and tested positive for Covid the night before the scheduled show. Regrettably the show had to be cancelled.

That should bring us up to date. Peace and Love to All

Jeff

Hi Folks

We have a gig coming up and if you can come out, we would love to see you there!

We will be playing two sets from 7-9 PM on June 23 at the Tipsy Muse Cafe. Advance tickets are $11.50 (+taxes / fees) and are available here and you may also want to check out the Facebook event. 

This will be a bit different in that it will be an unplugged performance with Jeff, Joe, Amanda, and Marie Hélène. We will play Free to Grow songs both new and old in an intimate setting and provide background info on the music. We are excited and it promises to be a fun time.

Cheers and peace and love

Jeff

Hi Folks

May 1 is here and we have released new music. Three brand new songs and a reissue of the two songs we initially released in December 2022. One of these tunes is a live take from our February 25 gig which will ultimately make it onto a live vinyl LP we plan to release later this year. A video of the performance has also been released today. The other songs will ultimately make it onto our fourth full length studio album, also planned for release later in 2023. 

Here are all the links you need:

Website: https://www.freetogrowband.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/freetogrowband  

Bandcamp: https://freetogrow.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3YTMJeCvWlV5ysLIHnyeKg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreeToGrowBand/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freetogrowband/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FreetoGrowBand   

Peace and love to all

Jeff

Hi folks

We will be releasing 5 songs on Monday May 1. All of the songs will be on our next studio album. In fact we plan two more major releases in 2023. One will be a live album from our February 25 gig at Fredericton's Grimross Taproom. Free to Grow (Live) will be available on the usual music sale and streaming sites as well as on a vinyl LP. Our next studio album (Along for the Ride) will be released as a CD and will also be available on all your favourite music sites. Both will feature artwork by our very own talented Amanda L. Moss. It has been a long haul and we look forward to sharing the new material with you.

Peace and love

Jeff

What fun we had on February 25. Our first time back live on stage since August of 2018. It has been quite a journey. We opened for our friends The Unheard at the Grimross Taproom with MRD Studios providing sound for Roots and Soul Music Promotions.

We played 11 of our songs in our set, including 8 newer songs which will be on our upcoming fourth album. We finished off our night with Miracle Man, our tribute to The UnHeard's Bruce Hughes. The place was full and the crowd was enthusiastic. Awesome time.

We posted a couple of videos on our Facebook page and we expect to post more in the coming weeks.

Peace and love

Jeff

More good news and we are very excited. Thanks to our friends The UnHeard we are playing live on February 25. They graciously invited us to open for them in what will be a fun night filled with original rock music. 

"The UnHeard return to be heard and Free to Grow will open for them in a special music event that will warm your bones and thrill your auditory senses with original rock & roll. Doors at 7 PM Show at 8 PM $15 adv / $20 at the door"

You can find the event on Facebook, on our website "Shows" page and advance tickets are available via eventbrite.

Thanks also to Roots and Soul Music Promotions  and Grimross Brewing Co.

Hope to see you there!

First Amanda had a baby (a very good thing), then Jeff was diagnosed with bladder cancer (a bad thing), then the Covid pandemic hit (another bad thing).  The end result was that after the release of our third album we were not able to have a release concert and haven't performed live for a long time.

The good news is that Jeff has been cancer free and has been writing enough material for a fourth album which will be out by 2023. The band, with a mix of old faces and some new ones, has been rehearsing and recording and we will update you on any song releases and public performances that may happen in the near future. 

We will be reentering the world of social media so look for us on Twitter and Facebook. Hope to see you there.

Hi Folks 

Exciting times as it has now been a little over a month since the release of the "Imperfection" album. We have since released it in vinyl, which is exciting. If you want a CD, vinyl or a download and haven't got it yet please let me know. If you have and like our music feel free to spread the word. That is always appreciated. 

Reviews have been very positive: 

Jeff Liberty Review for CBC Saint John 

Grid City Magazine Review by Matt Carter 

Atlantic Axess Interview with Terry Parker 

fred-e-scene review by David MacCoubrey 

CBC Shift Interview 

Note that the previously released Miracle Man remains our most popular video at close to 3.4k views and most streamed song on Spotify with over 2k streams. Silence is another song that has done well, being named video of the week on the International Indie Site Music Talks, and song of the week on Belter Radio in the UK. 

In other news we have discontinued our relationship and page on Facebook. Over the years the platform has become less and less effective as a means to communicate with and engage followers. Posts that a few years ago would reach hundreds of people now often reach less than 100 and if there is higher engagement we get invited to pay to boost a post to reach more people. Our revenue stream is not enough to make it cost effective. Couple that with a series of scandals and bad press (no I don't wear a tinfoil hat ) and I felt it was time to leave. For now we remain available on Twitter, Instagram and our website and you can always reach out via email. We also maintain a presence on Bandcamp. 

That's all I have for now and best wishes to all. 

Jeff Patch for 

Free to Grow

Today we released our third full-length album and we are thrilled.

You can order downloads from our music page or our store and it is available at the usual suspect music sites like Bandcamp and also streamable on Spotify. 

If you want a hardcopy CD you can also order it from our webpage. Contact us directly if you are closer to the Fredericton area and we can deliver and save on shipping charges. 

A huge thanks also to fred-e-scene for a most wonderful review and article. Wowza!!!

Happy New Music Friday everyone. No new music for us this Friday but soon it will be our turn.

Friday August 7 is our planned release date for the new "Imperfection" album. This will be our third full length album and we are stoked about it. Downloads from our website and the usual suspect places will be available then. Hard copy CD will also be available for $20 CAD (plus shipping if outside the Fredericton area). Check out the awesome album cover designed by Joshua Sangster (who happens to sing lead on 5 of 11 songs). Among the menagerie of characters are all the contributors to the album, plus an assortment of friends including health care workers from the Miracle Man video. Hovering over us all is our East Yorkshire dragon wizard Adrian Jenkinson who mixed and mastered the album.

Here we go with the release of another single.

A song for the times we are in. Our original plan was to hold off on more releases until the full album was ready for distribution. The band consensus was that it would be timely to release it, so here we are.

The song is called Silence and the video is up on YouTube.

As always, Peace and Love to all.

Jeff

Our latest single "Imperfection" is now available and the video is up on YouTube. This song is the title track for our next album and you can now also pre-order the album for download or CD.

Add this to a second consecutive cancer-free set of tests and that means this has been a very fine week!

As always, Peace and Love to everyone and best wishes for staying healthy and safe.

Jeff

I am happy to announce that all our tracks for the next album have now been sent to the studio for mixing and mastering. Expectations are that we will be able to release the album by late summer or fall of 2020. Stay tuned for a specific release date, and we will also be set up and advise you regarding pre-orders within the next month or so. Thanks, as always for your support.

As with everyone else we are navigating through the Covid-19 pandemic situation and pleased to announce that we are all keeping well so far. Best wishes to all of you out there also. Health-wise my last biopsy had a good result so things looking as good as possible with that. Thank you for your expressions of support and concern.

Jeff Patch

We are pleased to announce that we have released a new single and video. In the past our songs that have had elements of social commentary tended to be lighthearted and tongue in cheek. This song is not like those and was written the day after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton in early August 2019. Subject aside, we hope that you will enjoy it and, if so, will share it with others and even consider downloading it. :) The links are found below.

We also want to thank everyone for the wonderful response to our 3-song EP and Miracle Man video we released in July (with special thanks to Miracle Man Bruce Hughes and the healthcare staff who took care of him). The songs had airplay on radio stations around the globe and here in Canada. The video currently has close to 2.7k views to date, which is good for our little band.

No Change Video

No Change Track Info and Preview

Today has been a very busy and awesome day. Our new 3-song EP is out and available and the Miracle Man video is public on our YouTube channel. Today we had interviews with local print and radio media (Fredericton Daily Gleaner and CBC Shift). Music from the new release has had airplay out of Fredericton (CHSR FM, CBC Radio 1), Kingston (CFRC) and Calgary (ISX Radio) in Canada; EGH Radio in the United Kingdom and; notification of impending play in Australia (Valley FM Canberra) on Saturday (their Sunday, yes it's confusing).

There is more to come and we are grateful to all who support the band.

Thank you

Jeff

First of all there has been good news on the cancer front. The Doctors have confirmed that they removed the tumour in my bladder and that I will undergo follow up treatments but will not have to have my bladder removed. Some risk remains and it will still be some time before I can perform live again but things are looking up. 

On an entirely positive front we are excited to announce that on July 12 we'll be dropping a 3-song EP titled Miracle. Sounds awesome to us and I hope you will enjoy. We'll also be releasing a video!!!!!

There are some fantastic performances by a number of guest artists on the EP including Tina Gaudreau (Mad Mary / The Dirt), TC Richards (8 Track Mind / STU Jazz), Rachel Forbes (STU Jazz), Conrad Mead (Downtown Blues Band / The Redemptions), Don Rigley (Frantically Atlantic) and Joshua Sangster (Honey Gut). We love to collaborate and the Fredericton area has a wealth of great musicians who are fun to work with.

Pease and Love to All

Jeff Patch

Hi All 

Some of you have been asking about our performance hiatus and wondering why we still have no shows lined up. We have not been applying to play any shows at venues or festivals since last summer and have had to turn down any opportunities that have arisen. At first it was due to our lead singer being pregnant and having a baby. That was all great news and Amanda's baby Freya grows more beautiful by the day. 

Now for the rest of the story which some of you know. In late winter I was diagnosed with bladder cancer and the uncertainty surrounding treatments etc. has precluded an ability to make any commitments. Since that time I have undergone several procedures but the long term strategy has not yet been determined. The long term prognosis is still positive, but it will be some months at the very least before I can consider performing again. I look forward to that time. 

On a more positive note we now have four songs which are almost ready to be released on an EP. A full album will also be in the works for later in the year. A huge thanks to Adrian at Hairy Monster Audio in Hull, UK who is helping us with the mixing process for this go round. 

I thank you for your support and well wishes and please be advised that I am OK.

Jeff Patch 

Free to Grow Band

Time for an update on what's what with Free to Grow. We have been on a performance hiatus going back to last year as Amanda was in a family way. She had a perfect beautiful baby girl (Freya) and mucho congratulations are in order.

In the meantime Jeff has been busy with a bunch of new songs and the band, including Mama Amanda, have been busy working on polishing, arranging and recording tracks. You can expect some of the new tunes to come out within the next few months!!! As with the last album we have some amazing guest artists from the Fredericton music scene.

It has been a year since the release of our last album and we are now a mere $415.51 CAD from totally recouping our costs. A huge thanks to those of you who have purchased CD's or digital downloads. We are so close lol.

Love to all

Jeff

Our May 11 Release Show was a great success with a standing room only packed house and a supportive and enthusiastic crowd. How lucky are we! A big thank you to those of you who were able to come out and for the others who were there in spirit. Things are getting busy as we head into the summer season. On May 26 we returned to the Hollywood Star Room to play at their flood relief fundraiser and on June 2 we will play for our second time at Uncle G's in Sussex. On June 9 we play at a private event (wedding) and June 10 we perform at Freddy Beach Ribfest. What yummy time that will be. We are pleased to announce that we will also be performing at Pioneer Days in Oromocto on June 29. This will be an awesome kickoff to the Canada Day weekend celebrations.

We are over the moon as our new album, "Time to Rise," is available for purchase as digital download and / or physical copies. Order it here at our STORE.

Our thanks to The Recordery in Fredericton, NB for their expertise and help while mixing the album. A special thanks also to the wizard at Hairy Monster Audio in Hull, East Yorkshire UK for mastering.

Now we look forward to our release event at the Grimross Taproom on Friday May 11. Performing with the band will be guest artists who contributed to the album, including Tina Gaudreau (Mad Mary), Colin Fowlie (Art of the Possible / Creative Differences), Vaughan Evans (The Unheard), Paul Campbell (Downtown Blues Band / Maggie’s Farm) and The Mark Currie!! 

Music will start at 8:00pm 

Cover: $10 or $15 with CD Included