Berks County singer, songwriter and business owner Pat Garrett has died, according to an employee at his shop,\u00a0Sickafus Sheepskins.<\/p>\n
The local icon gained recognition as a country singer-songwriter with his five-piece music group, the Pat Garrett Band, but his impact proved to be far greater.<\/p>\n
Garrett, of Strausstown, built the amphitheater bearing his name in Upper Tulpehocken Township in 1994. It hosted such legends as Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Charlie Daniels. Garrett stopped booking acts at the amphitheater in 2005 so that he could focus on other ventures, but the venue reopened in 2015.<\/p>\n
Before she made it big, Berks County native Taylor Swift competed in karaoke contests at the amphitheater when she was 11 years old. Garrett previously told 69 News that he gave some music business advice to Swift\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Local singer-songwriter Pat Garrett reacts to Taylor Swift\u2019s Time ‘Person of the Year\u201d nod<\/a><\/p>\n “He came to me and said, ‘What am I gonna do with this kid?’ I said, ‘Well, Scott, in Hershey, they make bars, in Detroit, they make cars, and in Nashville, they make stars. Move to Nashville,'” Garrett recalled. “Three months later, we’re standing in my sheepskin shop and he said, ‘Well, we’re going.’<\/p>\n Garrett also ventured into the radio business, buying a classic rock station that served central Pennsylvania in 2012. He went on to sell the station to Educational Media Foundation in 2017.<\/p>\n Throughout the years, Garrett wasn\u2019t shy to politics when it came to his music. In 2008, he wrote and performed “Moose Shootin’ Mama” as a tribute to Sarah Palin, who was then the governor of Alaska and Republican John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 race for the White House.<\/p>\n In 2010, at the request of the Berks County Patriots, Garrett wrote and recorded a song about the Tea Party, called “The Tea Party Song.” During the 2016 presidential election, he also recorded the song, “I’m Voting for Donald for President.\u201d Some of Garrett’s other “countryversial” tunes, as he called them, include “Bailout,” the “Monica Lewinsky Polka” and “The Saddam Stomp.”<\/p>\n Garrett\u2019s passion wasn\u2019t limited to music, though. He also developed an interest in coats \u2014 sheepskin coats.<\/p>\n “Started out just selling the skins,” Garrett explained in 2022.<\/p>\n His longstanding shop off Route 183 in Upper Tulpehocken Township features a sweeping sea of sheepskin coats, some of which were featured in the hit show “Yellowstone,” starring Kevin Costner.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n +2 Costner wasn\u2019t the first big star to wear one of Garrett’s sheepskin coats. They’ve also been worn by some country music luminaries.<\/p>\n “Years ago, when I played with Shorty Long, I made coats for Conway Twitty and and also Loretta Lynn, and later on, I made one for Charlie Daniels and George Jones and his wife,\u201d Garrett previously told 69 News.<\/p>\n
\n Berks sheepskin shop provides coats for ‘Yellowstone’ cast<\/a><\/p>\n