Who was Patrick Haggerty? Tributes pour in as Lavender Country musician and activist dies aged 78

Patrick Haggerty, the lead singer and guitarist of the country music band Lavender Country, recently passed away on Monday, October 31 at the age of 78. The band revealed the news on their official Instagram page and wrote,

The late singer and songwriter reportedly suffered a stroke earlier this year, which resulted in complications that led to his death, according to his social media channels. No funeral has been planned for Haggerty so far, and further details on the same are yet to be disclosed.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Haggerty was the frontman of Lavender Country, which is thought to be the first openly gay country band. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise.

Everything known about Patrick Haggerty

Born on September 27, 1944, Patrick Haggerty was a well-known singer, songwriter, musician, activist, and politician. He gained recognition as the lead singer and guitarist of the band Lavender Country in 1972.

Patrick's father, Charles Edward Haggerty, was a dairy farmer, and his mother, Asylda Mary Remillard-Haggerty, was a homemaker. He was the sixth child of the couple. He enrolled at Port Angeles High School and was chosen as the head cheerleader in 1959. Haggarty joined the Peace Corps after college, but was discharged in 1966 for being gay.

Despite growing up in a Roman Catholic family, Haggarty described himself as an agnostic.

After Lavender Country was formed in 1972, their first album was funded and released by Gay Community Social Services of Seattle. The band then performed at the first Seattle Pride event in 1974 and continued to perform at other pride and LGBT events in various locations until they disbanded in 1976. Years later, in 2000, the band released an EP, Lavender Country Revisited.

The group reunited in 2000 and performed at Seattle’s Broadway Performance Hall. After that, in 2019, they released a full-length album titled Blackberry Rose and Other Songs and Sorrows. Patrick then appeared in a version of Trixie Mattel’s reprise of I Can’t Shake the Stranger Out of You, titled Stranger, on her album Barbara.

Pat was the host of a YouTube series in 2020, titled Aunt Patty’s Lavender Hour, where he spoke to those who had an impact on his life and musical journey, which also included his son and filmmaker Amilcar Navarro, visual artist Pat Moriarity, and filmmaker Dan Taberski. The band’s second album, Blackberry Rose, was released in February 2022.

In 1976, Patrick Haggerty ran two campaigns for political office, both of which were unsuccessful. This included one for the Seattle City Council and then as an independent candidate for a seat in the Washington House of Representatives.

Patrick is survived by his partner, Julius Broughton, his children Robin Boland and Amilcar Navarro, and his grandson Maxwell Boland.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

Know More