Class of 2020 Alum Patrick Armould is making a name for himself in the music industry

Written by Blake Froistad

When he first set foot on Valor's campus in 2016, Patrick had aspirations to take his golf skills to the next level. But like many other students who have walked the halls of Valor, God had other plans, greater than one could have imagined. During his freshman year, Patrick made some friends that got involved in the Arts Conservatory and he gravitated towards songwriting. "I never thought I'd be playing music" Patrick said, but he saw an open door to a good community in Valor's arts department. So much so, that he, Jake Patterson ('19), Alex Jackson ('19), Riley O'Donnell ('19), and Dallon Robinette ('19) formed a band called Halleway. 

Before they disbanded in 2019, Halleway racked up around 1 million streams on Spotify. Their most notable song "Found" currently sits at nearly 3 quarter of a million streams on their Spotify page. With that much success before he even graduated high school, Patrick began to see more than just an open door to the music industry, but a potential career and calling. In 2018, Patrick joined the Nashville trip at Valor lead by Marty Magehee. While out in Nashville, he got the chance to tour Lipscomb and meet with renowned music producer and songwriter, Brown Bannister. The two immediately hit it off, and stayed in touch beyond the short trip to Nashville. With high school coming to an end, Patrick was confident he was headed to Berklee College of Music in Boston. But just like the Lord had other plans to take him out of golf and into music, God would have it that Patrick began to consider attending Lipscomb as Brown continued to speak into Patrick's college decision. "Lipscomb felt like it was a better fit, and felt that there were a lot of similarities to the things I enjoyed about Valor." Just like that, Patrick began his next chapter in the Music City at Lipscomb University.

Now in a new city, and a new school, Patrick took the transition in stride and hit the ground running forming a new band: Hello Darling. They pride themselves on meaningful lyrics and have a similar sound to bands such as The Head and the Heart and the Avett Brothers. To top it off, he has teamed up again with Valor alum Riley O'Donnell ('19) who is the band's drummer. The band wrapped up their Midwest Tour in August performing in Nashville, Indianapolis, Des Moines, Lawrence and finished right here in Denver. Reflecting on the tour, "It's fun to see different parts of the country and perform with your best friends." 

On the school side, Patrick is pursuing a degree in songwriting. But what's a degree worth if you aren't actively bringing to life what you're studying in the class and he continues to write music and perform around Nashville. To all our alumni who are grinding it out in the Music City, we're rooting for you. Stay at it and remember the passion that got you started in the first place.