Patrick Clifford (musician)

Patrick Clifford (born in New York City, 1966) is a musician, songwriter, and producer of Irish and folk music. Best known as a key member of Four to the Bar^[1]—a "well loved and well respected"^[2] mainstay of the 1990s New York Irish music scene—he has also released two solo albums: American Wake and Chance of a Start.

Clifford grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan.^[3] Like many contemporary New York Irish musicians, he received his earliest training from the renowned Martin Mulvihill,^[4] (on piano accordion). His primary instrument with Four to the Bar was the bass, but he also added piano, guitar, and accordion to the band's sound, on both stage and recordings.^{[citation needed]}

As a songwriter, he wrote two tracks for the band's watershed album, Another Son:

• "The Western Shore" and
• "The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water" (music only).

He and guitarist Martin Kelleher are generally credited with the production of both of Four to the Bar's full-length albums; Another Son is notable for its elegance and Craic on the Road for its energy and atmosphere.^[5]

In 1993, he produced Sky in My Hand, the first release by New York folk singer/songwriter Liz Dacey. This recording was engineered by Virgil Moorefield.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, he recorded, mixed, and mastered To the Fray, an album by the band Hobnail. He also played bass and sang on this release.^{[citation needed]}