Pat Donohue
| Pat Donohue | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Patrick Donohue |
| Born |
April 28, 1953 St. Paul, Minnesota, USA |
| Genres | Folk, jazz, country |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Labels |
Red House Blue Sky Records |
| Associated acts | Garrison Keillor, Guys All-Star Shoe Band, Peter Ostroushko |
| Website | Official site |
Patrick Donohue (born April 28, 1953) is an American fingerstyle guitarist born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a Grammy nominated, National Fingerpicking Guitar Champion songwriter. Donohue has several albums to his credit and his songs have been recorded by Chet Atkins, Suzy Bogguss, and Kenny Rogers. He has performed on A Prairie Home Companion for several years, both as a member of the house band and as a featured artist.
Donohue grew up in St. Paul but moved to Denver, Colorado in 1971 to study at Regis College (now Regis University). After two years at Regis, he transferred to Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While carrying a full academic load at Marquette, Pat maintained a rigorous musical regimen, often practicing up to six hours daily. His performances during that time (mainly as part of Marquette’s “Traditional Music Society” as well as venturing out into the Milwaukee bar scene) often consisted of three or four forty-five-minute sets, featuring an eclectic offering of folk, blues, and jazz material. After his graduation in 1975, he returned to Denver where he started establishing his musical reputation.
Donohue was particularly influenced early in his career by blues guitarists like Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, and Blind Blake. He also listened extensively to folk-oriented singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman and John Prine.
Donohue established a solid reputation in and around Colorado as a 'guitarist's guitarist' and in 1982 was runner-up in the National Fingerpicking Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. The following year he won the Championship. This award led to wider recognition of his skills and he started accepting engagements throughout the United States.
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Wikipedia