Pat Donohue
The long-time guitarist in the “Guys All-Star Shoe Band” on NPR’s wildly popular A Prairie Home Companion, Pat Donohue has a way with his fingers. Known as an award-winning finger picker, Donohue has played with some of the best artists in the music industry, including Wynton Marsalis. Influenced by Miles David, Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters, Pat Donohue blends blues, jazz, and folk music together to make a signature sound all his own. The Grammy-award winning artist and songwriter has played in festivals across the country, from Telluride to Newport.
For over twenty years, Pat Donohue performed as the guitarist and song-writer for NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, earning him more dedicated fans with every performance. Now, after two decades with the show, Pat has returned to touring and teaching, traveling the country to give others a lesson in the art of the guitar. Donohue is known for his original compositions, instrumentals and song parodies such as “Sushi-Yucki” and “Would You Like to Play the Guitar?” The guitarist won a Grammy for his participation in “Pink Guitar,” a compilation of tunes by Henry Mancini on the acoustic guitar. Throughout his career, Pat Donohue has won several Minnesota Music Awards as well as a National Finger Picking Guitar Championship. His original compositions have been recorded by a number of major recording artists, including Kenny Rogers, Chet Akins, and Suzy Bogguss.
Now that he’s returned to touring full-time, Pat Donohue has also gone back into the recording studio. His latest studio album will be released soon, and will showcase the veteran guitarist’s skills in songwriting as well as finger picking. As Leo Kottke has stated, “if you’re a guitar player, he’s going to haunt you.” Let Pat Donohue haunt you this season with his performance at The Lyric Theatre, featuring many of Donohue’s unique original compositions.