Biography
According to Chet Atkins, Pat Donohue ranks as "one of the greatest fingerpickers in the world." While that assessment alone elevates any guitarist, Donohue’s achievements justify additional recognition. He earned the title of 1983 National Fingerpicking Guitar Champion and has sustained widespread notice as a distinctive musician and performer. Listeners of National Public Radio’s A Prairie Home Companion have encountered Donohue’s fingerpicked guitar for decades, often without realizing it. He began appearing as an occasional guest in the 1980s and joined the program’s house band as a permanent member in 1993.
Donohue’s broader abilities surface most clearly across his recordings, which fuse elements of folk, jazz, blues, ragtime, and boogie-woogie. Following the release of Manhattan to Memphis and Pat Donohue on Red House Records, he established his own imprint, BlueSky Records. Life Stories appeared in 1991, and Two Hand Band, devoted to jazz and instrumental standards, arrived two years later. With Big Blind Bluesy he turned toward classic country blues by artists such as Blind Blake and Big Bill Broonzy alongside original material. Chet Atkins guests on 1996’s Backroads, an album that alternates solo and ensemble renditions of Donohue’s own compositions. American Guitar highlights his solo technique and presents further original pieces together with his interpretations of traditional American works including “Maple Leaf Rag” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”
In addition to his solo engagements, Donohue continues to tour widely with A Prairie Home Companion and leads frequent ensemble workshops for guitarists throughout the United States.
Donohue’s broader abilities surface most clearly across his recordings, which fuse elements of folk, jazz, blues, ragtime, and boogie-woogie. Following the release of Manhattan to Memphis and Pat Donohue on Red House Records, he established his own imprint, BlueSky Records. Life Stories appeared in 1991, and Two Hand Band, devoted to jazz and instrumental standards, arrived two years later. With Big Blind Bluesy he turned toward classic country blues by artists such as Blind Blake and Big Bill Broonzy alongside original material. Chet Atkins guests on 1996’s Backroads, an album that alternates solo and ensemble renditions of Donohue’s own compositions. American Guitar highlights his solo technique and presents further original pieces together with his interpretations of traditional American works including “Maple Leaf Rag” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”
In addition to his solo engagements, Donohue continues to tour widely with A Prairie Home Companion and leads frequent ensemble workshops for guitarists throughout the United States.
Albums
