Down Pat

Even the most accomplished guitarists do a double take when they hear Pat Donohue on A Prairie Home Companion, where the versatile finger-style picker has masterfully performed in the shadow of host Garrison Keillor for at least a decade. Donohue can finesse anything acoustic — jazz, blues, folk, you name it — in his understated way, and to see him perform live is both revelatory and simply delightful. A former Denverite who honed his singular self-taught skills here before hightailing it back to his home town of St. Paul, Minnesota, to gig with Keillor, Donohue is always welcome when he comes back to the Mile High City for a concert.

That time has come again: Donohue takes the stage tonight at 8 p.m. at Swallow Hill Music Hall, 71 East Yale Avenue. Colorado Celtic band the Beth Leachman Trio opens; for tickets, $21 to $24, go to www.swallowhill.com or call 303-777-1003.
Sat., March 22, 8 p.m., 2008