Pat Kirtley

With a category-defying repertoire of pop, blues, Latin, jazz, and down-home country, Pat Kirtley is a US National Fingerstyle Champion and National Thumbpicking champion whose playing continues to garner international praise. He was hailed as one of "The Next Generation: Hot New Acoustic Acts for the Millennium" by Acoustic Guitar Magazine. As a writer, Pat has been a featured columnist for magazines Onstage, Electronic Musician, Mister Guitar, Home Recording, Wood & Steel, and Germany's Akustik Gitarre. Pat is also a respected educator, traveling thousands of miles each year giving musician workshops as an international clinician.

He is a veteran of the festival and summer music camp scene, having been a featured performer and instructor at many of the major events across the country and abroad. As a class instructor, Pat is known for his patience, encyclopedic knowledge of guitar, clear explanations of difficult ideas, and taking the time to address the individual needs of each student one-on-one. Pat has produced numerous instructional videos for Guitar Workshop and books for Mel Bay. His most recent project is a 2-volume double-DVD instructional set called "Pickin' Like Chet - Vintage Chet Atkins Classics" from Guitar Workshop.

Pat has released five acclaimed albums which have become perennial staples of the acoustic guitar world and appeared on Narada Records' CD project "Guitar Fingerstyle" which sold over a quarter million copies, followed up by appearances on Narada's Masters of Acoustic Guitar and Guitar Fingerstyle 2. His music is featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and has been used in the soundtrack of Lifetime Network’s The Wire.  www.myspace.com/patkirtley

A sampling of press comments and quotes:

“He is among the new trailblazers-the bold ones who will take the guitar into the next century”
John Schroeter-publisher, Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine

“Kirtley is one of those all-too-rare musicians able to transcend his influences to create a distinctive, natural sound all his own.“  David McCarty, Walnut Valley Record Reviews

“In a league with John Renbourn and Pierre Bensusan...”  Guitar Player Magazine

"Maybe it's that tone he gets from his guitar-warm, sweet and beguiling; or maybe it's that feeling you get that he could blow you away any time with the flashiest of pyrotechnics, but instead is unerringly tasteful-maybe it's that tendency to forget that you're listening to another album of "guitar music" and find that you're simply enjoying great music. Kentuckian Pat Kirtley is winning large legions of fans with his irresistible fingerpicking; find out why!"  -Chris Reitz, Elderly Music "Hot Platter Award"