“A local staple, Langtry is, simply, a guitar player (Patrick McKinney) of virtuoso status. In the way of versatility, nuance, subtly and flat-out chops, McKinney is not only seasoned, but can seemingly get any sound out of guitar (or any other stringed instrument) he pleases. McKinney has performed with six and 12-string guitars, banjos and even sitars. McKinney played with Jeff McGriff and Lee Folmar (also a member of Starry Crowns) in a band called Welcome to Nagaland prior to McKinney’s newest project, Langtry.” - Paul DeRevere, Tallahassee Democrat

Patrick McKinney started performing solo in 1999, appearing first as Jackstraw in and around Tallahassee. Patrick soon chose Langtry as a solo moniker, due to his fascination with the folklore and legend surrounding Lillie Langtry and her adopted home of Langtry, Texas.  A veteran of several Tallahassee-area bands, Langtry allows McKinney to fully explore the sound of stringed instruments of all sorts (primarily banjo and guitar).

As Upon the Road Thereto, his debut, was released in the summer of 2004.  The results are indebted to close friends and longtime collaborators, but ultimately McKinney’s playing stands at the forefront.  Though classically trained, McKinney’s playing is steeped in tradition American folk, blues and jazz styles.  McKinney’s interest and alliance to modern reinterpretations of traditional sounds – from the Takoma school (John Fahey, Robbie Basho) to the Vanguard label (Sandy Bull, Peter Walker) to post-modernists (Sun City Girls, Pelt) – is also apparent.  The recordings are remarkably full and complex, a fact all the more astounding once one realizes the sounds are created by Patrick alone with his guitar…

Since issuing his debut, Patrick McKinney has kept busy recording and performing with Sam Beam’s Iron & Wine, to which he contributes guitar and banjo.  Beam enlisted McKinney to score a student film of his while at FSU, and after signing to Sub Pop, asked Patrick to join his band. 

McKinney recorded his follow-up to As Upon the Road Thereto (the as-yet released A Dream of Jersey Lillie) in a small, abandoned farmhouse in the outskirts of Leon County, Florida.  He is currently completing another full length (Joy Kills Sorrow) in Athens with veteran producer David Barbe.  Joy Kills Sorrow features Patrick’s playing augmented by a five-piece band, many of whom have performing with McKinney, in one form or another, for the past decade.