Pat Shelby was born in Hampton, Iowa, and in 1990, began the study of fingerstyle guitar with Preston Reed. Not long after, he finished fourth in the 1993 Telluride Bluegrass Festival's Fingerstyle Guitar competition and narrowly missed winning an award as the 1993 Twin Cities Best Guitarist. The death of his father, however, changed Shelby's focus to CCM, and he released a self-titled album in 1995. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide