Tommy Emmanuel, CGP

LISTEN TO TOMMY EMMANUEL Hailed as “one of the best acoustic guitarists in the world” by NPR’s World Cafe, Tommy Emmanuel got his start at age six, when he began touring his native Australia with his family’s band. As a teenager, he earned a reputation as a highly sought-after sideman and session player, and by his early twenties, Emmanuel was playing on chart-topping hits and performing with acts like Air Supply and Men at Work. Inspired in part by his hero, Chet Atkins, who later became a friend, mentor, and collaborator, Emmanuel stepped out on his own as a solo artist in 1979. His acclaimed instrumental albums helped establish him as one of the world’s most celebrated acoustic guitarists, known for his extraordinary fingerstyle technique and blend of pop, jazz, classical, and roots influences. Over the decades, Emmanuel has headlined venues from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall, toured with Eric Clapton and John Denver, won a GRAMMY Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement, and performed at the Sydney Olympics for a televised audience of more than two billion. He has also collaborated with guitar greats including Les Paul, Mark Knopfler, Joe Walsh, Richard Thompson, Jason Isbell, and Billy Strings. Recorded in just four days, his latest album, Living In The Light, fuses his diverse musical influences into a virtuosic collection that is as exhilarating as it is intimate.