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With two Grammy Award nominations, two ARIA Awards and repeated honours in Guitar Player magazine’s reader’s poll, Tommy Emmanuel captivates his audience as one of the most outstanding solo performers you will ever experience, with a very unique style. Emmanuel frequently threads three different parts simultaneously into his material, operating as a one-man band who handles the melody, the supporting chords and the bass all at once. There’s a science to assembling the parts, and Emmanuel’s technical gift has earned him accolades and recognition. But the average fan could listen without even considering the precision behind the work, focusing instead on the artful tension and release of Emmanuel’s melodies.
“I write as if I’m writing for a singer,” says Tommy Emmanuel. “I don’t think, ‘Ah, it’s just a solo guitar piece.’ I try to imagine I’m playing with a band or with a singer, but then I play the whole thing as a solo piece and look for ways to give it space.”
Emmanuel was destined, perhaps, to become a world-class musician. Given his first guitar at age four, he started working professionally just two years later in a family band, The Emmanuel Quartet. Tommy and his brother Phil were dedicated students of the instrument, creating games that helped them identify chords and patterns. They became adept at picking out the nuances of complex chords, a talent that takes most musicians years to develop.
Emmanuel’s technical precision, his virtuosic improvisations and his unusually broad repertoire, which encompasses not only country and bluegrass, but pop, jazz, blues, gospel, even classical, flamenco, and aboriginal styles makes for one of the most enjoyable music experiences. You will not want to miss this opportunity.
