Tommy Emmanuel

Recognized as the elite of the elite and arguably the greatest living acoustic guitar player, Two-time Grammy nominee Tommy Emmanuel has mesmerized both fellow musicians and audiences alike with a professional career that spans over four decades. A household name in his native Australia, Tommy has garnered hundreds of thousands of loyal fans worldwide. Tommy unique style - he calls it simply "finger style" - is akin to playing guitar the way a pianist plays piano, using all ten fingers. With 4 platinum & 3 gold albums and many awards, he sets the standard for others to emulate. Emmanuel music and life are legendary in Australia. He began playing guitar at age 4, by learning to play by ear without any formal instruction. Emmanuel and his older brother Phil were child prodigies, starting their professional careers in the 1960s. By the age of six, Tommy was already working as a professional musician. Shortly after his father death in 1966, the Emmanuel family was approached by Australian country music star Buddy Williams, who took the family on the road until they were forced by the Australian child welfare department to stop travelling. The Emmanuel children were then sent to a regular school. Guitar legend Chet Atkins was one of the first to inspire Emmanuel to pick up the guitar as a child. Decades later, Atkins himself became one of Emmanuel biggest fans. In 1999, Chet honored Tommy Emmanuel with the title of "Certified Guitar Player" for his lifetime contribution to the instrument, a rare honor shared by only three other people in the world ( Jerry Reed, Steve Wariner and John Knowles ). Atkins eventually recorded with Tommy in 1996 on "The Day the Finger Pickers Took Over the World", for which Emmanuel received his first Grammy award nomination. This was also Atkins last recording. In 2000 Tommy Emmanuel was watched by 2 billion people during the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Sydney. His versatility has taken Tommy from international Jazz Festivals to special events at The Sydney Opera House, The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, performing for the King of Thailand and the Australian Prime Minister and going to remote areas in Peru and Africa to name a few. Tommy has toured and worked withSir George Martin, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Michael Bolton, Olivia Newton-John, Tina Arena, Bill Wyman, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, James Burton, John Denver, Albert Lee, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Dave Koz, Martin Taylor, Leo Kottke, Hank Marvin, Joe Walsh, Warren Hill, James Morrison, John Farnham, Roberta Flack, Randy Goodrum, David Hirshfelder and many more. Support is from Rick Price who possesses one of the most celebrated and soulful voices in contemporary Australian music. In a wonderfully diverse and successful recording career now spanning almost two decades, he has revisited some of his best loved tunes and given them an acoustic makeove and released his new album, Revisited . Playing support to Tommy Emmanuel will introduce Rick Price to a whole new audience of British music fans, revealing him as a gifted contemporary artist, musician and songwriter, that Australian fans have known for so long - a genuine musical troubadour. Click here to download a seating plan for this event