Tommy Emmanuel, cgp w/The Jerry Douglas Band

Australia-born Tommy Emmanuel started playing guitar at 4. By his twenties he was a most sought-after performer and session musician, burning on electric guitar with several bands. Yearning for something purer and closer to his heart he went acoustic—shaped by his hero and eventual lifelong friend, Chet Atkins, who welcomed him into guitarist knighthood by bestowing upon him the coveted title of Certified Guitar Player. Receiving Chet’s love and esteem lifted Tommy into a different realm. The exuberance he brings to every note of every song is palpable and infectious. Fans love his unbound guitar talent and ability to play three parts at once, always with pure heart and real soul. This true virtuoso seems as delighted with the music’s magic as the audience, his joy illuminating everything. It’s one thing to play multidimensional arrangements flawlessly on an acoustic guitar. Doing so with that smile of the ages—evidence of authentic, unbridled delight—is an irresistibly infectious invitation to feel his music deeply. That authentic exuberance Tommy brings to every show and record is especially powerful. His happiness, like his music, is pure and expressed in real time—a quality reaching far beyond any one language and instantly understood by his fellow humans. It’s why he and his audience smile so much as he plays. His joy is universally recognized. And it feels good.