Tommy Emmanuel

Born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Tommy Emmanuel was immersed in Australian country music from an early age, first as part of a family band that toured the country and later as a studio musician and accompanist in Sydney during the 1970s. His acoustic guitar style is rooted in a fingerstyle approach influenced by country, jazz, pop, rock, blues and bluegrass, with a technique that combines bass lines, chords, melody and percussive effects in a single, integrated movement. After his first solo album From Out of Nowhere (1979), Tommy Emmanuel’s solo career became more prominent beginning with Up from Down Under (1987), followed by The Journey (1993), Endless Road (2004), It’s Never Too Late (2015), Accomplice One (2018) and Accomplice Two (2023). Before and during this solo trajectory he performed with John Farnham, Dragon and the Southern Star Band, while maintaining an active touring presence in Australia, Europe and North America. His association with Chet Atkins — whose influence runs through his entire approach to the guitar — also marked his career, notably with the duo album The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World (1997) and the awarding of the title Certified Guitar Player in 1999.