The Heart Songs album is out tomorrow….YEAH! Here’s a sneak peak of John Knowles and I performing “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” from the album. John opens this arrangement with a touching intro and first verse that allows the melody to pierce straight to my heart. Then, I weave in and around his melody and eventually take the melody up higher. Towards the last verse, we are in perfect harmony just like brothers! Enjoy!
Tommy Emmanuel will perform a special concert on Jan. 28, 2019, at Elmhurst College to benefit a scholarship fund named for his family. The Emmanuel Family Guitar Endowed Scholarship at Elmhurst College was established earlier this fall in memory of Tommy’s sister, Virginia; and brother, Phil. The scholarship was created through the generosity of Fred and Dinah Gretsch, owners of the Gretsch Company, and will benefit guitar students at Elmhurst College. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the concert will be donated to this scholarship. The first recipients will be selected in the spring of 2019. “We’re overwhelmed by the generosity of Tommy Emmanuel and the Gretsch family,” said PeterGriffin, chair of the Department of Music. “It’s an honor for us to house this scholarship, which will support guitar students at Elmhurst College well into the future.” The Elmhurst College Gretsch Guitar Ensemble will open the concert. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 28, in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel (190 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst, elmhurst.edu/campusmap). General admission is $50 per person. Tickets go on sale beginning Dec. 15 at Elmhurst.edu/guitarbenefit
This video of John Knowles and I performing “How Deep Is Your Love” was shot live in Chico, CA on December 8, 2016. We were really in the zone that night! This live recording is a bonus track on our soon to be released album Heart Songs, and it contains a studio version of this song as well. This Bee Gees masterpiece is another of my favorite melodies and just the right type of song for John and I to express our love of real pop music composed with integrity. “How Deep Is Your Love” is also what really inspired John and I to start make this Heart Songs album.
You can also stream “Cold, Cold Heart”, “Walking My Baby Back Home”, and now “How Deep Is Your Love” from the Heart Songs album on Spotify and Apple Music. Enjoy!
I am VERY excited to announce that John Knowles will be joining our already stellar lineup of guitar instructors at the Tommy Emmanuel Guitar Camp USA in Vail, CO on June 13-17, 2019. In addition to John, we’ve got JD Simo, Joe Robinson, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, and very special guests Tuck & Patti. Colorado is one of my favorite places in the United States. There is nothing quite like the Rocky Mountains in the summer. I love the fresh air, the scenery, the instructors, the music, but most of all I’m thrilled to be learning and growing with you! Register between now and Christmas, and you will get a signed copy of the Heart Songs CD from John and I by the release date on January 11. What are you waiting for? Register here https://tommyemmanuelguitarcampusa.com/
I hope you enjoy the video of John Knowles and I performing “Walking My Baby Back Home” from our soon to be released album, Heart Songs. I’ve known this tune since I was a kid, and I still love it. All web store pre-orders will get a removable tattoo of the album cover. You can preorder Heart Songs by clicking here
You can also stream “Cold, Cold Heart” and “Walking My Baby Back Home” on Spotify and Apple Music. If you are a Spotify user, please follow me on Spotify. I have a Heart Songs playlist up there now with songs that inspired this record and just some great tunes about love. Follow me on Spotify by clicking here.
There’s a Holiday Sale on Tommy Emmanuel’s web-store. Everything is on-sale from shirts, CDs, vinyl, DVDs, tab books, posters, picks, and more. Some random CD and vinyl orders will be signed by Tommy. Not all orders will be signed, but a few of you will be surprised. You can also pre-order Tommy and John Knowles album, Heart Songs. All web-store pre-orders will get a removable tattoo of the album cover. The sale ends on Friday, December 7. Click here to see all the goodies we have
I am VERY excited to announce that I will be heading back to Australia in April, and I’ll be bringing along the Dobro master Jerry Douglas with me. I can’t wait to share what Jerry and I do in my homeland. This will be Jerry’s first trip to Australia, so let’s give him a warm welcome! Jerry will play solo, I’ll play solo, and then we’ll tear it up together! We’ll be making stops in Carins City, Townsville, Mackay, Mandurah, Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney. I am also looking forward to performing at the 30th Byron Bay Bluesfest.
Here’s a video of John Knowles and I performing “Cold, Cold Heart” which is the first single from Heart Songs. John’s beautiful, haunting intro is a tip of his hat to Lenny Breau. It drips with feeling and emotion. It sets up the song in such a beautiful way. I have loved this Hank Williams classic since I first heard it when I was 4 years old sitting in front of our record player, while the tears ran down my mother’s cheeks. Hank sure could write ’em! Pre-Orders for Heart Songs start today, and all pre-orders will get an instant download of “Cold, Cold Heart”.
This coming January, John Knowles and I will also be embarking on ‘The Heart Songs Tour’. I will be performing some songs solo, and John and I will be brining some of these new Heart Songs to life together. Since these new songs are so intimate, we decided to take this tour into some smaller listening rooms where we can really connect closer with you. In California, we’re playing in San Francisco, Bakersfield, San Juan Capistrano, and San Diego. We’re performing multiple nights in New York, Boston, Alexandria (DC area), Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Franklin (Nashville area). We’ll also be appearing in Homer, NY and St. Louis, MO. A full list of tour dates and ticket links can be found at https://tommyemmanuel.com/site-2020-old/tours/.
It’s no secret that I owe Chet Atkins a whole lot. Not only did he inspire and enlighten me in so many ways, but he also introduced me to one of my best friends – John Knowles. John is an amazing songwriter, arranger, and guitar player…not to mention a fellow CGP. I’ve worked on many projects with him, and I’ve been lucky enough to tour with him too. After 2 years of recording in our limited spare time, John and I have finally put together an album entitled Heart Songs. About 5 years ago, John and I worked up an arrangement of one of my favorite Bee Gee’s songs, “How Deep Is Your Love”. Whenever we played it live the audiences seemed to love it. We decided to just record a video for it, and we put it up on YouTube. After millions of views and a blessing from the composer Barry Gibb, I thought we may be on to something here. When John and I started diving into arranging some more material, a certain theme started to emerge.
Heart Songs is an album comprised of songs about love and played directly from our hearts. We took some of our favorite classic songs about love and rearranged them into something that we think is really special and challenging. We played country classics such as Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart” and Don Gibson’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You”. On the guitar, I got to emulate some of my favorite singers like Michael McDonald, Billy Joel, and Bonnie Raitt. We even jumped into a little theatre with songs like “Somewhere” from West Side Story and “Where is Love” from Oliver!. We also added in some original songs like “After Paris” by John and my song “Eva Waits”. This album really was a blessing to make with one of my best friends! I hope you feel the love and the joy oozing out of our hearts, strings, and fingers as you listen!
Pre-orders will start this Friday, and be on the lookout for “Cold, Cold Heart”.
The Accomplice Tour keeps rolling on. I am very proud to announce that in March 2019, I am coming back to the Europe with the amazing blues guitarist, JD Simo. Earlier this year, I did a run of shows with JD in the western Untied States. We had a blast, and I didn’t want it to end. We decided to take our guitar circus to the United Kingdom and Holland. I love playing with JD. He’ll play solo, I’ll do my solo thing, and then we’ll tear it up together.
In the United Kingdom, we’ll be playing in Perth, Coventry, Shrewsbury, Salisbury, London, Sheffield, Manchester and Cambridge. In Holland, we’re performing in Groningen, Utrecht, Heerlen, Tilburg, Nijmegen and Rotterdam. A full list of tour dates can be found here. The Holland shows are on-sale now, and the shows in the UK go on-sale this Friday.
JD and I recorded “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of The Bay” for Accomplice One. JD also appears on the track “Wheelin’ & Dealin’” where he plays a blistering country guitar solo that still blows me away every time I hear it. Check it out, and I hope to see you on the Endless Road.
One of my favorite things to do is to pass on my guitar knowledge to those with a desire to learn it. There is no better place for that than at one of my guitar camps. My camps have evolved in so many ways over the years. Each time, we learn something new that makes my next camp even more special. We want to give people the right amount of teaching but also enough time to jam, socialize, and really absorb the local environment. I love my guitar camps so much, and I’m thrilled to announce Tommy Emmanuel’s Guitar Camp USA 2019 in Vail, CO.
John Denver sang about the Rocky Mountains and made us all aware of the natural beauty and the freshness of the air. I’ve been playing in Colorado since the early 90’s, and although I don’t ski…I’ve always wanted to go to Vail. That’s one reason this year’s Guitar Camp USA is taking place at The Lodge in Vail, CO on June 13-17, 2019. There’s nothing quite like the Rocky Mountains in the summer. Everything about it is going to be beautiful and really make people appreciate nature that much more. The Vail Guitar Camp USA features my most diverse guitar camp lineup thus far – Joe Robinson, J.D. Simo, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, and special guests Tuck & Patti. The instructors that I’ve chosen reflect such a wide range of styles – jazz, bluegrass, country, blues, fusion, even jam band rock ‘n’ roll. Each one has been carefully selected to bring something totally different to this camp. The Vail Guitar Camp USA will include four full days of lessons, workshops, performances, and some very special outings so that we get a real taste of the Rocky Mountain air. I hope you can join us, and I promise it will be an amazing an unforgettable experience! You can register here tommyemmanuelguitarcampusa.com
PS – There is another guitar camp we are announcing on the other side of the world on Monday. Stay tuned for details.
One of my favorite things to do is to pass on my guitar knowledge to those with a desire to learn it. There is no better place for that than at one of my guitar camps. My camps have evolved in so many ways over the years. Each time, we learn something new that makes my next camp even more special. We want to give people the right amount of teaching but also enough time to jam, socialize, and really absorb the local environment. I love my guitar camps so much, and I’m thrilled to announce Tommy Emmanuel’s Guitar Camp USA 2019 in Vail, CO.
John Denver sang about the Rocky Mountains and made us all aware of the natural beauty and the freshness of the air. I’ve been playing in Colorado since the early 90’s, and although I don’t ski…I’ve always wanted to go to Vail. That’s one reason this year’s Guitar Camp USA is taking place at The Lodge in Vail, CO on June 13-17, 2019. There’s nothing quite like the Rocky Mountains in the summer. Everything about it is going to be beautiful and really make people appreciate nature that much more. The Vail Guitar Camp USA features my most diverse guitar camp lineup thus far – Joe Robinson, J.D. Simo, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, and special guests Tuck & Patti. The instructors that I’ve chosen reflect such a wide range of styles – jazz, bluegrass, country, blues, fusion, even jam band rock ‘n’ roll. Each one has been carefully selected to bring something totally different to this camp. The Vail Guitar Camp USA will include four full days of lessons, workshops, performances, and some very special outings so that we get a real taste of the Rocky Mountain air. I hope you can join us, and I promise it will be an amazing an unforgettable experience! You can register here Tommyemmanuelguitarcampusa.com.
PS – There is another guitar camp we are announcing on the other side of the world on Monday. Stay tuned for details.
I hope you enjoy this video of David “Dawg” Grisman and I performing “Watson Blues”. I have such a great time playing with the Dawg. We had a blast touring together last November. This video was from a show we did in Charleston, SC. I enjoyed making our record Pickin’ together. David is a walking song book, and playing with him is relaxing, fun, and challenging all at the same time. “Watson Blues” is on my album Accomplice One. The recording of “Watson Blues” features Dawg and the amazing Bryan Sutton. Make sure Accomplice One and Pickin’ are in your record collection. You will not be disappointed!
I wanted to share a video with my good friend and accomplice, Jake Shimabukuro, performing “Rachel’s Lullaby” from Accomplice One. My wife told me I should write a lullaby for our daughter, Rachel. I agreed! I had been listening to a lot of Beatles music in the week prior to writing this song, and Rachel’s favorite song is “Black Bird”. I tried to channel some of that mojo that touches the heart and satisfies the soul. Jake added his shimmering ukulele to the melody line and weaved his magic into the track masterfully. On the album version, Rachel was captured singing and playing her ukulele by her grandmother, and we edited it onto the front of this song. I really got a kick out of adding her sweet voice to my album. I hope you enjoy it!
This will be a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and for a wonderful cause!! Tommy will be performing with the amazing Jerry Douglas! Come show your support.
