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.
There are more shows announced with the Dobro guru Jerry Douglas. Jerry and I both are going to perform solo, but we’re also going to tear down the house together! We’re performing in Italy throughout November, but we also have US shows throughout December. We just added shows in Boulder, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, Beverly Hills, and Dallas. You do not want to miss this show!
I’ve been hanging with the great Dobro master Jerry Douglas. Back in April, we performed together at the Grand Ole Opry and at Merelfest. This video of my song “Halfway Home” is from our Merlfest performance. Playing and hanging with Jerry has been a magical experience, and I so proud and excited that we’re going to be doing some more shows together. Jerry is going to perform solo, I’m going to perform solo, but we’re also going to tear down the house together! We’re performing throughout Italy in November, but we also have US shows on-sale now in Salina, Salt Lake City, Boise, Spokane, Grants Pass, Bend, Redding, San Luis Obispo, Las Vegas, and Tucson. There will be more shows announced soon in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, New Mexico, and Texas. These shows are going to be a blast, and you do not want to miss it!
I wanted to thank all you good people who have written and posted about my brother, Phil. I’ve cried, laughed, told stories, and had a million things to do since he passed away. I feel he wants us to stay happy and look after each other, so let’s get to work! Phil taught me so much right from the start.
He showed me how to recognize song keys, chords, harmonies, how to get a sound that worked, how to stay out of the way on stage, and when to step forward when I had something to say (musically or otherwise). We spent so many years traveling, playing shows, setting up, packing up, and sleeping in cheap motels and pubs. It was all because we loved to entertain people and have fun.
We shared everything. He taught me about kindness, giving, listening, how to love people as they are. He wants us to find our happiness, and to hold onto it tightly. He showed us how to find humor in everything, and to pass it on to others. He was eternally kind and loving, and he showed his commitment to the music and the audience every time he walked on the stage.
I love Phil, and I miss him! If you’re feeling generous, Phil was very passionate about nature and the environment. He and I support the WWF-Australia, which stands for the World Wildlife Fund. If you want to make a donation in his name, my family would appreciate it and so would mother nature! Just click here https://donate.wwf.org.au/donate.
I am thrilled to announce that today my friends at TrueFire have released a new course of mine focusing on my last solo record, It’s Never Too Late. I’ll show you how to play songs such as “Only Elliot”, “It’s Never Too Late”, “Hope Street”, “Blood Brother”, “Traveling Clothes”, and “Old Photographs”. This course not only has a personal step by step lesson plan from me, but it also has tab for the songs as well. If you want to learn to take your guitar playing to the next level, check out all my courses on Truefire and the other amazing players giving lessons like Andy McKee, Frank Vignola, Steve Vai, and many more. Check it out at TrueFire.com.
We also decided to do a limited time summer sale on my web-store where almost all my album are on-sale including the CD and vinyl of It’s Never Too Late. There are also other items on sale such as pick tins, posters, and shirts. Check it out here. This sale will only be running for two weeks.
I hope you enjoy the video Pat Bergeson and I did for “Saturday Night Shuffle”. This song appears on my new album, Accomplice One. On the album, it’s not only a duet with Pat Bergeson but also with my old friend Jorma Kaukonen. I’ve always wanted to record with Jorma, but I had to find the right track. I didn’t want to just do another blues track. I wanted to give Jorma the opportunity to play on something different. This song is a Merle Travis classic, and I approached it like a jug band. The solos are in the key of B. Jorma laughed that he’d never played in B before. Pat Bergeson added some cool harmonica and really made this track a lot of fun!!
One of my favorite things to do when I’m home in Nashville is to go and jam with Jack Pearson. His knowledge, experience, and versatility are unmatched. His loving attitude and big heart is an inspiration to be around. I was thrilled that Jack agreed to be on my album, Accomplice One. The song, which we recorded in one take, is testimony to Jack’s greatness. I simply said to him, “Let’s play a blues in Bb.” He started strumming the chords, then I joined in with some melody lines. We then weaved our way through the whole song as if having a conversation and nothing was planned or rehearsed. This is music in its pure state. It’s two guys playing from their heart and from their mind. When we listened back to it, Jack said, “We sound like two kids in a playground.” So, I called it “Tittle Tattle”. We just have a blast playing together, and I think it shows in this video. I’m also honored that Jack will be joining me for my guitar camp in Memphis.
Big news thrill-seekers! This week we added tab and notation for all of the video song lessons written by me on Certified Gems, Certified Gems 2, and Little By Little. These 3 courses feature many of my most popular songs. We’re also working on a course teaching songs from, It’s Never Too Late, which should be available shortly.
Just getting into fingerstyle? Check out Fingerstyle Milestones and Fingerstyle Breakthroughs — both courses are ideal for guitar players who are ready to explore the polyphonic wonders of fingerstyle guitar!
All of the courses are produced with my friends at TrueFire. You’ll have lots of handy tools for looping and slowing down the video, tab, and notation. Plus, I walk you through all of the lessons step-by-step, note-by-note!
You can learn more about all of my courses on my website by clicking here or on TrueFire
TrueFire is running a promo of 25% off Tommy’s courses through March 14th. The code is: TOMMYTAB
We just announced our schedule for my Australia Guitar Retreat. My good friend Stuie French has been added to that list of instructors. Andy Allen, who builds my guitars for Maton, is coming in for a workshop. We now have Richard Smith, Stuie French, Simon Hosford, and Michael Fix for the Australia Guitar Retreat. Click this link for the entire Australia schedule: http://tommyemmanuelguitarretreat.com/schedule
In addition, we just updated my Scotland Guitar Camp Schedule which now has Richard Smith, John Knowles CGP, Frank Vignola, Vinny Raniolo, and a very cool surprise special guest. We have less than 20 spots open for my Scotland Camp in May and for my Memphis Camp in July. If you want to come, you better register soon. For more information or to register, click the links below. I hope to see you there.
I hope you enjoy this video of “Deep River Blues.” It was a great honor for me to have Jason Isbell agree to sing this track. His voice and his feel are so right for this song. I knew we’d chosen the right song when he started singing the first verse. Working with him gave me chills! Jason and I are both big Doc Watson fans, and I think it was a cool way to honor him. This was the actual first song that we recorded for my new album, Accomplice One, and it’s the first song on the record. It really set the bar high for the rest of the sessions. This video was really fun to make. I always love getting my hands dirty! Enjoy the video and subscribe to my Youtube channel.
On Monday, MerleFest announced the addition of Tommy Emmanuel and Jerry Douglas to the event’s 2018 lineup. This will be their first ever public performance! They will be performing on Saturday, April 28th on the Watson Stage.
In honor of this occasion we want to share a video of Tommy & Jerry performing Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”. The song appears on Tommy’s new album Accomplice One
