Walnut Valley Festival, Winfield, Kansas
September 15—19, 2010

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Walnut Valley Performances

In Years Past

Biography

Tommy Emmanuel is a household name in his native country of Australia. He is perhaps the most successful instrumental artist of Australia to date and has achieved worldwide recognition he deserves.

Born in Australia, he began playing the guitar at the age of four, after his mother gave him the guitar and his first lesson. Then at the tender age of six, he began touring the Australian outback with his family (two brothers and one sister). The group was billed as “The Midget Surfaries.” At the ripe old age of seven, he heard Chet Atkins and that was a real turning point for him in terms of style that he wanted to play and develop.

Since then he has worked with many bands and various styles of music from country to classical and from jazz to rock. He has worked Chet Atkins, Michael Bolton, Eric Clapton, John Denver, Olivia Newton-John, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder and many others. One of his biggest delights was recording “The Day the Fingerpickers Took Over the World” with his idol and guitar legend Chet Atkins.

Tommy’s career has carried him many times around the globe. He has played at the Grand Ole Opry and The Opera House in Sydney. He has played for the King of Thailand and the Prime Minister of Australia. He was the Australian Entertainer of the Year in 1995 and again in 1997 and a year later he won the Nashville Music Award for “Fingerpickers.”

Emmanuel resides in the UK and continues to tour the world, taking his music to the people. In 1999 he received the guitar world’s highest honor when Chet Atkins in Nashville presented him the C.G.P. (Certified Guitar Player) award.

Awards

• Juke Magazine: Australia's Best Guitarist - 1986,1987 & 1988
• Bi-Centennial Music Wk. Studio Musician of the Year - 1988
• Rolling Stone Magazine: Most Popular Guitarist - 1989 & 1990 , Best Guitarist - 1991,1992,1993 & 1994
• A.R.I.A Australian Adult Contemporary Record of the Year: 1991 - Determination 1993 - The Journey
• Australia's Biggest Selling Guitar Instructional Video -Guitar Talk
• MO Awards - Australian Performer of the Year - 1995 & 1997
• A.R.I.A Awards nomination for Best Australian Adult Contemporary Release Classical Gas- 1996 Can't Get Enough - 1997
• Gold Record for "Classical Gas" sales of 35,000 copies - Oct 1996
• The 1998 Nashville Music Award Winner - Instrumental Album category "The Day Finger Pickers Took Over The World" with Chet Atkins
• Grammy Awards nomination with Chet Atkins for "Smokey Mountain Lullaby" from The Day Finger Pickers Took Over The World - 1998
• RAWARDS "Lifetime Friend Of Commercial Radio" award - 1998
• C.G.P Award - Certified Guitar Player. "In recognition of his contributions to the art of Fingerpicking" - 1999 (Jerry Reed, John Knowles and Chet Atkins are the only other people to get this prestigious award).

Discography

• Can't Get Enough (Midnight Drive in the US) (1996)
• Classical Gas (Tommy Emmanuel with the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra)
• Collaboration (Tommy Emmanuel with numerous guests) (1998)
• Dare to be Different (1990)
• The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World (Tommy Emmanuel with Chet Atkins)
• Determination (1991)
• Endless Road ABC Music (2004) CD
• From Out of Nowhere (Tommy Emmanuel with Pee Wee Clark) (1979)
• Initiation (Asian release) (1995)
• The Journey (1993)
• The Journey Continues (1994)
• Midnight Drive (1997)
• Only (1998)
• Terra Firma (1995)
• Up from Down Under (1987)
• The Very Best of Tommy Emmanuel (2001)
• (video) Guitar Talk (1993)
• (video) Tommy Emmanuel in Concert, Part One Mel Bay Productions, Inc. MB99450VX (2000)
• (video) Tommy Emmanuel in Concert, Part Two Mel Bay Productions, Inc. MB99451VX (2000)
• (video) Up Close (1996)

Reviews

• Only

Links

• Tommy Emmanuel's official web site
• Tommy's MySpace Page
• Photos of Tommy Emmanuel at the 2007 Walnut Valley Festival

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