AUSTRALIAN guitar player extraordinaire TOMMY EMMANUEL will set out on a national tour throughout January and February.
The tour will kick off in Tamworth at the COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL and travel through every state before moving on to New Zealand.
As part of the tour, several shows will also feature the skills of Emmanuel's guitarist sibling PHIL EMMANUEL as the pair celebrate 45 years since their stage debut.
``It's great that our schedules have provided this window to enable us to perform together again it's been a long time,'' Phil Emmanuel said.
The brothers, who are arguably two of Australia's best known guitarists, said the event would be an ideal chance to look back on their successful careers.
``I find it hard to believe it was 45 years ago that we first played together on stage be great to play together again,'' Tommy Emmanuel said.
Tommy Emmanuel has become a household name in Australia.
Through hard work and endless tours, he has earned success unequalled by any instrumental artist in Australia with four platinum and three gold albums and many awards to his credit.
As a songwriter, his compositions have been recorded by OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, AL JARREAU and SHEENA EASTON.
His career has spanned four decades and continues with the release of his latest album titled Only , which is his first solo acoustic album.
Tommy said he has his sights set on expanding his audience and taking his music to the rest of the world.
``I've spent all my l e from the age of four playing music and entertaining people, I never wanted to do anything else,'' he said.
``Music brings people together.
'' As a child prodigy during the 1960s, Tommy and his brother Phil formed bands such as THE EMMANUEL QUARTET, THE MIDGET SAFARIES and THE TRAILBLAZERS .
Tommy commenced his session career during the 1970s and performed on tracks such as AIR SUPPLY 's hit singles Lost in Love, All Out of Love, Every Woman in the World and Now and Forever .
His presence was felt in the US when his album Midnight Drive sat in the top five for 16 weeks, making him the most added artist on the NAC radio charts in 1997.
In Nashville in 1999, Tommy was honoured by his mentor Chet Atkins when he received the CERT IED GUITAR PLAYER award for his contribution to finger style guitar.
His versatility has taken him from international jazz festivals to special events at the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE and THE GRAND OLE OPRY in Nashville.
He has performed for the likes of the king of Thailand and the Australian Prime Minister and performed as far and wide as Peru and Africa.
In his career, he has shared the stage with greats including GEORGE MARTIN, STEVIE WONDER, ERIC CLAPTON, OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, TINA ARENA, BILL WYMAN, CHET ATKINS and many more.
Catch the tour when it arrives in Newcastle at WEST LEAGUES CLUB on February 5.
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