TOMMY EMMANUEL
BY ERIC DAHL
One of my first assignments for Collectible Guitar magazine back in August of 2012 was to visit a Nashville, TN-based guitarist’ s home and interview him in person. My editor had procured a local photographer to go with me for candid images, and it felt very official. When I arrived with my notebook and recorder, I was greeted by a gregarious Australian man in jeans and a flowing white shirt, no shoes, and guitars sprinkled around his living room. Little did I know that this world-class Certified Guitar Player would become a friend and that I would have the good fortune to interview him multiple times for magazines and other media outlets. This time Tommy Emmanuel was conversing with me from London, England, while visiting family before heading back out on tour. At 70 years young, Emmanuel achieved his first Grammy award in 2024 for a song produced by John Carter Cash, Folsom Prison Blues— a milestone that seemed inevitable for someone
64 | SPRING 2026
PHOTO CREDIT JESS GLEESON