TOMMY EMMANUEL
“ CHET SAID TO ME 40 YEARS AGO,‘ YOU CATCH THE EAR OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE. I CAN’ T DO THAT ANYMORE— IT’ S OVER TO YOU. YOU’ VE GOTTA GRAB THE EAR OF THE YOUNG GENERATION SO THIS STYLE CAN CARRY ON.’”
I like those little guitars’ cause they’ re not trying to be a classical guitar. It’ s a beautiful sound, and they tune up so well. I also had a really old Gibson nylon string many years ago. I ended up giving it to one of my students. But that was a really nice guitar, too. I own a couple of Chet’ s classical guitars. I have a Hernandez that he recorded with in the early’ 60s when he was studying classical.
On the electric side, your Fender Telecaster has been your go-to electric for a number of years. Yeah, Teles— they’ re so dependable. They’ ve definitely got a certain sound, and I grew up with that. Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, and, you know, Don Rich and Roy Nichols and people like that. Then James Burton with Elvis and Ricky Nelson. They were the big influences on electric guitar. And of course, Jeff Beck played a Tele for a while.
With all the guitars you’ ve played, owned, sold, and given away over the years, is there one guitar you wish you still had— one you’ re seeking right now? I would like to get the Maton Jumbo that I sold to raise money for the victims after the earthquake in Haiti a long time ago. We raised a lot of money to send down there. I parted with that guitar, and I’ d love to get it back. That’ s the guitar that I wrote Tall Fiddler, The Mystery, and Cowboys Dream on. All those songs were written on that guitar, and it was the best-sounding one I ever owned.
Your Tommy Emmanuel Music Camps are growing and expanding now more than ever. Tell me about that. Well, the opportunity is there, and I’ ve kind of built something and created something that the public thinks is a good thing to get involved with. There are a lot of parents out there whose children want to be doing what we do, and they’ re obsessed— like we were obsessed. They know they can come along to a camp and they’ ll get the real deal from us.
With your new album Living in the Light and the major tour plans for 2026, what else do you have planned for this year? I’ m working up new ideas for some instruction to get people into a new way of playing songs like Scarlet’ s World and Black and White to Color. There are a lot of different techniques in those songs, and I’ m gonna try and explain that. I’ m still playing and working Living in the Light for the first half of this year. I’ ve got a project that I’ m working on with George Benson, and I’ m hoping to get that finished in March and get it out there. I can’ t wait.
74 | SPRING 2026