An Evening with Tommy Emmanuel, CGP at State Theatre New Jersey

Guitar icon Tommy Emmanuel, CGP is no stranger to iconic stages from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to London’s Royal Festival Hall and Paris’ L’Olympia. The legendary entertainer has dazzled audiences across the world. But there is something truly magical about the Sydney Opera House, and the magic of Emmanuel’s performances there were finally captured on his new album Live at the Sydney Opera House.

Emmanuel has a Grammy® Award, multiple ARIA Awards, and countless accolades, but nothing means more to Emmanuel than the three letters Chet Atkins designated at the end of his name: CGP. The title of Certified Guitar Player was the highest honor Atkins could bestow on another player—a signifier that the recipient had not only mastered the instrument but taken it to new vistas and become a guiding light for the next generation of pickers. Like Emmanuel, Atkins had never gone to a university, and the CGP was his version of a PhD or a Doctorate of the guitar. He gave the honor to Emmanuel and only five other handpicked players.

As a songwriter and a performer, Emmanuel is a melting pot of influences across genres, from pop to bluegrass and jazz to rock n’ roll. To him, music is rhythm and emotion, all other distinctions are meaningless. Anyone who has seen him play will tell you, the vocalist is there, as is the drummer, the bass player, and the rhythm and lead guitarists. In a way that must often be seen to be believed, Emmanuel plays all the parts of a full band simultaneously, his fingers dancing around the fretboard with a dexterity and speed that would seem impossible if you weren’t witnessing it.