Tommy Emmanuel can't wait to play the hometown of one of his guitar heroes

Tommy Emmanuel has shared stages with the likes of Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne, and is looking forward to playing in the hometown of one of his other guitar heroes, writes Ed Power

FOR Tommy Emmanuel it all began with a call out of the blue from Eric Clapton. The rock legend was shortly to tour Australia and word had reached his camp of a Sydney guitarist whose virtuosity rivalled Clapton’s own. Soon they had hitched their wagons together and blazed a trail across the Antipodes. Emmanuel has never looked back.

“The tour we did together in 1990 elevated me to another level immediately,” Emmanuel recalls. “A lot of people discovered my music — immediately afterwards, I noticed a difference. Clapton was fantastic to be around as well — one of those quiet achievers who keeps on getting better and better.”