Tommy Emmanuel will Return to Dynamite Guitars

Finger-picking guitarists Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles (courtesy of the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts)

Those who regularly follow the Dynamite Guitars concert series offered by the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts know that acoustic guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel has been a fixture in the programming at least for as long as I have been writing previews about this series (and probably much longer). On one season I recall that he offered not only a concert but also an all-day guitar workshop. As a result it did not go unnoticed (at least among his fans) that he did not perform here during the 2017–2018 season. Fortunately, he will return to Dynamite Guitars early next month.

Inspired by Chet Atkins, Emmanuel has developed his own complex fingerstyle technique, frequently augmented with the use of percussive effects on the body of his guitar. While his repertoire is not thoroughly comprehensive (I have not encountered him playing anything from the classical domain), it is broad enough to encompass jazz, blues, bluegrass, folk and rock. (The absence of classical is understandable, since Emmanuel does not read or write music.) His virtuoso technique is sufficiently solid that most of the tracks in his studio recordings are captured in a single take.

Emmanuel will return to San Francisco as part of a tour celebrating his latest recording, Heart Songs. This is a duo album on which he is joined by John Knowles, whose own prodigious technique has landed him in the Thumb-Picker Hall of Fame. Knowles will be making the tour with Emmanuel and will appear with him in San Francisco.

This concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 8. The venue will be Herbst Theatre, whose entrance is on the ground floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Tickets are on sale for $65 for premium seating in the Orchestra and the front of the Dress Circle, $55 for the remainder of the Orchestra, the remainder of the center Dress Circle, and the Boxes, and $45 for remaining seats in the Dress Circle and the Balcony. Tickets may be purchased online in advance through a City Box Office event page.