Tommy Emmanuel, CGP

Hailed as one of the best acoustic guitarists in the world by NPR's World Cafe, Tommy Emmanuel got his start at the age of six, when he first began touring his native Australia with his family's band. As a teenager, he earned a reputation as a highly sought after sideman and session player, and by his early twenties, Emmanuel was playing on chart-topping hits and performing with acts like Air Supply and Men at Work. Inspired in part by his hero, Chet Atkins (who would later become a friend, mentor, and collaborator), Emmanuel stepped out on his own as a solo artist in 1979, releasing the first in a string of acclaimed instrumental albums that would make him an unlikely celebrity in his home country and beyond. Recorded in just four days, Emmanuel's latest album, Living In The Light, stands as the most daring and most rewarding collection in the globetrotting fingerpicker's remarkable catalog, fusing his pop, jazz, classical, and roots influences into a virtuosic masterwork.