This is an absolute joy to watch and listen to. Tommy Emmanuel joins forces with The String Revolution to deliver a new acoustic version of Johnny Cash-favourite ‘Folsom Prison Blues’. For added authenticity, it was recorded at Cash Cabin Studios and produced by John Carter Cash. The band were able to use Cash’s 1930’s Martin H Acoustic Guitar and Luther Perkin’s 1954 Fender Esquire. Wow. It’s a stirring, energetic performance and the footage from the studio allows us to see these great artists making a classic piece of music their own. This compelling new version of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ has been nominated for a GRAMMY in the ‘Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella’ category.
Recent months have been particularly exciting for Tommy Emmanuel. Alongside the GRAMMY nomination, he has received a lifetime achievement award from The National GUITAR Museum and released an acclaimed collaborations album, ‘Accomplice Two’. HP Newquist, the executive director of The National GUITAR Museum, said of Emmanuel: “To watch Tommy play fingerstyle guitar is to see possibilities in the guitar that most guitarists don’t even know exist. Tommy’s extraordinary skill is second to none among modern guitar players. He truly is one of the few players in history about whom the term ‘jaw-dropping’ is perfectly suited. Over his decades-long career he has become both an icon and an inspiration, and we’re honored to be able to recognise Tommy’s contribution to the guitar with this award.” Indeed, watching Emmanuel’s fingers dance on the frets is mesmerising and few can match that imagination and skill.
Following his lifetime achievement award, Emmanuel said: “I want to thank the National Guitar Museum for this wonderful honor. I feel like it was yesterday when I started playing this beautiful instrument. I will always be grateful to my parents for nurturing us kids as youngsters, encouraging us and exposing us to good music, and the artists who exemplified the words ‘Talented Entertainers’. The guitar has taken me places I could never have dreamed of, introduced me to audiences all over the world that I now have a relationship with, and kept that fire burning in my belly, to keep trying to learn more, play better, write deeper and give it all up on stage to the people I love playing for. I owe so much to so many who came before me and laid it all out. We, the lucky generation, have big shoes to fill.”
The new album is an inspired collection, featuring the likes of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas. 2024 is set to be equally busy and begins an extensive tour across the UK, USA and Europe, supported by Molly Tuttle. Get your tickets here for what promises to be an outstanding show.
