Tommy Emmanuel W/Joe Robinson
Bijou Theatre – Knoxville, TN
May 20, 2016
Last night was the third time I’ve had the privilege of catching one of Tommy Emmanuel’s performances live and for the third time, he blew me away. Ever the masterful musician (a Certified Guitar Player, actually. Read about it here), Tommy is an incredible entertainer, to boot.
Don’t take my word for it. Ask anyone who was part of the near-capacity crowd at the beautiful and historic (some say it’s even haunted) Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville.
Emmanuel dug deep into his vast catalog of songs to dazzle the crowd. He even laid one on us that hasn’t been recorded yet. He didn’t share the name of it but you can bet I’ll get his next CD so that I can hear it. It was one of his best and most beautiful compositions yet.
Opening for Tommy was Joe Robinson. Until last night, I hadn’t heard of the young Aussie. However, I can assure you that I will never forget him. Robinson is who you would get if you cloned Tommy Emmanuel and Phil Keaggy together. I've never seen anyone masterfully use looping and layering to the extent that Joe did last night. Keep an eye on this kid. Boomerocity will and we’re a new fan for life.
If you’ve never had the chance to see Tommy Emmanuel perform in person, you’re missing out on a real treat. I will never pass up a chance to see him perform. Now, I also won’t pass up a chance to see Joe Robinson, either.
Note: You can read the three Boomerocity interviews with Tommy here, here, a-a-a-a-and here.
