World-renowned guitarist and master entertainer TOMMY EMMANUEL, CGP is thrilled to announce what is sure to be an unforgettable tour of New Zealand in May 2026.
The five-date tour takes in Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch.
TOMMY EMMANUEL, CGP is a living legend in the world of acoustic guitar, celebrated for his jaw- dropping technique, innovation, and boundless musicality. He has enthralled audiences around the globe with his dazzling fingerstyle performances, and now, New Zealand will have the privilege of witnessing his mastery up close and personal.
“I feel like the Indiana Jones of the guitar world,” says the globe-trotting fingerpicker. “I’m on this wild journey, just making it up as I go, and I’m thrilled that so many people are having fun joining along with me.”
TOMMY EMMANUEL 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. In the decades that followed, he would go on to headline everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall; tour with luminaries like Eric Clapton and John Denver; win a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement; perform for a televised audience of more than two billion at the Sydney Olympics; and collaborate with a who’s who of fellow guitar greats, including Les Paul, Mark Knopfler, Joe Walsh, Richard Thompson, Jason Isbell, and Billy Strings.
“As I get older, I find myself taking a lot more risks, and having a lot more fun in the process,” says Emmanuel, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday. “When young people come to my shows and have this awakening that it’s okay to be different, that the possibilities of music and self-expression are limitless, that’s what it’s all about for me.”
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 as exhilarating as it is intimate.
Tommy’s forthcoming concerts promise an awe-inspiring musical journey as Tommy takes the stage with his beloved Maton guitar, captivating hearts with each strum and pluck. Fans will be captivated by a diverse musical landscape, from breathtaking ballads to exhilarating up-tempo tunes.
Tickets for the TOMMY EMMANUEL, CGP Living In The Light New Zealand Tour 2026 are expected to sell out quickly, so fans are encouraged to secure their seats early to avoid disappointment. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to witness a true guitar virtuoso in action.
TOMMY EMMANUEL, CGP is delighted to announce that Mike Dawes will be joining him for his LIVING IN THE LIGHT upcoming New Zealand tour.
Mike Dawes is an English guitarist known for composing, arranging, and performing
multiple parts simultaneously on a single guitar. He is regarded as one of the world’s most
creative modern fingerstyle guitarists, with a repertoire spanning original viral videos and
popular arrangements, alongside mainstream chart success performing with Justin Hayward
of The Moody Blues.
Mike was named ‘Best Acoustic Guitarist in the World’ two years in a row (2017 & 2018) by
Total Guitar Magazine & MusicRadar reader polls, with numerous 2nd place rankings in the
proceeding years.
His debut release, a solo guitar arrangement of Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used to Know,’
quickly became a viral hit with tens of millions of views on YouTube. This success has been
duplicated and expanded upon numerous times since with songs like ‘One,’ ‘The
Impossible,’ and ‘Jump’ across multiple video platforms. Mike has released three studio albums, the most recent of which is Galactic Acid.
