Grammy® Award winner TOMMY EMMANUEL—acoustic guitarist extraordinaire, composer, and global touring artist—has today (May 9) released a newly shot live performance video for “Bella Soave,” a track from his upcoming album ENDLESS ROAD: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION out May 17. View the Bella Soave” video—which begins with TOMMY talking about the song’s inspiration—HERE. It was shot at TOMMY’s home outside of Nashville, TN and directed by Joshua Britt & Neilson Hubbard for Neighborhoods Apart. It was premiered yesterday (May 8) by The Bluegrass Situation.
Regarded as a landmark album within TOMMY’s body of work, Endless Road has now been newly remastered for digital outlets and will also be available for the first time ever on vinyl. The beautiful and evocative “Bella Soave” is among the album’s highlights. TOMMY recalls that he wrote the song in the back of car while traveling from Soave (near Verona), where he had just spent a few days at a guitar festival, down to Rome.
“The song was written after my first visit in Soave, Italy in 1999. It was the first festival I ever played,” recalls TOMMY. “I was so happy and overjoyed from the experience of the festival that I started writing when I got into the backseat of the car. We were driving from Soave down to Rome for a show and workshop, and I wrote this song on the way there. I got it finished and played it that night at the show. I tried to give it a sort of Spanish feel in the bridge because I had met a lot of Spaniards that weekend at the festival,” he adds. “’Bella Soave’ means ‘beautiful Soave.’ It’s a beautiful place and has been a big part of my musical life.”
ENDLESS ROAD: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION will include three never-before released live bonus tracks: “Mona Lisa (Live),” “Mr. Guitar (Live),” and “Morning Aire (Live),” the latter of which was unveiled on May 2. Watch the video HERE.
TOMMY views Endless Road as a “wonderful album in my life and in my career. It has a lot of songs that I get asked to play, like ‘The Endless Road,’ ‘Angelina,’ ‘(The Man With The) Green Thumb,’ and ‘Mona Lisa.’” He adds that these songs “are dear to my heart and dear to my fans and friends out there.” Watch the album announcement trailer HERE.
ENDLESS ROAD: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION also includes his covers of “Windy & Warm” and “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” In addition, the remastered album will feature a live version of “Mr. Guitar.” (The studio version of the song, by TOMMY and Michael Cleveland, was released this past March as first single from the new multi-artist album WE STILL CAN’T SAY GOODBYE – A Musicians’ Tribute to Chet Atkins.) TOMMY recently wrote “Mr. Guitar” in honor of his idol and music icon Chet Atkins, who called TOMMY “one of the best guitar players I’ve ever seen.” In fact, TOMMY is one of five people ever named a CPG (Certified Guitar Player) by Chet Atkins, the innovator, songwriter, producer, record company executive, and visionary. Nashville and the music industry are preparing to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday on June 20.
Meanwhile, TOMMY was honored this past February when he and guitar trio The String Revolution won the Grammy® Award in the “Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella” category for their unique reimagining of Johnny Cash’s classic “Folsom Prison Blues.” Sharing the Grammy Award with them was The Man in Black’s son John Carter Cash, who produced the single. Watch the video for “Folsom Prison Blues” HERE.
TOMMY is also coming off a dynamic 2023. He released his acclaimed collaborations album ACCOMPLICE TWO to great acclaim and earned the “Lifetime Achievement” Award from The National GUITAR Museum.
Here are TOMMY’s North American tour dates for 2024. The full international list of dates is HERE.
DATE |
LOCATION |
VENUE |
Tuesday, May 7 |
Durham, NC |
The Carolina Theatre of Durham |
Wednesday, May 8 |
Richmond, VA |
Carpenter Theatre |
Thursday, May 9 |
Gettysburg, PA |
The Majestic Theatre |
Friday, May 10 |
Gettysburg, PA |
The Majestic Theatre |
Saturday, May 11 |
Newton, NJ |
The Newton Theatre |
Sunday, May 12 |
Westhampton Beach, NY |
Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center |
Tuesday, May 14 |
Lebanon, NH |
Lebanon Opera House |
Wednesday, May 15 |
New London, CT |
Garde Arts Center |
Thursday, May 16 |
Lexington, MA |
Cary Hall |
Friday, May 17 |
Albany, NY |
The Egg |
Saturday, May 18 |
Port Chester, NY |
The Capitol Theatre |
Sunday, May 19 |
McKees Rocks, PA |
Roxian Theatre |
Tuesday, May 21 |
Buffalo, NY |
Asbury Hall |
Wednesday, May 22 |
St Catharines, ON |
FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre |
Thursday, May 23 |
Oshawa, ON |
Regent Theatre |
Monday, June 17 |
Bend, OR |
Tower Theatre |
Tuesday, June 18 |
Bend, OR |
Tower Theatre |
Sunday, June 23 |
Telluride, CO |
Telluride Bluegrass Festival |
Wednesday, October 9 |
London, ON |
Centennial Hall |
Thursday, October 10 |
Toronto, ON |
Massey Hall |
Friday, October 11 |
Kitchener, ON |
Center in the Square (Kitchener) |
Saturday, October 12 |
Ottawa, ON |
Meridian Theatres |
Sunday, October 13 |
Montreal, QC |
Place Des Arts Maison Symphonique |
Tuesday, October 15 |
Fredericton, NB |
The Fredericton Playhouse |
Wednesday, October 16 |
Moncton, NB |
Capitol Theatre |
Thursday, October 17 |
Saint John, NB |
Imperial Theatre |
Saturday, October 19 |
Halifax, NS |
Rebecca Cohn Auditorium |