When Tommy Emmanuel performed with Billy Strings on “Guitar Boogie,” the respect that the world’s greatest living acoustic guitarist gave the young gun felt like he was passing the torch to the next gen. If Tommy Emmanuel asks you to duel acoustic guitars with him on stage for 10 minutes straight of blazing fretboard licks, then you know you’re doing something right. Sixteen million fans just couldn’t get enough of the fiery chemistry.
The duet was made even more impressive by the fact that it was unrehearsed, as noted by Tommy at the start. After opening with “Guitar Boogie,” they segued into Merle Haggard’s “Workin’ Man Blues,” where Tommy provided a smoky vocal. The Music Man has to say that aside from the guitar pyrotechnics, the performance was made so special by how much fun the two boys were having up there. It just felt like they were two mates shredding it for the sheer joy of it, and the fact the audience was there was just a bonus.
Tommy uploaded his guitar duet to YouTube, where it became his second-most popular performance on the platform. Viewers appreciated that this was one of those great moments, and added comments such as “Tommy used to do this with his older brother Phil who has passed away now, Billy filled Phil’s shoes really great!!” and “40 years from now Billy will talk to some young up-and-coming guitarist and tell them of how, when he was their age, he got to play on stage with the mythical Tommy Emmanuel.”
When Tommy collaborates with other guitarists, the results are always memorable. One of the Aussie guitar icon’s greatest moments came when he played John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” with Mike Dawes. Mike’s parts alone here are super impressive, as he recreates pretty much the whole guitar and vocal arrangement on a single guitar. Tommy takes the performance to an absolutely magical place with his brilliantly inspired improvisations – nobody does it like Tommy!
Tommy Emmanuel first met Billy Strings at Merlefest in 2016. Speaking to Fretboard Journal, Tommy recalled that Billy “was a young man and he was hanging around the side of the stage waiting to be called up, hanging there with his guitar, looking over.” Guitarist Bryan Sutton suggested that Tommy bring Billy onstage. Tommy did so and played “Guitar Boogie” and “Working Man Blues” with Billy. The Music Man readers probably won’t be surprised to hear that the Aussie guitarist recalled that the young fella “just tore the hell out of it.” Tommy and Billy performed the same two songs at The Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in upstate New York on July 20, 2020. The 2020 performance is featured in the first video above.