Guitar icon Tommy Emmanuel is no stranger to iconic stages from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to London’s Royal Festival Hall and Paris’ L’Olympia. The legendary entertainer has dazzled audiences across the world. On Wednesday, July 23, this virtuoso arrives to perform in the historic Opera House in Boothbay Harbor.

Tommy has a Grammy Award, multiple ARIA Awards and countless accolades, but nothing means more to Tommy than the three letters Chet Atkins designated at the end of Tommy’s name: C.G.P. The title of Certified Guitar Player was the highest honor Atkins could bestow on another player – a signifier that the recipient had not only mastered the instrument but taken it to new vistas and become a guiding light for the next generation of pickers. Like Tommy, Chet had never gone to a university, and the C.G.P. was his version of a PHD or a Doctorate of the guitar. He gave the honor to Tommy and only five other handpicked players.

As a songwriter and a performer, Tommy is a melting pot of influences across genres, form pop to bluegrass and jazz to rock n’ roll. To him, music is rhythm and emotion, all other distinctions are meaningless. Anyone who has seen Tommy play will tell you, the vocalist is there, as is the drummer, the bass player and the rhythm and lead guitarists. In a way that must be seen to be believed, Tommy plays all the parts of a full band simultaneously, his fingers dancing around the fretboard with a dexterity and speed that would seem impossible if you weren’t witnessing it.

Tommy’s determination to entertain and move audiences through the power of music, remains undimmed as he closes in on his seventh decade as a performer. He can turn a jazz café into a cathedral or a radio station performance into the Ryman.

His last performance at the Boothbay Harbor Opera House, “...remains one of the most talked about concerts we’ve ever presented,” shared venue director Cathy Sherrill. “It sounds as though he is an entire orchestra at times. Tommy Emmanuel is the reason descriptive words like jaw-dropping were put in to use. He’s simply the best.”

Advance discounted tickets are $45 and available directly from the box office at 86 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor, or by calling 207-633-5159. Regular tickets are $50 and available at the official website: https://boothbayoperahouse.com/. All seating is general admission. Doors for seating open at 7 p.m. and Tommy Emmanuel goes on stage at 7:30. The Opera House bar opens at 6:30 p.m. for ticket holders that night. This show was sponsored by