Live Review: Tommy Emmanuel at Cahn Auditorium • Evanston

Brassneck | October 19, 2025

Tommy Emmanuel

Tommy Emmanuel

Cahn Auditorium

Evanston, IL

October 15, 2025

Review by Steven Kikoen

On a gray, rain-spattered day in mid-October, the campus of Northwestern University still seemed to maintain its quiet collegiate grandeur. Inside the 85-year-old Cahn Auditorium—a favorite among Northwestern students and the Evanston community—there are more than a thousand seats which would soon be filled by the undisputed champion of the acoustic guitar: Tommy Emmanuel.

Born and raised in Australia and now a dual citizen who calls Nashville home, Tommy is a rare fusion of Aussie heart and American spirit—humble, joyful, humorous, adventurous, and powered by a boundless energy that turns every concert into a revelation.

For those who’ve seen Emmanuel perform live, the experience borders on magical. Watching him play is like standing a few feet from a great illusionist—after a few “tricks,” disbelief gives way to awe. The October 15 performance in Evanston was no exception; Emmanuel once again affirmed his reputation as the master of the acoustic guitar, a player whose fingerstyle and flat-picking abilities transcend category. Tommy Emmanuel is an alchemist—he turns wood and wire into pure emotion.

Maestro Emmanuel opened the two-set concert with “Black and White to Color,” an up-tempo piece that grabs your attention, from his latest and just-released album Living In The Light. And here’s the thing about Tommy’s ‘pieces’ – they are, in a sense, ‘songs.’ Tommy’s compositions are literally songs without words, complete with intros, verses, choruses, bridges, codas, and endings. They unfold like stories rich with hooks and melodies; rhythms and grooves that are as memorable as anything this side of the Outback and the Mississippi.

The evening’s repertoire included a range of his signature compositions, such as “Angelina,” “Mombasa,” “Those Who Wait,” and “Tall Fiddler,” alongside stunning arrangements of classics like “Blue Moon,” “Classical Gas,” a jubilant Beatles Medley, and Emmanuel’s transcendent take on “Over the Rainbow.” The Beatles Medley, featuring “Here Comes the Sun,” “Please Please Me,” “Lady Madonna,” and “Day Tripper,” was a communal high point, with the audience joining in more than once. His “Over the Rainbow” remains one of the emotional centerpieces of every Emmanuel concert as well as a tribute to two of his heroes: Chet Atkins and Lenny Breau. From Atkins, Emmanuel borrows the descending–ascending chromatic chordal line in the bridge (“Someday I’ll wish upon a star”), and from Breau, those shimmering and mesmerizing harp harmonics that open the song, reappear halfway through, and gently close it. In Tommy’s hands, “Over the Rainbow” is never less than breathtaking—a meditation on beauty itself.

Uniquely, Emmanuel performs without a set list—a high-wire act without a net. For most artists, that would border on reckless, but for Tommy, it’s pure instinct. His production crew confirmed: “There is no set list.” He simply reads the room and lets the music flow where it may. And in between his compositions and covers, there are his explorations of transforming his Australian-made Maton guitar into a fully functional drum and percussion convergence that needs to be seen to be believed.

Emmanuel’s spontaneity is matched by the excellence of his touring production team. Sound engineer and tour manager Steve Law crafted a mix so warm and encompassing, so full of tone and fidelity, it felt as if the audience were inside Tommy’s guitar. Law set the levels and let them breathe—no constant fader-riding, no over-engineering. In tandem, lighting director and production manager Zak Corp was equally masterful; his cues were in perfect sync with the music’s dynamics, and his opening wash of purple and white—Northwestern’s colors—drew audible approval from the crowd. More than once, audience chatter between songs included praise not only for Tommy’s virtuosity, but for the outstanding sound and lighting that framed it.

Between his musical fireworks, Emmanuel transformed into a storyteller. His warmth, humor, and humility radiated as he spoke of writing to Chet Atkins at age 11—and the handwritten reply that would eventually lead him to Nashville and a lifelong mentorship. He recalled recording Atkins’ “I Still Can’t Say Goodbye,” a song about Chet’s father that Tommy arranged for his own father. He also spoke movingly about his final recording session with Chet during the elder’s illness.

He closed the evening with Paul Simon’s “American Tune,” a reflective, almost melancholy meditation on what it means to belong to and believe in one’s country – seamlessly woven into “Waltzing Matilda,” Australia’s unofficial national anthem, which carries the same emotional DNA, but in the Australian language of independence, wanderlust, and grace under hardship. The blending of these two songs created a musical bridge between the two continents that defines Tommy – the introspection of America meeting the wide-open heart of Australia – as if to say“this is where I come from – and this is where I am now.”

For all his dazzling technique, it’s clear that Tommy Emmanuel’s mission is simple: to make people happy. Through his music and his performance, he affects his audiences through transcendent emotion. It’s positive and it’s healing. Fame means little to him; connection means everything. For a couple of hours at Cahn Auditorium, he gave an audience of strangers the joy of losing themselves in the splendor of his music. And if there’s any justice in the world, there should indeed be a movement to spread the Gospel of Emmanuel, as anyone who hears and experiences Tommy leaves a little lighter, and the world, in turn, becomes a little brighter.