“Tony’s music is beyond beautiful, it’s perfect” – Tommy Emmanuel

Hailed by John Renbourn as ‘the best Celtic guitarist in the world’ Tony McManus has been listed as one of the 50 transcendent guitarists of all time by Guitar Player Magazine. Tony has both extended and transcended the parameters of contemporary Celtic music. Ranked by peers and predecessors alike alongside the guitar world’s all-time greats, his fiendishly dexterous, dazzlingly original playing draws on traditions from the entire Celtic world, along with still further-ranging flavours such as jazz and European music. Long applauded for his uncanny ability to transpose the delicate, complex ornamentation characteristic of traditional bagpipe or fiddle tunes – even the phrasing of a Gaelic song – onto his own six strings, McManus is increasingly being acknowledged also as a pioneering figure in bridging the realms of Celtic music and other guitar genres.

In a relatively short time Tony’s music has come to define a new role for the guitar in Celtic music, representing Celtic music in the guitar world, and making regular appearances at guitar specific events where just a few years ago jigs and reels would be unheard of. He has performed the Chet Atkins Festival in Nashville; the Ellnora Guitar Festival in the prestigious Krannert Center; has appeared at Guitar Festivals in Soave and Pescantina, Italy; Frankston, Australia; Issoudun, France; Kirkmichael, Scotland; Bath and Kent, England; Bochum and Osnabruck, Germany and has taught at five of Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamps in Tennessee. Tony's ability to reach audiences unfamiliar with traditional music is remarkable - he is quite comfortable at predominantly classical events such as the Dundee and Derry Guitar Festivals (appearing six times between the two) and even The Bogotá International Guitar Festival, following virtuoso Eduardo Fernandez. He is also a signature artist for PRS Guitars in Maryland, and has performed at their venue with Carlos Santana, among others.