Tommy @The Ryman

In this episode – Tommy at The Ryman . . .

"Shit happens! This is real life; just give me a minute to retune this guitar."

Tommy Emmanuel pounds the driving cord to his live performance during a pulse-pounding rendering of "Fuel" from his album Tommy Songs.

Red strobe lights flash, a loud pop, darkness, then silence reverberated throughout the auditorium, and a little laughter from the stage - one of his guitar pickup amplifiers has blown completely out.

It was Saturday-evening, September 25^th, 2021, seated in the balcony 4^th, row center stage left, in the Pews at Nashville's most famous concert venue, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. You may know it as the original Grand Ole' Opry.

There was no doubt; this is what we came to experience! It was clear that Tommy Emmanuel was keyed-up for tonight's show. Was it the historic venue, the fact that live stage performances had not been played since the start of this COVID pandemic, or was it the pure joy of having a live audience? This was Tommy Emmanuel at his best!

My dear listeners, you say you've never seen Tommy in concert. I promise - you will never look at a guitar the same way again! And believe what you are seeing and hearing is possible. Every square inch of his guitar gets plucked or pounded to propel the beat, scratched to imitate symbols, driven with a rhythmic thump, thump, thump, to lead with the bass and magic fingers that tickle the strings to drive pure harmonic tones.

Lori, James, Merrill, and I marvel at the masterful way his fingers dance (flew really) over the fretboard. The pure melodies from the acoustics – we were there enjoying every minute of his commanding performance.

Tonight's set included classic Tommy renditions of The Beatles Medley ending with an unapologetic version of Classical Gas! Wow!

He highlighted new music from his latest album, Tommy Songs, to name a few: A Rainy Morning, Timberlake Road, Lewis, and Clark, (The Man with the) Green Thumb, and one of my favorites, Fuel. It was a night to remember! Close your eyes, listen . . . and you feel the power of the music.

As a bonus, he performed Chet Atkins and Jerry Reeds' tunes with virtuoso Richard Smith. They played one of Chet and Jerrys' most famous tunes, Twitchy.

If you are a guitar player who appreciates the sound of a fine acoustic-electric guitar? You must see, or should I say, hear Tommy Emmanuel live. He is unquestionably one of the finest guitar players of this generation. I've read the comments on YouTube and, after seeing Tommy Emmanuel live, "I'm giving my guitar away; there is no way I'll ever play like that!"

But folks - you will be inspired . . . you will realize just what's possible or, should I say, impossible for budding or seasoned guitar players.

Go to YouTube, look up Tommy Emmanuel, take a listen, then check your schedule against Tommy's performance schedule and go!

Oh, one more thing, "I'd better return this shirt to Walmart before it changes color."

So, won't you be my virtual neighbor? If you enjoy our weekly visits, please share them with a friend.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Comments

The Birth of a Cubs Legend

In this episode, The 162-Game Exhale — and the Birth of a Cubs Legend There’s a hush in the baseball world on Game 162 — a collective breath drawn in and slowly released. Scoreboards stop flipping. Dugouts empty. For six months, the game has been our steady heartbeat, pulsing from the cherry blossoms of Tokyo in March to the crisp, playoff-charged winds of late September. And now, as the regular season exhales, baseball fans everywhere pause to absorb the story we’ve just lived. For me, that story has been deeply personal. This season unfolded in the rhythms of my daily life. It was the summer soundtrack echoing beneath the constant turmoil of politics and sensational headlines. It was a handful of carefully chosen ballpark pilgrimages stitched together with countless nights in front of MLB.TV. And at the center of it all, for a lifelong Cubs fan like me, it revolved around one name — a young center fielder who turned hope into history: Pete Crow-Armstrong. The 2025 season didn’t begin...

The Pessimism Aversion Trap

In this episode, The Pessimism Aversion Trap Picture this: a room full of bright minds nodding in agreement as a bold new strategy is unveiled. The slides are polished, the vision is grand, and the future, we're told, has never looked brighter. Everyone beams—because who wants to be the one to say, "Um… this might not work"? Heaven forbid someone spoil the mood with a dose of reality. Better to smile, add a buzzword or two, and march confidently toward disaster. That's how the Pessimism Aversion Trap works. Even now, I can still hear the sound—a high-pitched shriek and a digital hum, followed by the slow, rhythmic clatter of data pouring from a 5¼-inch floppy disk. It was the late 1980s, and my makeshift home office (our living room) was dominated by what felt like a marvel of modern engineering: a used Tandy 1000 PC with not one, but two floppy drives. To top it off, we purchased a 'blisteringly fast' 300-baud modem—which, for the uninitiated, could downloa...

Pushing the Pause Button

In this episode, Pushing the Pause Button: Stepping Off the Treadmill Hello, friends — If you're reading this, I'm already off the grid. Today begins a much-needed vacation, and for the next few weeks, On the Fly is taking a break right along with me. For a long time, my inner voice has said, 'Keep every commitment, no matter what.' That's meant early mornings, long days, and a calendar packed with posts, podcasts, and projects I couldn't seem to say no to. I've been trying to be the tireless workhorse—but that kind of grind doesn't end well. Lately, I've noticed I'm not quite myself—shorter fuse, louder sighs, and a few too many grumbles (Lori deserves a medal). That's when you know it's time to hit pause before the spark burns out. So, I'm stepping back to rest, recharge, and remember what it feels like to not live by the next deadline: no tech, no to-do lists, just some space to breathe. Thank you, truly, for all your support and ...

The Friday Morning Pause

In this episode, The Friday Morning Pause: When My Brother’s Bookshelf Called Me to Stillness We live in a world allergic to stillness. Our mornings begin mid-sprint—thumbs scrolling before our eyes even open. The impulse to jump into the digital chaos is immediate. But sometimes, stillness finds you . It was early Friday morning. We’d arrived late the night before, stepping into the cool air before the day turned hot. Half-awake, I reached for my phone—emails, headlines, social feeds waiting like a morning buffet of distraction. We were in Cuba. No Wi-Fi. No 5G. No password. Just stillness, disguised as inconvenience. Instead, I caught sight of something unexpected: a small stack of books on my brother’s TV shelf. My brother and his wife are powered by perpetual motion. They are the definition of overscheduled and overstimulated. Yet there it was: Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday, quietly mocking my scrolling habit. The irony was perfect. I put my phone down—a small, delibe...

On The Fly

Search This Blog