Thrill Seekers, Players, Students and Travelers of All Ages, Skill Level, and Interests Are Welcome!

Tommy Emmanuel’s Guitar Camp USA: Nashville Skyline is an event for players and music-lovers of all ages, levels, interests, and tastes! Whether you are a master player, a beginner, or just an enthusiastic fan, our four-day programs offer activities and workshops for you. Our environments are non-competitive and are strictly about immersing oneself in the joys of music and our lovely surroundings!

  • Performances every evening by Tommy Emmanuel and the instructors
  • Intimate breakout groups
  • Camper open mics
  • Opening Night Dinner and Concert at Loveless Cafe
  • Campers will also receive premium tickets to see Tommy perform at The Historic Ryman Auditorium
  • A group photo on stage with Tommy at the Ryman
  • Tour of the Historic RCA Studio B on Nashville’s Music Row

An Invitation From Tommy Emmanuel

Hello friends! It’s been quite the year, hasn’t it? Perhaps the one thing I’ve missed most is that incredible sense of community that happens when we get together in person to share our love of playing music. With that in mind, I’d like to personally invite you to join me at my upcoming Tommy Emmanuel Guitar Camp USA, taking place September 23, 24, 25, and 26, 2021 at the new Virgin Hotel on Music Row in my adopted hometown of Nashville, TN.

My Guitar Camps are a great experience for everybody, including us, the instructors. It will be four full days of lessons, workshops, and live performances. In the morning, I’ll work with the entire group for a few hours. I will talk, demonstrate, and answer questions. Then, the campers will break off into four small groups with instructors that I have handpicked myself. The groups rotate with the teachers so every day you’ve got lessons from three different teachers. Then, in the evenings, we’ll have concerts. I’ll feature all of the instructors, I’ll do my thing, and we will play together too. On the last night, we’ll do a special concert where all of the student campers will get a chance to play on stage. I know a lot of players can be hesitant or nervous about that, so this is the time to break the spell. That’s really what it’s all about. It’s about you getting your own experience and benefiting from mine and the instructors’ experience and knowledge.

As usual, I’ll be joined by an incredibly talented and equally diverse group of guest instructors, including British fingerstyle specialist Richard Smith, Nashville session favorite Pat Bergeson, harp guitar master and all around amazing human Stephen Bennett, and Australian-born Golden Guitar Award winner Stuart “Stuie” French. What’s more, the one and only Jorma Kaukonen will be my Special Guest at Guitar Camp Nashville. We try to find teachers that are really diverse, have their own style, and that I know will be amazing teachers for you. There’s a bit of everything so each teacher can give the students things they can take away and use on their own musical journey.

We’ll teach classic fingerpicking songs, some of my tunes, and some Chet Atkins tunes. I try to choose songs that are doable for all the students. There’s no judging here. We don’t care if you suck, we don’t care if you’re great, or anywhere in between. As long as you love playing, we will do anything to help you. That’s really the main purpose of these camps!

Nashville is an amazing city so there’s a lot of extra things we’re going to do together, like visiting the Historic RCA Studio B. I’m going to do a special show at the Ryman Auditorium with Jorma joining me as a special guest. The students will get a chance to tour the Ryman, see the soundcheck, and go backstage. The photos backstage alone are definitely worth the trip!

I’m an example of somebody who makes a living playing the guitar. That’s all I do. So I have experience that I can speak from and try to instill in all the students. This camp is completely unique, there’s no doubt about it. I know it’s going to be a blessing for everybody and we’re really glad that Virgin Hotels Nashville could be involved and give us a perfect venue to stage it at. It’s literally located on Music Row in the heart of Music City. It’s an absolutely beautiful place so I’m really looking forward to that.

I know we’ve all had a tough year but I very much hope you’ll join me for this next Guitar Camp USA. See you in Nashville!

Tommy Emmanuel CGP

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Featured Artists

Tommy Emmanuel, CGP

Jorma Kaukonen

John Knowles, CGP

Stephen Bennet

Pat Bergeson

Stuie French

Annie Sellick

Richard Smith

Schedule

For those looking to make travel plans, Tommy Emmanuel’s Guitar Camp USA will start at 3pm on Thursday, September 23, and end at noon on September 27. The Camp Schedule is subject to change. You will be provided with an updated schedule upon check-in. Also, we will post the daily schedule in the dining hall in case there are last-minute changes.

Thursday September 23

  • 3:00pm

    Check-in

  • 4:30-5:30pm

    Orientation

  • 5:30-6:00pm

    Camper Raffle

  • 6:30-7:30pm

    Dinner

  • 8:00-10:00pm

    Instructor Preview concert

    • 8:00-8:30pm – Stuie French
    • 8:30-9:00pm – Stephen Bennett
    • 9:00-10:00pm – Tommy Emmanuel
  • 10:30pm

    Open Mic

Friday September 24

  • 9:15-10:30am

    Tommy Emmanuel Workshop

  • 10:50-11:40am

    Group Classes Rotate

    • Group 1 – Stuie French
    • Group 2 – Pat Bergeson
    • Group 3 – Stephen Bennett
    • Group 4 – Richard Smith
  • 12:00-1:00pm

    Lunch

  • 12:40-1:40pm

    Optional Mentor Sessions

  • 1:00-2:00pm

    Break

  • 2:00-2:50pm

    Group Classes Rotate

    • Group 4 – Stuie French
    • Group 1 – Pat Bergeson
    • Group 2 – Stephen Bennett
    • Group 3 – Richard Smith
  • 3:10-4:00pm

    Group Classes Rotate

    • Group 3 – Stuie French
    • Group 4 – Pat Bergeson
    • Group 1 – Stephen Bennett
    • Group 2 – Richard Smith
  • 4:00-5:00

    Break

  • 5:00-8:00pm

    RCA Studio B Sessions

    • 5:00-6:00pm – Group A Studio Session
    • 6:00-7:00pm – Group B Studio Session
    • 7:00-8:00pm – Group C Studio Session
  • 5:00-7:30pm

    Dinner

  • 8:00pm

    Instructor Preview concert

    • 8:00-8:30pm – Pat Bergeson & Annie Sellick
    • 8:30-9:00pm – Richard Smith
    • 9:00-10:00pm – Tommy Emmanuel
  • 10:30pm

    Open Mic

Saturday September 25

  • 9:15-10:30am

    Tommy Emmanuel Workshop

  • 10:50-11:40

    Group Classes Rotate

    • Group 2 – Stuie French
    • Group 3 – Pat Bergeson
    • Group 4 – Stephen Bennett
    • Group 1 – Richard Smith
  • 12:00-1:00pm

    Lunch

  • 12:40-1:40pm

    Optional Mentor Sessions

  • 1:00-2:00

    Break

  • 2:00-2:50pm

    Group Classes Rotate

    • Group 1 – Stuie French
    • Group 2 – Pat Bergeson
    • Group 3 – Stephen Bennett
    • Group 4 – Richard Smith
  • 3:15pm

    Transport to Ryman

  • 3:30-4:30pm

    Tour the Historic Ryman Auditorium

  • 4:45pm

    Camp Group Photo on Ryman Stage

  • 5:00-5:45pm

    Tommy Emmanuel Soundcheck Hang

  • 5:45-7:00pm

    Dinner at Ol’ Red Honkytonk on Broadway

  • 7:00pm

    Concert Doors Open

  • 8:00-8:40pm

    Jorma Kaukonen Ryman Set

  • 9:10-10:40pm

    Tommy Emmanuel Ryman Set

  • 11:00pm

    Bus departs for Hotel

  • 11:30pm

    Open Mic

Sunday September 26

  • 9:15-10:30am

    Tommy Emmanuel & Jorma Kaukonen Workshop

  • 10:50-11:40am

    Group Classes Rotate

    • Group 4 – Stuie French
    • Group 1 – Pat Bergeson
    • Group 2 – Stephen Bennett
    • Group 3 – Richard Smith
  • 12:00-1:00pm

    Lunch

  • 12:40-1:00pm

    Optional Mentor Sessions

  • 1:00-2:00pm

    Break

  • 2:00-2:50pm

    Group Classes Rotate

    • Group 3 – Stuie French
    • Group 4 – Pat Bergeson
    • Group 1 – Stephen Bennett
    • Group 2 – Richard Smith
  • 3:10-4:00pm

    Group Classes Rotate

    • Group 2 – Stuie French
    • Group 3 – Pat Bergeson
    • Group 4 – Stephen Bennett
    • Group 1 – Richard Smith
  • 4:00-5:30pm

    Break

  • 5:30-6:00pm

    Photo & Autograph Session

  • 6:00-7:00pm

    Dinner

  • 7:00-9:00pm

    Guitar Camp Awards and Student & Instructor Show

  • 10:00pm

    Open Mic

Monday September 27

  • 11:00am

    Check Out

Settings and Accommodations

The Virgin Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee

Modern, yet personalized experiences with all the trimmings of Southern hospitality reside at Virgin Hotels Nashville. Step inside our oasis and find your new favorite place in Music City — a hotel destination where the doors are never closed and the minds are always open. This captivating Nashville hotel is the last spot you’ll ever need with the best of food, work, and play all at your fingertips.

Area Attractions

Loveless Cafe
For more than 65 years, the Loveless Cafe has been offering families and friends a place where they can enjoy a scratch-made Southern meal and reconnect with each other around the table. Given these roots of big-hearted hospitality and a mouth-watering menu, it is no wonder that the Loveless Cafe has become a Nashville landmark. Our iconic neon sign welcomes more than half a million visitors a year who are seeking a chance to slow down and savor home-cooked meals. We stay true to our Southern flavor and serve up meals that fuel conversation, laughter and love. Our guests are our family and there is nothing we enjoy more than to see them return, year over year. So many people come to taste the biscuits that put us on the map that we’re now making up to 10,000 every day!

Ole Red – More than a restaurant
We’re more than a venue and, hell, we’re more than a restaurant. Ole Red is THE full country experience that will get your ass and your taste buds boot scootin’ with what we like to call 100-proof live music, scratch-made dishes, and signature drinks… all inspired by the boss man himself: Blake Shelton.

Area Attractions

The Ryman Auditorium
When you walk through the doors of historic Ryman Auditorium, one thing becomes clear right away: this isn’t just another nightly music venue, and it’s so much more than a daytime tourist stop. This place is hallowed ground. This is the exact spot where bluegrass was born—where Johnny Cash met June Carter, where souls were saved and a slice of history was nearly lost. It was right here that country music found an audience beyond its own back porch, and countless careers took off as deals were signed on napkins and paper scraps backstage. This is a building where anything is possible: a soul can find redemption, a crumbling building can find salvation, and an unknown kid with a guitar can find his or her name in lights.

RCA Studio B
Historic RCA Studio B-once the recording home of popular music titans such as Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Eddy Arnold, and the Everly Brothers is both a classroom for Nashville area students and a popular cultural attraction. Built by Dan Maddox in 1957, RCA Studio B first became known as one of the cradles of the “Nashville Sound” in the 1960s. A sophisticated style characterized by background vocals and strings, the Nashville Sound both revived the popularity of country music and helped establish Nashville as an international recording center.

Travel Directions

The Virgin Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee

Address
1 Music Square West
Nashville TN, 37203

Website
The Virgin Hotel

Contact
Contact Us

Open Resort Location In Maps App

Instrument Travel

FAA Rules - Bringing Musical Instruments on Flights

Pricing and Registration

Given the recent uptick in COVID issues around the country, including Tennessee, and in order to protect the good health of all our guests, Tommy Emmanuel and Dreamcatcher Events most respectfully ask that everyone attending TEGCUSA Nashville Edition be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or be RAPID PCR tested 24 hours before the event, and be prepared to wear masks indoors.

Pricing

  • Commuter package
    1,999

    Enjoy all the workshops, concerts, meals, sightseeing, and activities but choose your own place to stay! Everything is included except accommodation at the Virgin, mentor sessions, and performance with Tommy. Pricing is per person!

  • Shared Room with Two Beds
    2,399

    Standard Room with two beds and a roommate. You may either name a fellow registrant as your roommate or one will be assigned by Dreamcatcher Events. Roommate matches are based on age and gender. If signing up with a roommate in mind, please enter their name in the “Roommate” field as you continue registration. Pricing is per person.

  • Single Room with One Bed
    3,599

    Standard room with one bed. All attendees must stay at The Virgin Hotel. Pricing is per person.

  • Bring Your Loved One with One Bed
    4,899

    If you would like to have your loved one join you at the Virgin Hotel but not participate in workshops, we recommend this price point. You both share the accommodations, dine together with the group for all meals, and attend all evening concerts together. The room includes one king bed. Pricing is for one participant and one non-participant.

  • Bring Your Loved One with Two Beds
    4,899

    If you would like to have your loved one join you at the Virgin Hotel but not participate in workshops, we recommend this price point. You both share the accommodations, dine together with the group for all meals, and attend all evening concerts together. The room includes two queen beds. Pricing is for one participant and one non-participant.

  • Bring Your Loved One Suite
    5,999

    If you would like to have your loved one join you at the Virgin Hotel but not participate in workshops, we recommend this deluxe price point. You both share lavish accommodations, dine together with the group for all meals, and attend all evening concerts together.

    During the day, while one of you is participating in workshops and living out your guitar virtuoso dreams, your loved one can enjoy the wonderful accommodations and interesting things to do in Nashville. Pricing is per couple.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • Lunches and Dinners
  • All workshops, activities and entertainment for 4 days and nights
  • Tickets to Tommy Emmanuel’s performance at the Ryman Auditorium
  • A tour of RCA Studio B
  • A tour of Ryman museum
  • A group photo on stage at the Ryman with Tommy
  • Dinner and concert at Loveless Cafe
  • Dinner at Ole Red
  • Wi-Fi

What's Not Included

  • Transportation
  • Parking
  • Breakfasts
  • Alcohol and snacks
  • Sightseeing excursions in the area
  • Personal musical gear – please bring your own instruments if you are not signing up for our premium upgrade

Pricing and Registration Policy

  • Registration & Payments
    • All rates are per person, unless stated otherwise.
    • All prices subject to change. Prior sales excluded. Dreamcatcher Events reserves the right to change any price, package or offering at any time without prior notice.
    • All rates are subject to a 9.9% surcharge, which includes all state and local taxes, plus service fees.
  • Installment Payment Plan – Upon checkout, you have the option to pay in full or one 50% installment.
    • Upon registration, a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the total purchase amount is charged to your credit card.
    • The remaining balance will be automatically charged to the credit card on file on August 1, 2021.
  • Cancellations
    • All payments and deposits are final and non-refundable.
  • Tommy Emmanuel’s Guitar Camp USA will be following all protocols and safety measures set by the CDC, the state of Tennessee, as well as local and venue regulations. This will include being vaccinated, wearing a face covering, and maintaining social distance in all group settings. Furthermore, Dreamcatcher and Tommy Emmanuel will be constantly and regularly updating our protocols to keep everyone safe on every level.
  • * Dreamcatcher Events LLC reserves the right to re-schedule any event if there should be an “Act of God,” natural disaster, breach of contract by the lead artists, pandemic, or any other circumstance which makes an event impossible to hold. Registration refunds will not be distributed in the event that an event has to be rescheduled due to circumstances beyond Dreamcatcher’s control. This also applies to any registrant who may not be able to attend an event due to Covid and/or Force Measure.

If you have any questions, please call our customer service number (+1) 800-852-9277, or send us an email at info@dreamcatcher-events.com

For complete details please see our Registration and Payment Policy

Precautionary measures:

Tommy Emmanuel's Guitar Camp USA: Nashville Skyline will be following all protocols and safety measures set by the CDC, the state of Tennessee, and additional regulations set at local and business levels. This will include regular use of hand sanitizer and handwashing, as well as social distancing in all group settings. Wherever possible, meetings and gatherings will take place outdoors, and all safety protocols will be strictly enforced. Furthermore, Dreamcatcher and Tommy Emmanuel will be constantly and regularly updating our protocols to keep everyone safe on every level.

Given the recent uptick in COVID issues around the country, including Tennessee, and in order to protect the good health of all our guests, Tommy Emmanuel and Dreamcatcher Events most respectfully ask that everyone attending TEGCUSA Nashville Edition be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

If you are vaccinated, please email us and let us know. It's particularly important that we know your vaccination status if you are signed up for a shared room package as we are placing roommates now. Please send us an email to updates@dreamcatcher-events.com with your vaccination status.

If you can not, or choose not to get a vaccine, we do request that you get a COVID test 3 days before the event and send the results to us to updates@dreamcatcher-events.com.

Per the policies of the Virgin Hotel and Dreamcatcher, anyone who only has a test result and has not been vaccinated will be asked to wear a mask at all times indoors.

Tommy Emmanuel Proudly Uses

Laboga Cables.

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Tommy Emmanuel is not affiliated with Dreamcatcher Event's sponsors.