Tony McManus

Tony McManus is a Canadian Celtic guitarist from Paisley, born in 1965. He is known for adapting traditional Celtic music to acoustic guitar, a role he helps define through detailed ornamentation and a self-taught style developed from childhood listening to family records.

Early development and style

McManus grows up with twin interests in traditional music and the acoustic guitar. He teaches himself from an early age and later leaves academia in his twenties to work as a full-time musician. His approach transfers fiddle and pipe ornamentation to guitar while aiming to preserve the music’s structure and emotional force.

Recordings and recognition

His first self-titled recording appears in 1996 on Greentrax Recordings, followed by Pourquoi Quebec in 1999. His 2002 album Ceol More brings wider attention, and Compass Records releases it in North America. The album receives strong critical notice and is cited on year-end lists, including Acoustic Guitar magazine’s critics’ album of the year list. It also wins Live Ireland Awards Album of the Year.

McManus receives nominations for Musician of the Year from both the BBC Folk Awards and the Scottish Traditional Music Awards. His work also appears on more than 60 albums as a studio contributor.

Performing and collaborations

Early work in the session scenes of Glasgow and Edinburgh leads to concerts across Scotland and to BBC Radio studio sessions that are rebroadcast widely. He performs as a soloist, in duos with Alain Genty, Bruce Molsky and Alasdair Fraser, and in the quartet Men of Steel with Dan Crary, Beppe Gambetta and Don Ross.

He collaborates with a wide range of musicians, including Dougie MacLean, Phil Cunningham, Mairi MacInnes, Liam O’Flynn, Martin Simpson, Kevin Burke, Alison Brown, Martyn Bennett, Natalie MacMaster, Patrick and Jacky Molard, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Dermot Byrne, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, John Jorgenson, Jean Michel Veillon, Catriona Macdonald, Seikou Keita, Xosé Manuel Budiño, Ewen Vernal and Andy Irvine.

Festivals, teaching and production work

McManus appears regularly at guitar-focused events, including the Chet Atkins Festival in Nashville, and performs at festivals in Italy, Australia, France, Scotland, England, Germany, Canada, the United States and Colombia. He also teaches at Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamps in Maryville, Tennessee.

He works as a producer as well as a performer, including on Gordon Duncan’s Thunderstruck and Cathy-Ann Macphee’s Suil air Ais, both on Greentrax. He is also associated with the Celtic Fiddle Festival.