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 and dazzlingly original playing draws on traditions from the entire Celtic world, along with still further-ranging flavors 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.

McMans was nominated as Musician of the Year by both the BBC Folk Awards and the Scottish Traditional Music Awards. In 2002, "Ceol More" hit the Critics' Album of the Year list in Acoustic Guitar Magazine and was named "Live Ireland Awards" Album of the Year. He has performed at major folk festivals and recorded with such Celtic giants as Alasdair Fraser, Kevin Burke, Natalie MacMaster, Dougie MacLean, and more.