Playing the impossible on guitar

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▶ This is a live playthrough of Mike Dawes' 2012 song 'The Impossible', recorded live at the Riffhard Studios in Leeds, UK, January 2022.

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Mike is on tour with Tommy Emmanuel and more throughout the USA and Europe this year.

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[mikedawesofficial]

08/16 - Phoenix
08/17 - Las Vegas
08/18 - Albuquerque
08/19 - Santa Fe
08/21 - San Antonio
08/22 - Tomball
08/23 - Austin
08/25 - Birmingham
08/27 - Decatur
08/28 - Nashville

[marbledude]

This guy is amazing, he can play like this and still find time to solve mysteries with his dog. Awesome dude

[TheMind]

Dear lord, this was insane. If I played like this, I would literally live on a mountaintop and just play 24/7 while figuring life out and philosophizing.

[paulthanasse]

I'm 64 and have been trying to play an acoustic for 40 years...I have never heard or seen anyone play so perfectly beautiful in my life...thank you Mike...

[icantspellskwerl]

As a fellow guitarist of roughly 15+ yrs, studying off and on... This is BY FAR the CLEANEST and most PURE sound I have EVER heard from a guitar player. Your technique is Flawless and you make it look so extremely effortless!! A true Master. I am privileged to have been able to witness your playing. Thank you so much for sharing your gifted talent with us all. Blessings to you, and I can't wait to watch more of your videos!! ❤

[TravelAlongAdventures]

Probably the cleanest and purest sounding performances I've ever heard, absolutely amazing job!

[skrachamaniacs]

I believe the reason this is called the impossible is because people do not understand the impossible amount of time and practice and dedication. It took to put a number like this together with a single user on a single instrument. This is absolutely staggering to watch.

[crimsoniron]

This is not a exaggeration....
That is, hands down, the most beautiful song I, personally, have ever heard! It wasn't just hearing a tune. It was What an amazing creation! 👏

[darrellreid]

His ability almost makes me cry. Jealousy is a total understatement.

[skippymaster]

If I hadn't seen this as a video, I would have thought this soundscape was he result of multiple instruments and overdub recordings.
Fantastic sound and very dextrous work. Beautiful.

[Strap]

This is not only "making music", or "talent", or "skill". This is real art, passion and love for music and the instrument! WOW! Just WOW!

[geo.]

Simply incredible. I remember seeing Micheal Hedges live back in the '80's who played this style. Micheal has since passed away but listening to this style reminds me that REAL talent isnt always common place... thank you for posting.

[AlexandrMisko]

Legendary. One of my favorite songs ever

[BryanPierson]

Absolutely gorgeous. It's always amazing to see someone doing exactly what they were meant to be doing.

[warrenp.]

Mike was sent to us from another world ! Cherish his gift 🙏

[DudesIn]

The one man with his band of no see ems, truly an

[faithoverfear]

Everything you do on a guitar is "Impossible" for 99.99% of the population. Love it!

[AugnierCalyenin]

Most guitarists just wanna show-off what riffs they can play and how fast they can play it, but this is something totally different. This is a masterpiece, I can listen to this on repeat all day long. You can hear the creativity, the hard work, the talent, the thousands of hours he put in to get this good. And another thing that other guitarists lack is the ability to put emotion into their pieces, but Mike did it absolutely perfectly, you hear emotion from beginning to end. I will listen to this for as long as I live, I will never forget something this amazing

[seadub]

I've played guitar for 40+ years, and I stink at it. The more I learn about the guitar, the more I realize how much I don't know. Mike Dawes & Tommy Emmanuel drive home that point. They're in a dimension of musical providence that most every other guitarist alive today can only dream of. And I believe they've just scratched the surface of the infinite creative possibilities of the guitar.

[bingowings]

You had me a billion miles away. A musician whose outstanding technical ability doesn't get in the way of the music. - beautiful.