A self-taught professional guitarist for twenty years and a singer, Tilmann has gone through many styles before definitively settling on traditional North American music (folk, blues, country-blues, bluegrass, old-time) and on the practice of folk guitar.

In his solo work, Tilmann acts as a conduit for popular stories, alternating between country-blues ballads played with fingerpicking, fiddle tunes From the Appalachians, impetuous bluegrass improvisations and folk songs. His vibrant singing borrows as much from soul and jazz baritone crooners as from folk and bluegrass tenors, and he likes to play with subtle nuances when listening conditions are right.

In the middle of his repertoire as a performer, there are also a few compositions from his eponymous quartet project.