Named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time, Richard Thompson is also one of the world’s most critically acclaimed and prolific songwriters. Having co-founded the groundbreaking group Fairport Convention as a teenager in the 60’s, Richard Thompson and his mates virtually invented British Folk Rock. By the age of 21 he left Fairport to pursue his own career, followed by a decade long musical partnership with his then-wife Linda, to over 30 years as a highly successful solo artist who tours both solo acoustic and with his electric trio. He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards for Songwriting on both sides of the Atlantic, and in 2011, Thompson received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) personally bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II. A wide range of musicians have recorded Thompson’s songs including Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, REM, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Jones, David Byrne, Don Henley and many others. Thompson’s massive body of work includes over 40 albums, many Grammy nominations, as well as numerous soundtracks, including Werner Herzog’s “Grizzly Man”, “Dreams With Sharp Teeth, “JFK: The Final Hours” and “The Cold Blue.” Thompson’s genre defying mastery of both acoustic and electric guitar along with dizzying energy and onstage wit continue to earn Richard Thompson massive new fans and a place as one of the most distinctive virtuosos in Folk Rock history.
