Richard Thompson

Richard Thompson's influence is undeniable. As a teenager, he founded the groundbreaking band Fairport Convention in the sixties. Together with his band members, they laid the foundation for the British folk-rock genre. Thompson left the group at twenty-one to enter into a ten-year partnership with his then-wife, Linda. A thirty-year career as a solo artist followed. The Los Angeles Times called him 'the finest rock songwriter after Dylan and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix' and Rolling Stone named him in the Top 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Thompson received lifetime achievement awards for his songwriting, including from the BBC Radio 2 Awards, the Americana Music Association, and received the prestigious Ivor Novello Award. Many artists have covered his songs. His large catalog of work includes Grammy-nominated albums and soundtracks. In 2011, Thompson received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth. Richard Thompson's genre-defying mastery of the acoustic and electric guitar and infectious and witty energy on stage still make him popular, and his performances are the place to experience one of the distinctive virtuosos and writers in folk-rock history.