This week, yesterday, in fact, Richard Thompson turned 70. To mark the occasion he has announced a 70th birthday celebration show at London’s Royal Albert Hall on September 30th 2019. This once in a lifetime concert will feature some very special guests, who will be announced in the coming weeks.
‘Please join me as I celebrate my 70th birthday with an evening of music! The venue is the Royal Albert Hall, London, the date is 30th September, there will be many guests covering 50 years plus of music and a memorable evening guaranteed.’ – Richard Thompson
Tickets on general sale this coming Friday 5th April 2019 at 10:00 am: https://www.alttickets.com/richard-thompson-tickets
Thompson’s latest album 13 Rivers (Proper Records) was released to widespread acclaim last September (reviewed here) and appeared on many 2018 ‘best of the year’ lists (including our own). His accompanying tour was met with glowing reviews, including The Observer, in its Artist of the Week spread, who concluded, “Half a century after his first gig with Fairport Convention, folk-rocker Richard Thompson – trademark Stratocaster and beret intact – is as cool, energetic and contemporary as ever.”
Richard Thompson’s enduring musical influence and accomplishments are unparalleled. Having co-founded the ground-breaking group Fairport Convention as a teenager in the 1960s, he and his bandmates invented a distinctive strain of British folk-rock. He left the group by the age of 21, followed by a decade long musical partnership with his then-wife Linda, to over 30 years as a highly successful solo artist.
Thompson has received an OBE, lifetime achievement awards from the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, the Americana Music Association and the prestigious Ivor Novello Award. Rolling Stone named Thompson one of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time and The Los Angeles Times called him the finest rock songwriter after Dylan and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix. His song “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” was named one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Greatest Songs Since 1923.”
A wide range of musicians have recorded Thompson’s songs including Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, R.E.M., Sleater-Kinney, Del McCoury, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Jones, David Byrne, Don Henley, Los Lobos, and many more. His massive body of work includes many Grammy-nominated albums as well as numerous soundtracks, including Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man.
Thompson’s genre-defying mastery of both acoustic and electric guitar along with engaging energy and onstage wit continue to earn him new fans and a place as one of the most distinctive virtuosos and writers in folk rock history. Powered by evocative songcraft, jaw-dropping guitar playing, and indefinable spirit, this venerable icon holds a coveted spot on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and counts a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association in Nashville, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC Folk Awards among his many accolades.
As well as celebrating Thompson’s milestone birthday, this unmissable show at London’s Royal Albert Hall on September 30th will be a fitting tribute to a truly exceptional artist.
http://www.richardthompson-music.com/