Richard Thompson will reach into his bottomless bowl of tricks tonight at Zankel Hall (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
WFUV LIVE AT ZANKEL HALL
Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall
Fifty-seventh St. at Seventh Ave.
Saturday, March 19, $42-$48, 10:00
Series concludes April 8
www.carnegiehall.org
www.wfuv.org/event/zankel
www.richardthompson-music.com
Over the last decade, masterful British musician Richard Thompson has played all over New York City, from the cozy confines of Joe’s Pub and City Winery to the pouring rain of Prospect Park, from the Town Hall and Irving Plaza to the shores of the Hudson and East Rivers. Tonight, one of folk rock’s greatest singer-songwriters and guitarists heads uptown to play a solo set as part of the annual WFUV Live at Zankel Hall series. “I’ve never been to Carnegie Hall, and certainly not played it, but it does have an international reputation, and I’m thinking some of that cachet should rub off on the lesser Zankel,” Thompson told twi-ny. “It seems an exciting prospect, and I really look forward to it.” The series, curated by longtime radio host and WFUV music director Rita Houston, began with the Indigo Girls on October 23, followed by Martin Sexton’s Solo Holiday Show on December 11; it concludes April 8 with Edie Brickell and her new band, the Gaddabouts. Thompson, a founding member of Fairport Convention and half of the seminal Richard & Linda Thompson duo, is touring behind his latest album, Dream Attic (August 2010, Shout Factory), primarily playing in the Richard Thompson Electric Trio, with bassist Taras Prodaniuk and drummer Michael Jerome. But he’ll be going it alone tonight. “I’ve played very little solo in the last six months, so I don’t have a ‘plan’ at this point, but I hope the set will be a reflection of the last forty-five years — selections from the decades, and a few newer things,” he explained. Thompson has quite an old kit bag of songs to choose from; he’s released more than fifty albums, including 1000 Years of Popular Music, which takes listeners on a stirring journey through the centuries, not just the decades. The first two hundred ticket holders to show up tonight will get a free drink as part of Late Nights at Zankel Hall, with doors opening at 9:00.