Richard Thompson Releases Dream Attic

Richard Thompson, the brilliant guitarist and songwriter known, released his new album Dream Attic this month. The songs were recorded during a West Coast tour in February of this year, and the bulk of the performances that made the album come from three shows at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

Produced by Thompson and longtime cohort Simon Tassano, Dream Attic vividly captures the inspired interaction of the musicians. “The thing about recording live is that you lose accuracy but you gain energy; you lose choices but you gain immediacy,” Thompson says about his decision to work in a live setting. But at the same time, the accuracy is marvelously maintained thanks to the elevated musicianship, frequently leading to extended passages of eruptive forcefulness topped by one after another of Thompson’s incomparable solo forays. On several levels, Thompson notes, these 2010 shows felt not terribly different from Fairport’s very first tour of the States in 1970.

Thompson’s last studio album, 2007’s critically acclaimed Sweet Warrior, also produced by Thompson and Tassano, featured the provocative and vivid evocation of the Iraq War, “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me,” recently featured on the season 3 premiere of FX’s “Sons of Anarchy.” In 2009, Shout! Factory released the career-spanning 4-CD box set, Walking On A Wire: 1968-2009, showcasing Richard Thompson’s illustrious career, which stretches back over 40 years.

A recent recipient of the Les Paul Award at the 2010 MOJO Honours Awards, Thompson also recently had the distinction of being the Artistic Director of the 17th Meltdown festival in the UK. Previous artists chosen to curate the festival include David Bowie, Patti Smith, Massive Attack, and Ornette Coleman.

Richard Thompson Tour Dates

October 2 San Francisco, CA – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

October 4 Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
October 5 Boulder, CO – Boulder Theatre
October 7 Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
October 8 Dallas, TX – Lakewood Theatre
October 10 Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival
October 12 Memphis, TN – Minglewood Hall
October 14 Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
October 15 Atlanta, GA – Variety Theatre
October 17 Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
October 19 Washington DC – 9:30 Club
October 21 Wilmington, DE – Grand Opera House
October 22 Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theatre
October 23 New York, NY – Town Hall Theatre
October 24 Peekskill, NY – Paramount Center for the Arts
October 27 Northampton, MA – Calvin Theatre
October 28 Providence, RI – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
October 29 Boston, MA – Berklee Performance Center
October 30 Albany, NY – The Egg
November 1 Pittsburgh, PA – Byham Theatre
November 4 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theatre
November 5 Chicago, IL – The Vic
November 6 Minneapolis – First Avenue
November 19 Los Angeles, CA – UCLA Royce Hall (Cabaret of Souls show)
January 14 – February 8 European Tour
February 13-20 Cayamo Cruise
March 19 New York, NY – Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, WFUV series