Article Contributed by Debra Lambert
Published on 2026-10-27
Teddy Thompson - photos by Debra Lambert
Hey, I got a guy for you. Do you know who Teddy Thompson is?
I barely did, but I was off to see him. He’s a London-born, New York-based singer-songwriter, son of acclaimed British folk-rock musicians Richard and Linda Thompson, with a recording career of his own that goes back more than 25 years.
Just a few minutes into his Monday night, September 28 show at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, I was riveted—and suddenly aware of how good I felt sitting there in his presence, surrounded by a warm and attentive crowd in this lovely, intimate theater.
A guy, a guitar, a quiet theater. So simple.... and yet the whole experience was upbeat, relaxing and palpably pleasant—all at the same time. Thompson opened with “Come Back,” tapping a few beats on the body of his guitar within the phrasing. In the quiet and superb acoustics of the Dairy’s Gordon Gamm Theater, you could hear everything—his guitar, those taps, and especially his warm, resonant tenor.
The song is from his recent album, Never Be the Same, his 11th album and his first collection of original songs in six years. Thompson’s songs are always personal, and much of the evening drew from the new record, a self-described album about change—or the lack thereof. Among them were “Baby It’s You,” “Same Old Song,” with the audience taking the “I know, I know” chorus, and “Worst Two Weeks of My Life,” his tongue-in-cheek take on the early days of sobriety.
Along with his singing, Thompson’s expressive, articulate guitar playing moved easily between strumming and fingerpicking. Together, they made even grievance sound lovely. His dry humor came through between songs, too; he was funny and self-effacing, and we also learned that being Richard and Linda Thompson’s kid came with its share of childhood struggles.
Also in the mix was Thompson’s longstanding love of country music. So why does this British guy love country music so much? He traces it back to hearing the Everly Brothers as a child. As he has described it, the puns and turns of phrase appealed to his British sensibilities, and country has remained a thread throughout his career, with several albums devoted to it. And so, he gave us some of that, too, including a lovely rendition of Dolly Parton’s “My Blue Tears.”
Now 50, Thompson has performed coast to coast, from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, California, both solo and with a touring band. He’s no stranger to Boulder, either, with appearances here dating back to 2002, including shows at the Fox and Boulder theaters and a 2011 eTown taping.
That he could do so much with so little is a testament to just how good he is.
I walked in barely knowing Teddy Thompson’s music. I walked out very glad I did.
