Billy Thompson

I can cater to your musical needs. I can play solo/ duo/ trio/ quartet, etc. Whatever your needs be?
I can play more covers of rootsy/bluesy/vintage rock/ New Orleans music. Play quiet background instrumentals.. or play an original concert set. I'll work with you, as best I'm able.

Billy Thompson’s performances have captured audiences in the (link hidden)d throughout Europe, setting the tone for this veteran musician’s songwriting, singing and guitar playing, both live and in the studio. In his original music, he combines world-class slide guitar, searing licks and soulful vocals with a unique amalgamation of styles including blues, rock, funk, New Orleans and soul. Some say, “it’s like Hendrix meets Little Feat!”

Billy has played with legends such as Little Milton, Albert King, Earl King and Art Neville, while opening for the likes of Robert Cray, B.B. King, Sonny Landreth, The Neville Brothers and Joe Cocker, to name a few. He has performed on Barbara Walter’s “The View” and with the San Diego Symphony. He also performed for the grand opening of L.A.’s House of Blues. Billy has been invited to play with such icons as the Doobie Brothers, Bill Payne, John Mooney and Ron Holloway.

He has provided lead guitar for the Broadway show “Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues” and for Award winning playwright Keith Glover’s Bluesical, “Thunder Knocking on the Door,” Billy also served as musical supervisor for Geva Theatre’s 2015 Journey to the Son in Rochester, NY. A tribute to Son House, BT and band also played the festival. He returned to Rochester in 2019 as Musical Supervisor for another Keith Glover play titled Revival: The Resurrection of Son House.

His eighth release, “BT,” brings all of Billy’s original musical influences to bear. It boasts familiar sonic shapes thrown in by long-time musical luminaries such as Mike Finnigan (Jimi Hendrix / Bonnie Raitt), James "Hutch" Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt), Grammy winner Tony Braunagel (Taj Mahal), BB King's Nola All Star band mate Daryl Johnson (Neville Brothers / Rolling Stones). West Coast-- band mates, James East (Eric Clapton), Michael Leroy Peed (Joe Williams) and Danny Campbell (Leo Nocintelli), in addition, the East Coast (link hidden)ic Selby (Soul Stew), Gene Monroe, Michelle Lucas,

Billy’s 2012 release, "A Better Man," was produced by Grammy winner, Tony Braunagel (Eric Burdon, Robert Cray). A host of world class players are featured including Mike Finnigan, 8-time Grammy winner Johnny Lee Schell (Phantom Blues Band), Kenny Gradney, James “Hutch” Hutchinson, Lenny Castro (Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones) and The Texacali Horns' Joe Sublett & Darrell Leonard
(Little Feat).

“A Better Man” was nominated by Blues Blast Magazine for 2012 Contemporary Blues Album of the Year and received excellent reviews, including "Bluesbreaker of the Week" on Dan Aykroyd's
"Elwood's House of Blues Hour" and “B.B. King’s Bluesville’s Pick To Click.”

Recent Billy Thompson solo and band performances include a residency with the BB King’s Nola All Stars, 2017 to 2018, NPR’s Mountain Stage, San Diego Blues Festival 2015, BB Kings (NYC), House of Blues (Chicago/Orlando), Humphrey's Concerts By the Bay (San Diego), Western Maryland Blues Festival, Washington Folk Festival (DC), Paoli Blues Festival (Philadelphia, PA), New York State Blues Festival and the Michelob Blues Festival (Dayton,OH)