July 22, 2026
Richard Thompson: The Night We Steal Away
Richard Thompson admitted to his Ocean City Music Pier audience in South Jersey July 20 that it was scary to see them. What he meant was, with the sun still streaming in from the venue’s curtain-less windows at the 7 pm start time, those seated in the room were highly visible, probably more so than the singer/guitarist standing center stage. Thompson was opening for headliner Judy Collins on her “Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Farewell Tour,” a title considerably indebted to Stephen Stills.
It’s rare these days to see Thompson as an opening act, but the several dates with Collins were folded into a more extensive headlining solo tour that crisscrossed the U.S, with the Ocean City show the last stop. As support act, Thompson’s set is roughly truncated by half for a total of eleven songs, the missing material consisting largely of compositions performed with wife Zara Phillips who, despite her presence in the outdoor/indoor ads at the Music Pier, did not join her husband onstage. Instead, Collins would partner with RT at the end of the evening during her encores.
Thompson used his hour on stage to traverse between a number of albums in his extensive, decades-long catalogue, from Rumor and Sigh, Mock Tudor, Sweet Warrior, Daring Adventures and the Bloody Noses EP to such collaborative projects with former wife Linda as Pour Down Like Silver and I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight as well as Fairport Convention’s Unhalfbricking. For long-time fans, it was a night of time-traveling, even into the future with a new song, “Cocaine Walkin,’ Booze Talkin,’” scheduled to appear in its studio form on Thompson’s new album, Hippies, Thugs and Heroes, in October.
The RT catalog is inhabited by a plethora of characters whose stories are sometimes tragic, sometimes regretful, occasionally pleading, but usually confessional. An unofficial 1980s two-volume tape collection of rare songs and performances was dubbed Doom and Gloom from the Tomb, a rather limiting but not entirely inaccurate perspective of Thompson’s subject matter. Of the tunes performed in Ocean City, “Down Where the Drunkards Roll,” with its darker view of the world’s inhabitants, and “Dimming of the Day’s” declaration of vulnerability are among a group of songs that reveal as much about the narrators’ place in the world between the lines as within them.
Then there are the rare lighter compositions, like “Walking the Long Miles Home,” a breakup song set in the songwriter’s real-life uplifting journeys home from London’s Marquee Club in the 1960s or the modern-day sea shanty “Johnny’s Far Away,” the chorus of which is utilized for audience participation, which effectively counterbalance the darker themes, while topical selections such as “Pharaoh” and “Genesis Hall” have an uncanny, disturbing relevance in 2026 despite their nearly forty- and sixty-year histories, respectively.
What never fails to generate the most spirited reaction, however, is “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” its flawless, finger-picked guitar performance always unleashing howls of awe and appreciation. Thompson’s standing in the guitar community is deserving of even higher recognition. His blend of genres in single-note and double stop runs, alternating finger-picked and strummed moments and steady rock-bottom bass lines have always been unique and trailblazing and show no signs of slowing down.
Thompson’s last South Jersey appearance was in April 2025 at the Cape May Convention Center, where he headlined, playing a twenty-song set that included Phillips during the second half. Of that list, only three were repeated at the Ocean City show. Now a resident of Montclair, New Jersey, Thompson has regularly visited the southern portion of the Garden State ever since the pandemic subsided.
Thompson’s periodic glances at his watch during his Ocean City set were a reminder that his opening-act stint required an adherence to the clock. By the end, the gradually graying sky over the resort town had created a perfect backdrop to the chorus of the set’s finale, “Dimming of the Day.” The audience was no longer bathed in sunlight streaming from the windows, its visibility melting as it offered a standing ovation at the close of the set. Departing the stage, Thompson may not have had as clear a view of his fans as when he first entered, but the thunderous applause was enough to accurately tell the tale.
Set List
“I Misunderstood”
“Genesis Hall”
“Valerie”
“Pharaoh”
“Johnny’s Far Away”
“Walking the Long Miles Home”
“1952 Vincent Black Lightning”
“If I Could Live My Life Again”
“Down Where the Drunkards Roll”
“Cocaine Walkin,’ Booze Talkin’”
“Dimming of the Day”
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