Music Style Acoustic music featuring flute, guitar, percussion, vocal harmony

Group Members Chris Thompson - acoustic guitar, vocals Meredith Thompson - flute, percussion, vocals

Albums Ithaca (1996), Shadyside (1997), Wood and Stone (1999), Live at Club Passim (2000)

Press Reviews Dirty Linen Jan/Feb2000 All Articles reprinted in entirety This third recording by twin sisters Chris & Meredith Thompson shows the duo coming into their own. The production by Crit Harmon makes good use of the sister’s unique harmony, and uses mostly acoustic backing (guitars, flute, bass, congas, violin) to bring out the best in the lyrics. Both sisters write songs that tell stories, some that draw on historical events, some on personal experiences, but all show a concern with the problems of the world toy (no lightweight love songs here). The recording is different from most singer/songwriters in a good way, and demonstrates that the two are only getting better. A pair to watch for. (JLe) Victory Review Seattle, WA p 15 September 2000 Review: Chris & Meredith Thompson Wood & Stone Moka Music/Alkali Records The Thompson’s amazing voices will draw you into this fine collection first, and gradually you’ll note the superb material they write. These twin sisters are new to me, but they hail from Massachusetts, and this is the third release of original material. Like other great sibling singers like Cape Breton’s Rankin family of the Black Family of Ireland, their voices are completely joined and beautiful on the twelve numbers here. Chris plays flute and Meredith plays guitar, with subtle musical support from Matt Levenworth on violin, Greg Holt on Bass, and Steve Wilkes on percussion. This is not quite folk, though the songs belong more in the social narrative than pop. . With echoes of the Indigo Girls and the McGarrigle Sisters, the duo incorporates jazz flavoring and precisely articulated vocal harmonies into the songs of history and social consciousness. “Hathaway” tells a Springsteen-ish story of a woman who faces a closed factory after years of work, and “Hometown” is as real as the last headline of a school killing in another small town. “House Divided” gives credence to the perspective of a single mom who’s sick of her whiny teenager. Based on the intelligent songs and sophisticated settings here I’d say they are definitely worth checking out. The Thompsons will appear in our area September 21,22,23,24. (Bill Compton) Metronome Magazine September, 2000 page 8 Boston MA Chris & Meredith Thompson “Wood & Stone” 12 song CD Wood & Stone Orchard Understood Hathaway Children Three Day Ride Beholder Hometown Katahdin The Letter House Divided Zodiac Sisters (I’m not sure if their twins) Chris and Meredith Thompson are leading the charge for folk and Celtic music into the new century. Their miraculous vocal harmonies could only be the reverberation of sisters that share the same genetic makeup. Because trust me folks, strangers don’t make music as beautifully as there sisters do. Profound arrangements by the sounds of Meredith’s flute and congas playing coupled [to] Chris acoustic guitar work is tightly wrapped up by their sweet angelic voices. Few performers have moved me like the Thompsons, and after one listen, I’m confidant you’ll be moved too. Superb! The Seacoast Observer: Spotlight September 28, 2000 New Hampshire Mary Ann Robertson Thompson twins Celebrate the Human Spirit Chris and Meredith Thompson are twin sisters. Together they form one of the most dynamic, innovative sound in the world of folk and acoustic music. As they busily increase their bevy of fans by playing in venues nationwide, their roots become stronger. In spite of being busy, both women embrace the support of audiences in the Northeast as often as possible. During this interview, which took place via phone as the Thompsons waited to catch a connecting flight in [from] Seattle, Meredith said: ”The community that comes together is one of the great things about the folk world. This is especially true in the Northeast where there are many great venues and where the radio support is so widespread.” This Friday, September 29 at 8pm, the Thompsons will appear at the Stone Church on Zion hill in Newmarket, NH. Meredith sways they plan to play songs from each of their four CDs, recorded between 1996 and 2000, adding “We like to play the songs people may already know; but we’re always writing so we want to play some new things as well. “ On Friday, the Thompsons will share the stage with their cousin, a musician well known in the Seacoast area. Ethan Bessey, who was part of the band Dreadnaught, is now doing more solo work and will be joining his cousins. Through their music, the Thompsons celebrate the human spirit. The stories their lyrics tell come from a variety of sources. The song “Wildfire” tells of the Irish Potato Famine of the 1940’s (1840s’). “Dead River” tells the story of Flagstaff Maine, which disappeared from the map in 1955. Several songs on their CD “Wood and Stone” tells stories of the power of human spirit in a variety of settings during different time periods. “Three Day Ride” tells of a woman who drove from Zanesville Ohio to Brooks Maine in the 1920’s. “Hathaway” tells of a woman who worked in a shirt factory on the day she met the woman who would ultimately close the factory. “House Divided” tells of a divorced woman who acknowledges it is time to stand up for herself even as her children turn away from her. “Katahdin” is an instrumental, which evokes the beauty of sunrise in one of the first places in the U. S. to see the sun each morning. The Thompson’s history telling and social commentary show the influence of songwriters like Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, Tracy Chapman and Gillian Welch. The list their musical influences as Solas, Dave Brubeck, Laura Love, Psoas and Trillian Green, and eclectic bunch to say the least. Their lyrics draw audiences in and make people want to listen to these stories. As relevant as the lyrics are, their music is equally absorbing. South American and Celtic influences are easily heard. Chris plays jazz and folk influenced guitar. Meredith plays flute and percussion instruments. Their rhythms are unpredictable, yet their melodies are lyrical. Their arrangements are sophisticated. When they write, Meredith said, they usually work on the music first. “Generally Chris comes up with the melody and I write the lyrics, but not always. We really work together. But usually we have the music first and then work on the story that fits the music,” she said. It is their mix of intriguing music with stories of people’s hopes and dreams that makes the Thompson’s music so compelling. That and their vocals. The sisters singing voices are almost identical; their tight vocal harmonies, mesmerizing. One of the places this can be heard most clearly is on their latest CD of just five songs, released earlier this month, titled “LIVE at Club Passim.” It was recorded during their show there on Feb. 2, 2000. Meredith said,” The live album has an organic feel. It sounds like we actually sound.” Club Passim, in Cambridge Mass, is where some of the areas best-known folk artists, Ellis Paul, Patty Larkin and Dar Williams, got their start. Back in the days when it was own as Club 47,artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Judy Collins played there. “So you can see why we wanted to have out live CD recorded there,” Meredith said. The Thompsons played the Hudson Clearwater Revival on June 17. They were special guests at the Falcon Ridge Folk festival in Hillsdale NY in July 1999, where they shared the bill with Cheryl Wheeler, Greg Brown and Ani DiFranco. In May 1998, they participated in the “Folk Next Door” concert in Hartford CT, just a month after the Providence Phoenix nominated them as “Rhode Islands Best Folk Act”. And, they were one of 20 finalists in over 100 entries in the contest to open for 1998’s Lilith Fair. Local audiences might already be familiar with the Thompsons. They opened for Brooks Willaims at the Kennebunk Coffeehouse in Kennebunk Maine early in the summer. They then played the Kittery Seaside Festival, and they have already appeared once this year at the Stone Church. For anyone who hasn’t heard them, and even for those who have, the opportunity to hear them again at the Stone Church is a welcome one. Their Friday Sept 29 performance is at 8pm. On Saturday Sept 30 at 8pm they will play at the Aaron Cutler Memorial Library Community Coffeehouse in Litchfield, NH. On Sunday morning, from 10am to 12pm,theywill join disc jockey Jack beard on WUNH (91.3fm) radio. And Sunday evening, Oct 1 at 7pm, the Thompsons will play for the First Sunday Coffeehouse at the town Hall in Ware. At The Shore: Shore Nights Page 16 March 31, 2000 Ventnor, NJ Matthew J. Dowling, Staff Writer As a pair of twin sisters who perform music as a duo, Chris and Meredith Thompsons have probably head every attempt to bemuse their common birthday and strikingly similar appearance. What the Thompsons would rather come across, however, is the common passion the sisters have fro performing and composing folk/pop music. The fact that they’re sisters simply means that they’ve been playing together for years. And that has its distinctive advantages. “We’re very tight,” Meredith says. “Sometimes we don’t even have to look at each other to know when to start playing.” The Thompsons pride themselves on an innate ability to weave harmonies- often compared to that of the Indigo Girls- throughout their music. The knack for gripping harmonies, Meredith admits, is an advantage of having voices that match almost as well as the contours of their faces. Typically, one sister will take the higher notes for the songs melody, but it is not uncommon for them to switch mid-song. The Boston-based duo will bring their acoustic show to the Piping Plover Acoustic Music Society at the United Methodist Church in Ventnor on Friday March 31. “I’m always looking for different places to play,” Meredith says. “We’ve tried to really build an audience. We’re always out there performing.” The Thompsons have been playing together since high school, where they began taking on open mic nights at local coffeehouses. They even made a demo tape of some of their songs. When the time came for college, the Thompsons set off to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY together. The arts-oriented atmosphere at Cornell allowed the Thompsons to met and hear many other musicians play. During that time, the sisters also continued to play together and polish their sound. But the real exploration took place after Meredith and Chris graduated. “After college, I decided I wanted to see the country, so we took it on the road,” Meredith says. “We love to play concerts. We love to meet people.” Meredith says most of the songs she and Chris write come from stories they collect from people they encounter rather than personal experience. Chris tends to handle most of the music-writing duties while Meredith writes most of the lyrics. Meredith says the writing process involves serious thought about how to involve the different instruments-including flute, congas and guitar- the duo frequently uses on songs. “We put a lot of thought into the music, the harmonies and how things fit together,” Meredith says. “WE like to have imagery in music. That adds to the description of the song.” The duo has released three albums together, including the CD, “Wood and Stone”, early last year. Chris and Meredith have been touring to support the release with about 150 shows a year, including some larger festivals. The Thompsons work has caught attention in various places. A local Boston folk music station placed two of the Tracks from “wood and Stone” into medium rotation last summer. “Boston has a really neat music scene,” Meredith says. In addition, Chris and Meredith were among the finalists for opening duties on the 1998 Lilith Fair tour. The duo have been scheduled to palythe2000 Hudson Clearwater Hudson Revival in New York this summer and were specials guests in last year’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hilldale NY. “It takes 10 years to make an overnight success, “ Meredith says. But that won’t stop the sister’s from continuing to build on each new step in the process, she says. Chris and Meredith have been working to expand their fan base throughout the Northeast. Both still maintain part time jobs with flexible hours to allow for travel. “We both have part time jobs to support the music habit,” Meredith says. “Recording is very expensive.” The sisters released their first album “Ithaca in 1996 and the second release “Shadyside” came in 1998. Meredith says they are already working on a live CD to follow up the success on “Wood and Stone” It is tentatively scheduled for release sometime this summer, though a date has not been set yet. “I don’t want to jinx it,” Meredith jokes. “We’ve recorded some shows. We’re still working on it. We have a pretty busy spring and a pretty busy summer planned.” CD review: “Wood & Stone,” Chris and Meredith Thompson (Alkali) Hypnotic flutes, dazzling harmonies and heartfelt lyrics characterize the third release by twin sisters Chris and Meredith Thompson. The folk music genre allows for great latitude in musical construction, and it would seem that the Thompsons found a way to explore them all on “Wood and Stone”. The12 songs assembled on “Wood and Stone” give a collective overview on the talented duo’s innate ability to build splendid harmonies and melodies throughout their music. As is often the case in folk music, the strength of the Thompsons music is powered by storytelling. The lyrical focus of several tracks requires some worthwhile attention. “House Divided”, for example, tells the speaks to the struggle of a woman facing the reality of divorce with lines like “I give all that I have to keep this house my home, and I gotta stand for something, now that I stand alone.” Other tracks such as “Orchard” allow the imagination to wander through the imagery the sisters create both with words and mesmerizing arrangements. And the Thompsons prove that they’re not afraid to take an occasional risk. Despite the outstanding guitar, violin and flute played throughout, the Thompsons shirk all instruments on “Children” to lay the raw delicacy of their voices to bare. And on “Katahdin,” the sisters take the opposite approach by removing all the lyrics (except two lines) to allow their instrumental strengths to shine with Chris on guitar and Meredith on flute. On “Wood and Stone,” the Thompsons offer a complete package for musical exploration through an excellent collection of folk music worthy of a trip to the Internet to order the disc. When the only real criticism is that 12 tracks weren’t enough, you know you’ve found a keeper. (“Wood and Stone” is available at www.cmthompson.com/albums.html or amazon.com)

Location Somerville, MA - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).