Performance jump starts Lotus Festival

As an unofficial early start to the 19th annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival, Richard Thompson will perform at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater at 8 p.m., today. His performance is also a continuation of the 90th anniversary of the BCT Presents Concert Series.

“Thompson has played in Bloomington quite a few times,” said Maarten Bout, associate executive director for marketing and technology at Buskirk.”It’s an unofficial start to Lotus.”

Bout said Buskirk is co-presenting the series with Lotus and the two are “very much intertwined.”

“We’ve been doing BCT presents for a while now,” Bout said. “It’s basically a series featuring between eight and 16 concerts of major-label artists. Typically, we are a rental venue. We just supply people with space, but this is where we present things to the community as a promoter.”

Bout said they sponsor both up-and-coming bands and established acts for the series.

“It’s a very illustrious group of people that come to play here,” Bout said. “It is a very unique opportunity for the audience. We only have 600 seats which really allows them to have an intimate experience with the artist.”

Bout spoke enthusiastically about the response Buskirk has received since programming Thompson.

“The sales for the first day were pretty stellar,” Bout said. “I’ve never seen any show sell out half of the house in 24 hours, which happened this time. I’m pretty certain we’re going to have a sold out show tomorrow night.”

Born in West London, Thompson’s early influences include Django Reinhardt, Fats Waller, Les Paul and Jimmy Shand, according to his website. He was a founding member of the British band, Fairport Convention. He performed a duo with his wife, Linda, from 1971-82 and has been working as a solo artist since their divorce in 1982.

Thompson, a recipient of BBC’s Lifetime Achievement Award, was named one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s Top 20 Guitarists of All Time and received a Grammy nomination in 2011. He has written scores for numerous films, including Werner Herzog’s “Grizzly Man.”

“It’s kind of like you’re canoeing down a river and you want to see what is around the next bend,” Thompson said in an interview on his website. “The future, the stuff you haven’t created yet, is very exciting.”

Bout said he has high expectations for today’s show.

“It’s going to be a fantastic performance,” Bout said. “He’s an incredible guitar player, a great songwriter and a great performer. That combination really promises an amazing show. It’s gonna be pretty wild.”