Meet Les

Les Thompson has been involved in the recording arts since 1966. As one of the founding members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Les worked on many of the band's early albums, from their debut through the epic "Will the Circle Be Unbroken", recorded with roots music icons like Doc Watson, Mother Maybelle Carter, Vasser Clements, and Earl Scruggs.

As a teenager with a keen interest in music and instrument building, Les got himself hired to work at the now legendary McCabe's Guitar Shop in Long Beach, CA in the early 60s. He found himself at the epicenter for the LA-area folk scene that dominated commercial music, regularly hanging out and playing music with other young musicians like Jackson Browne and Stephen Stills. These young musicians eagerly immersed themselves in the traditional blues and folk sounds heard in a wealth of clubs around the area, and instilled in Les a fondness and reverence for traditional music.

Les joined forces with some of his friends to form the nucleus of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who fused their California laidback approach with a jugband sound and entertaining show that landed them at the pinnacle of the American music scene in the late 60s and early 70s. Their groundbreaking ”Will the Circle Be Unbroken” album found the long-haired California kids bridging the generation gap to legends of American roots and country music like Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs and Mother Maybelle Carter. The band received two Grammy Nominations and three gold and platinum albums.

Tired by the relentless touring and the conflict of commercial music with his own artistry, Les left the band in the mid-seventies. After a nearly decade long hiatus from the music business, the love of American roots music led him to the hills of Virginia, where he now records and picks with some of the finest players in the region. He has recorded albums for many of them at his rustic digital recording facility Cabin Studios, on a mountain near Leesburg, Virginia.

In addition to album and single recording, Les has produced and/or engineered numerous other recording and television projects, including a number of ABCs After School Play Breaks and commercial jingles.