“It’s a Thompson family affair, but I do all the work,” was Teddy Thompson’s Scrooge-like introduction to this folk-filled festive occasion.

He did a pretty good job, though. The line-up was about as starry as you get for practitioners of intense, acoustic music and traditional songs, including his parents Richard and Linda Thompson.

Their early Eighties split didn’t seem to get in the way of the evening’s goodwill, and the former folk couple were clearly proud of their son. He made a breakthrough this year with the album A Piece of What You Need, and his younger sister Kami proved herself an emerging talent on a superior cover of Wham’s Last Christmas.

There was a Christmas tree on stage and the theme was generally maintained but not always. Bert Jansch simply relied on superlative musicianship, while Rachel Unthank and the Winterset just had a vaguely seasonable name.

The amiable Teddy dueted with Jenni Muldaur on a sultry White Christmas, though, and the beatboxer Shlomo masterminded a bizarre take on Jingle Bells.

Richard Thompson performed a song composed on his flight from LA. It was scrappy and undoubtedly infantile but did get the crowd singing along to the chorus about receiving the wrong presents.
Teddy was an effective host and he assembled some fine musicians for this Amnesty International fundraiser, including a harpist and a musical director who played accordion and kept things under control.

However, it was a long set, so there were inevitable dips in quality and some acts couldn’t compete with the folk elite. There are also only so many festive songs you can endure in a three-hour performance.

At least Teddy’s download single Christmas had a reggae twist. Whatever the occasion, though, it was simply a rare privilege to see the talented Thompsons together on stage.