David Lonzo Thompson was born in Hinds County, Mississippi May 21, 1969. Lil Dave's exposure to music came early and has always been a way of life. Lil Dave's list of influences reads like an anthology of the blues. His family was burned out in legendary Moorhead, MS (Where the Yellow Dog Crosses the Southern) and moved to B.B. King’s hometown of Indianola, MS. But it was in Leland, MS, (Hellhole of the Delta) and home of James "Son" Thomas and other blues legends that Dave, at the age of 14, formed his first band, The Delta Blues Band. As a teenager, Dave played with various blues, R & B, Reggae, and gospel bands in the delta area until he met and toured with the late Roosevelt “Booba” Barnes in 1990.  Thompson has come full circle with the blues. He has lived it, learned it and now seems to appreciate the rich legacy and his responsibility to the blues, this region, and his fellow blues artists, past, present and future. 

In 1996 Lil Dave burst onto the scene with his Fat Possum debut, Lil Dave and Big Love then quickly disappeared. In 2002 he re-emerged with “Down in the Delta,“ a 14 song slab of modern, original soul-blues that are remarkably mature for a player under 35.  His visceral, unvarnished music exude swagger, and there's plenty of variety: shuffles, slow blues, junk, Southern strollers, and even a light jazz instrumental. It's hard to pick favorites, but grabbers include "Standin' In The Rain." Reminiscent of early Robert Cray; the smoky, low-key funk plea  "Caught Up in a Crossfire"; the fiery stop-time shuffle "Strung Out"; and two Southern soul duets with fellow label mate Mary Taylor: the Memphis stroller "We Can Make It If We Try" and the loping Tyrone Davis-style dancer "My Baby Won't Change" (both penned by producer/saxist Bruce Fiener). The most anomalous track is "Cuttin' Loose," an instrumental in the style of George Benson or Phil Upchurch, while the slow-burn title track pass tribute to some of Thompson's fellow Mississippi Bluesmen past and present and to the city of Greenville.

 Thompson's confident, aggressive guitar solos combine the buzz-saw snarl of Albert King and the sweet, metallic sting of Little Milton, and his unpretentious vocals seem equally influenced by blues and soul. This is an important album, and a triumph of sorts by a major young talent who didn't atrophy into semi-obscurity.