Teddy and Kami Thompson, Jazz Café Camden

These days Teddy Thompson seems entirely his own man. In fact, mentioning his family connections seems almost gratuitous. But not last night. Last night, the son of Richard and Linda shared the evening with sister Kami and nephew Zak for a family knees-up before a devoted crowd. When theartsdesk last saw Thompson in concert, in January, we found him singing like a "lonesome cowboy". Well, after a busy summer, that cowboy is still singing country, but in the Jazz Cafe he seemed to be in his favourite saloon entertaining his best buddies.

Opening up proceedings, though, was sister Kami, who took to the stage casually in a white blouse and black pants as if she'd finished a day working in a local office. Kamila Thompson's set of bittersweet observational folk-rock came mainly from her forthcoming debut album. And more than her brother her songwriting owes a debt to father Richard Thompson. There's a darkness to it, quite at odds with her between-songs winning middle-class mannerisms. And "Tick Tock", the opener, a murderous break-up tale, revealed a voice that sat squarely between her parents' and an ability to show menace through restraint.

On "Never Again" her voice, full enough to penetrate every corner of the room, also showed how it could soar, bob and weave, but it was on the acoustic "Pretty Boy", with its hints of Martha Wainwright, that it was best put to use. And like Wainwright, Kamila demonstrated her excellence at swearing in her "Gotta Hold On" and "Screw You". But her song of the evening was the closer "Nice Cars". The only lyrics I could hear, "Ladies shouldn't drive nice cars/ They're only going to break our hearts", made me want to hear more.

Her weakness, though, was her delivery which, if not exactly apologetic, still lacked the confidence and conviction of someone like Jon Allen, whose every fibre tells you that he has spent the last three years working every dive from Plymouth to Cleepthorps. I don't know where Teddy Thompson has been touring over the last decade, but from the moment he shuffled on stage and said, "Oh, I see my sister has left her stuff everywhere again," it was evident that he's nowhere more comfortable than on it.

Teddy has worked hard to get where he is. Music's an odd family business. The name might initially get you noticed, but it also makes the judgment harsher. However, on Thompson Jr's last album his rich voice, beautifully crafted songs and slick production united critics in praise. He played eight of the 13 songs on the album last night. Yet, stripped of their slick retro-country-rock production they blended into an evening that seemed, in part, greatest hits, sometimes pure country and occasionally "an evening with the Thompsons". It was all knitted together with Teddy's easy manner and folk-club humour.

Of all the new material, "Delilah" was a sure-fire way to get things going. But for those who thought the new album showed how far Thompson's songwriting had developed, last night was a reminder of how good it has always been. The country shuffle of "Can't Sing Straight" brought a swing to the room, and "Everybody Move It" and "In My Arms" were pure pop gold.

Thompson is a natural performer. He's a good guitarist (a much better guitarist than his sister [pictured right], but not quite up to the standard of his father) and has the best voice in the family. The only slightly odd thing about his stage manner is the very stern expression he produces when caught in an emotion. There were plenty of those in his mini "country set", all from the 2007 album Up Front and Down Low. "Down Low" felt like it came genuinely from the heart of a man spat out along the highway somewhere in Tennessee.

For three numbers Teddy introduced his nephew Zak, seemingly about 15 years old, on stage. I suspect it might be family policy to get the musical members on stage before they develop self-consciousness. Zak was precociously fluent and seemed to be enjoying himself. And then twice, and most memorably, for Linda Thompson's "Babyshambles", the three of them were there together.

It's a testimony to Teddy's desire to be an independent entity that we don't yet think of the Thompson clan in quite the same way that we think of their Canadian friends, the Wainwrights (who have ascended to the level of musical dynasty). Looking at the three of them on stage, at the end of the evening, however, I couldn't help but wonder, for how much longer.

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Watch Teddy Thompson perform "Delilah" at last year's Glastonbury