7.JOHN MCDERMOTT – HOME FROM THE FOREST and THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE. John has recorded “Home From the Forest” and “Song For A Winter’s Night” on his own albums and has great respect for Lightfoot. His own story of how he came to his musical career is quite a tale. John explains the connection between Lightfoot and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McDermott_(singer) and
http://johnmcdermott.com/
8.THE GOOD BROTHERS – REDWOOD HILL and ALBERTA BOUND. and a reading of the notes Lightfoot wrote back in 1970 in the Redwood Forest with The Good Brothers. (video) I’m sure they have performed this tune many more times than Lightfoot ever thought of doing it! And the same can be said of the 2nd tune they sang – “Alberta Bound” which of course had the audience singing along.
http://www.thegoodbrothers.com/
9.JASON FOWLER – I’LL TAG ALONG and FINE AS FINE CAN BE. Jason is the musical director for John McDermott and a talented songwriter/singer with several of his own CD’s. He has the most eclectic collection of guitars I’ve ever seen. And he plays them beautifully. This year Jason did not tell his “boiler strings” story but had an equally compelling one of a guitar given to Lightfoot as a gift from Bob Dylan. Jason hadn’t realized that “Fine As Fine Can Be” was a song written for Lightfoot’s oldest daughter when she was a young girl. Having thought it was for a woman the song then took on a whole different meaning for him. Lori Cullen sang back up for Jason.
http://www.jasonfowler.ca/fr_home.cfm
10.SUZIE VINNICK – BEND IN THE WATER and I’D DO IT AGAIN. Suzie, as always brings a sexy blues vibe with her sultry voice to the Lightfoot tunes and makes us hear them a whole new, exciting way. She’s a master guitarist and terrific songwriter as well. She just won 2 Maple Blues and 1 Folk Music award! She has won many awards, has been and is in a few groups and has recorded with them as well as Rick Fines, another artist at these shows over the years.
http://www.suzievinnick.com/
11.CADENCE – THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD and BOSS MAN. (David noted that it would take 4 men to follow Suzie!) 4 male vocalists that defy description. They sing and vocalize all instruments and sound effects that can possibly be imagined. They take ‘barbershop’ harmonies to another level and captivated Lightfoot a couple of years ago when he was in attendance and watched these 4 artists perform.
http://www.cadence-unplugged.com/
12.LORI CULLEN – RAINY DAY PEOPLE and SONG FOR A WINTER’S NIGHT. Lori brings a jazz element to tunes you’d never think would support that genre. She does it subtly yet powerfully with a sweet voice that draws you in.
http://loricullen.com/ Lori has recorded “Pussywillows-Cattails”, “Rainy Day People” and “Beautiful” on her own CD’s. Suzie Vinnick and Annabelle Chvostek sang back up with Lori.
13.LIAM TITCOMB – SUMMER SIDE OF LIFE and SUNDOWN. Liam is the son of Brent Titcomb-a long time folk artist starting back in the 60’s. LIAM has performed at the Lightfoot shows before and has matured into an artist comfortable onstage with his strong voice and guitar skills. He, like Jason worked at the music store that Lightfoot frequented, albeit at different times and met Lightfoot there many times over the period he was employed at Ring Music.
http://www.liamtitcomb.com/ In 2009 Liam busked across Canada to raise funds for WarChild raising $50,000.00.
http://www.warchild.ca/ He also does a fine cover of “Into The Mystic” one of my fave Van Morrison tunes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=fF3Is4UaHG4#!
14.VALDY – BITTER GREEN and PIDDLIN’ PETE and THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR LOVIN’ ME. Valdy recalled playing a Lightfoot tune back in the day at the 1968 Aldergrove Folk Festival in British Columbia – no rock songs allowed so he sang “Bitter Green.” (Valdy then wrote the tune “Play me a rock and roll tune”) The audience at Hugh’s sang along as Valdy strummed and danced onstage. “Piddlin’ Pete” was a Robert Service poem that Lightfoot put to music. Ken Whiteley said he heard Lightfoot do it in concert back in 1964. Valdy also sang “That’s What You Get For Lovin’ Me” which also turned into an audience sing along. A few years ago when a mini version of the Lightfoot tribute show went out west Lynn Miles performed “That’s What You Get For Lovin’ Me”…as a woman singing it took on a whole new vibe.
http://www.valdy.com/
15.GROUP – FINALE – RICH MAN’S SPIRITUAL – A call/response version that is the culmination of a night of individual artists coming together onstage to perform the first song on side one of Lightfoot’s first album as suggested by Aengus Finnan when he and Jory Nash brainstormed about creating The Way We Feel – A Celebration of Gordon Lightfoot and his music more than 10 years ago. A perfect song indeed.
What a night…the 3rd of 4 nites brought some new artists to the stage and tunes not performed before at previous shows while the familiar faces and tunes were warmly welcomed once again. These events, after 10 years, are a testament to the respect everyone involved has for the Lightfoot body of work and The Man himself. He was missed this year while he was out on tour but I think he missed out on some truly memorable performances here at home in the city by the lake.