Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - Orillia Lightfoot Days honours the legend

lighthead2toe · 11-11-2015, 03:32 PM

An exceptionally memorable weekend it was indeed.

The little town of Orillia was alive with the sound of Gordon Lightfoot music and the townsfolk had everything perfectly in place for this huge celebration.

Our friend and musical partner Paul Bartlett and I arrived on the Saturday and stayed over coming back to Toronto on the Sunday afternoon.

Upon arrival we made our way to "Apple Annie's Cafe" where "The Circle is Small Band" was setting up to perform and we were received with a warm greeting from the guys and hung out there for a bit before heading to "The Hog and Penny," a quaint little English style pub close by. My son Liam and granddaughter, Zaira met us there for lunch and it was great to see them. I love my family. All the venues are within walking distance and the Orillia weather was pleasant and delightful.

The "Hog and Penny" featured "Don James," a name unfamiliar to us up till this point but boy, did he roll out one heck of a great show!

Don is a one man band with an elaborate set up up of high tech equipment which among other great sounds, produced a female harmony to compliment his own powerful voice. He knew the tunes and performed them well. Watch for his name if he comes you way.

Then it's on to Marcel's, a fine dining establishment but they do have a bar so we sat there and enjoyed the sweet sounds of Jane Lewis and my good friend Eve Goldberg. These two women produce a wonderful combination of sound. They have many Gord tunes in their repertoire and shared several with us. Thank you ladies.

From Marcel's we're off to the final round of the day; the impressively turreted "Orillia Opera House."

The show here features Gord's nephew, Steven Eyers together with Eric Kidd as the main vocal and also lead guitar. Eric was trained by Red Shea, Gord's original lead guitar player.
Backing Steve and Eric up was a very fine sounding, well seasoned band called "Classic Albums Live." Some really sweet cello sounds complimenting those great Gord tunes here. They treated us to a wonderful two set performance.

During the intermission we were pleasantly surprised to meet up with Kenyon Wallace and his beautiful Johanna. Kenyon is an all round Lightfoot musician and they are a lovely young couple raising their little daughter. Busy times for Johanna and Kenyon.

After a good night's rest we're off to St Paul's Church for the Sunday morning service which included a musical performance with John Stinson on vocal, six and twelve string guitar, Steven Eyers on bass and harmony, Eric Kidd on lead guitar, harmony and Jimmy Jones on keyboard. What a band!

The service was beautiful with St. Paul's former Church Minister and friend of Gord's, Karen Hilfman Millson sharing her stories and quotes between songs. St Paul's was the Church Gord attended.

Also as part the service the local Church choir performed a most beautiful rendition of "Pussywillows, Cattails." It's clear that they took this project seriously. The choir was a combination of young voices up to the senior ones and they each sang their respective parts with ultimate precision. It was a very moving performance.

From their own congregation St. Paul's also provided the sound and several members made a significant contribution providing percussion, piano and vocal. "Don Quixote" was a big highlight for me! Thank you friends.

Following the service the band moved downstairs to the banquet hall where lunch was being prepared and the music continued in style.

John Stinson's repertoire is extensive which includes one of my faves, "Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle," an earlier shipwreck song, and following a brief explanation he did a most passionate version of this mournful ballad.
The song ended with a "Jimmy Jones elongated chord" on his keyboard that would leave a lump in anyone's throat. Thank you JJ. Now I can't eat my cake.

One final stop before we head back and that's to hear "The Circle is Small Band" at the Mariposa Market.
These fellows are the local Orillia Tribute Band and a fine bunch of guys they are. They know all the tunes and play them well. Their lead guitar player, Jack Nicolle also was trained by Red Shea.

A very fulfilling Orillia weekend it was and now our sights are focused on the "Gordon Lightfoot Tribute" shows scheduled for mid January at Hugh's Room in Toronto.
Can't get much better than that, eh?

11-11-2015, 03:32 PM	#10
lighthead2toe Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: canada Posts: 920	Re: Orillia Lightfoot Days honours the legend An exceptionally memorable weekend it was indeed. The little town of Orillia was alive with the sound of Gordon Lightfoot music and the townsfolk had everything perfectly in place for this huge celebration. Our friend and musical partner Paul Bartlett and I arrived on the Saturday and stayed over coming back to Toronto on the Sunday afternoon. Upon arrival we made our way to "Apple Annie's Cafe" where "The Circle is Small Band" was setting up to perform and we were received with a warm greeting from the guys and hung out there for a bit before heading to "The Hog and Penny," a quaint little English style pub close by. My son Liam and granddaughter, Zaira met us there for lunch and it was great to see them. I love my family. All the venues are within walking distance and the Orillia weather was pleasant and delightful. The "Hog and Penny" featured "Don James," a name unfamiliar to us up till this point but boy, did he roll out one heck of a great show! Don is a one man band with an elaborate set up up of high tech equipment which among other great sounds, produced a female harmony to compliment his own powerful voice. He knew the tunes and performed them well. Watch for his name if he comes you way. Then it's on to Marcel's, a fine dining establishment but they do have a bar so we sat there and enjoyed the sweet sounds of Jane Lewis and my good friend Eve Goldberg. These two women produce a wonderful combination of sound. They have many Gord tunes in their repertoire and shared several with us. Thank you ladies. From Marcel's we're off to the final round of the day; the impressively turreted "Orillia Opera House." The show here features Gord's nephew, Steven Eyers together with Eric Kidd as the main vocal and also lead guitar. Eric was trained by Red Shea, Gord's original lead guitar player. Backing Steve and Eric up was a very fine sounding, well seasoned band called "Classic Albums Live." Some really sweet cello sounds complimenting those great Gord tunes here. They treated us to a wonderful two set performance. During the intermission we were pleasantly surprised to meet up with Kenyon Wallace and his beautiful Johanna. Kenyon is an all round Lightfoot musician and they are a lovely young couple raising their little daughter. Busy times for Johanna and Kenyon. After a good night's rest we're off to St Paul's Church for the Sunday morning service which included a musical performance with John Stinson on vocal, six and twelve string guitar, Steven Eyers on bass and harmony, Eric Kidd on lead guitar, harmony and Jimmy Jones on keyboard. What a band! The service was beautiful with St. Paul's former Church Minister and friend of Gord's, Karen Hilfman Millson sharing her stories and quotes between songs. St Paul's was the Church Gord attended. Also as part the service the local Church choir performed a most beautiful rendition of "Pussywillows, Cattails." It's clear that they took this project seriously. The choir was a combination of young voices up to the senior ones and they each sang their respective parts with ultimate precision. It was a very moving performance. From their own congregation St. Paul's also provided the sound and several members made a significant contribution providing percussion, piano and vocal. "Don Quixote" was a big highlight for me! Thank you friends. Following the service the band moved downstairs to the banquet hall where lunch was being prepared and the music continued in style. John Stinson's repertoire is extensive which includes one of my faves, "Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle," an earlier shipwreck song, and following a brief explanation he did a most passionate version of this mournful ballad. The song ended with a "Jimmy Jones elongated chord" on his keyboard that would leave a lump in anyone's throat. Thank you JJ. Now I can't eat my cake. One final stop before we head back and that's to hear "The Circle is Small Band" at the Mariposa Market. These fellows are the local Orillia Tribute Band and a fine bunch of guys they are. They know all the tunes and play them well. Their lead guitar player, Jack Nicolle also was trained by Red Shea. A very fulfilling Orillia weekend it was and now our sights are focused on the "Gordon Lightfoot Tribute" shows scheduled for mid January at Hugh's Room in Toronto. Can't get much better than that, eh?