May 23, 2024 | 8 pm
Massey Hall
To honour his music and legacy, Massey Hall, in collaboration with the Lightfoot Estate, proudly announces Celebrating Gordon Lightfoot on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at Massey Hall.
The evening, led by two extraordinary house bands, Blue Rodeo and the members of Gordon Lightfoot’s longtime band, The Lightfoot Band (Rick Haynes, Barry Keane, Mike Heffernan and Carter Lancaster), will feature performances by Allison Russell, Aysanabee, Burton Cummings, Caroline Wiles & Bob Doidge, Meredith Moon, Sylvia Tyson, The Good Brothers, Tom Cochrane, William Prince with more to be announced.
Proceeds from Celebrating Gordon Lightfoot, as requested by the Gordon Lightfoot Estate, will support Massey Hall, a charitable not-for-profit, including the Revitalization of the Hall, its music appreciation, education, community outreach and artist development initiatives.
Fittingly, Celebrating Gordon Lightfoot takes place in what Mr. Lightfoot often referred to as his second home—having sung on its stage more than 170 times – more than any other artist in the Hall’s 130-year history. Gordon Lightfoot was the last artist to perform before Massey Hall closed for renovations in 2018 and the first to appear after the re-opening in 2021. Following his death on May 1, 2023, Massey Hall opened its doors to allow fans to offer condolences and lovingly remember the legendary artist. This event will enable fans, family, and friends to recognize and pay tribute to the incredible music he gifted the world.
Pick up your copy of Gordon Lightfoot’s final album
After 50 years of hit-making and with international album sales well into the multi-millions, Gordon Lightfoot is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time. Inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2012, his songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, and Barbra Streisand. His recordings of “Early Morning Rain,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Carefree Highway”, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and “Sundown” are still among the most performed songs on the radio in North America.
After a lifetime spent performing live with his band, Gordon Lightfoot singled out London’s Royal Albert Hall as one of his favourite venues to play and recorded his seventh appearance there in concert on May 24, 2016. In the final weeks before his passing on May 1, 2023, Gordon Lightfoot insisted that this live album be released as soon as possible, approving the artwork and making it clear that no changes were to be made to the recording.
The double album set is an unembellished recording of that night’s performance, without edits, overdubs or re-sequencing. It captures every song performed in the order they were played, right down to the encore, by Gordon and his band – Rick Haynes on bass, Barry Keane on drums, Mike Heffernan on keys, and Carter Lancaster on guitar. It features Lightfoot’s best-known hits, and songs never previously appearing on a live album, including “The Watchman’s Gone”, “Sea of Tranquility”, “Now And Then”, “All The Lovely Ladies”, “Drifters”, “Beautiful”, “Did She Mention My Name”, “Sweet Guinevere”, “Never Too Close”, “Don Quixote”, “Minstrel of the Dawn”, “I’d Rather Press On” and “Waiting For You”.
