Canadian A-listers honour a legend

More than 20 musical ambassadors pay tribute to Gordon Lightfoot at Massey Hall

- NICK KREWEN

Rush's Geddy Lee performs with Blue Rodeo's Greg Keelor at the "Celebrating Gordon Lightfoot" tribute concert at Massey Hall on Thursday night.

To quote one of his masterful songs: Could a star-studded live concert tribute to the late Gordon Lightfoot by a group of his peers and admirers being anything but "Beautiful"? 

If you were in Massey Hall on Thursday night-the venue affectionately known as "The House That Gord Built" that question would have been answered for twoand-a-half hours with an emphatic, "No!"

While the man himself is no longer with us - it's been just over a year since the Orillia native died at 84 a steady and somewhat surprising cavalcade of more than 20 Canadian musical ambassadors ensured that his songs remained as timeless as the day they were written, choosing numbers both popular and somewhat obscure to celebrate the work of this meticulous craftsman.

Recorded for a future CBC broadcast as part of the "Live at Massey Hall" series and hosted by singer Damhnait Doyle,this event, tagged "Celebrating Gordon Lightfoot," was a glorious evening of stories, laughter and, of course, peak solo, duo and group performances.

And though Lightfoot had graced the venue's stage an estimated 170 times while still part of this mortal coil, some entertainers felt that he stuck around spiritually Thursday evening for No. 171.

"I truly believe that Gord is here tonight," exclaimed Hamilton's Tom Wilson, who was joined by his son Thompson Wilson and the original Lightfoot Band for a stirring rendition of "Cold on the Shoulder." "I feel it in my heart!"

Truly, there were others who shared that sentiment.