On Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 a packed house at the Mary Webb Centre for the Arts was treated to a truly wonderful concert by John Stinson and his Lightfoot Tribute band. They took the audience back to the 60s and 70s with Lightfoot songs that many in the audience may have not heard for a long time, or wouldn’t have recognized the song’s name. As soon as the band started singing, the words magically popped into their head. Stinson was accompanied by a very talented guitar player, bass player and drummer. As he went through the songs, he told stories of where Lightfoot was when he wrote the song and what inspired him. The good thing about being in the Mary Webb Centre is that the audience is so close to the performers that as Stinson sang his songs, you could listen to every word, which perhaps you hadn’t done in years past when listening on the radio as you travelled hither and yon. He also let us know the band’s connection with Gordon Lightfoot over the years. Special thanks to Mark Oakley for his help with the sound.

  The bass player, who produced Lightfoot’s last three albums, said as the band was setting up, that in his travels around Canada to perform concerts, he isn’t very often really impressed by any particular venue. Not so with the Mary Webb Centre. He was very much taken in, not only with architecture of the concert hall, but by its amazing sound. That is something that we continually hear from groups who have never performed with us before.

  The band had a loud standing ovation after treating the crowd to “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald.” They didn’t leave the stage and finished the night with two more songs. We certainly hope that they come back to Highgate again in the not too distant future.

The John Stinson Classic Lightfoot Band

l-r: Bob Doidge, John Stinson, Malcolm Gould, Eric Kidd