Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame concert, Phoenix Theatre, Toronto.

A gala concert to kick-start the festive season was a great way to celebrate this year’s batch of songs being celebrated by the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. The mostly seated crowd enjoyed two sets of speeches and songs from a variety of Canadian performers.The first set featured a few local boomer classics; “Opportunity” by Mandala, and “I Would Be The One” from the short-lived band Kensington Market. A Foot In Coldwater and Klaatu were also recognized.

Maestro Fresh Wes played a couple songs, one during each set. “Let Your Backbone Slide” was the inducted song, and Maestro followed it later on with “Stick to Your Vision.”
Lorraine Segato led a reunited Parachute Club through “Rise Up.” In a rousing speech, Segato recalled the progressive alliance of music makers and fans of all stripes and backgrounds who made Parachute Club a cultural force for a period in Toronto. She also sang “Magic Carpet Ride” written by John Kay.

K.D. Lang, Blue Rodeo and Joni Mitchell songs were played alongside a song best known for it’s performance by Bonnie Raitt. New Brunswick-born and Oshawa-raised Shirley Eikhard’s “Something to Talk About” was sung by Megan Worth.

Tom Cochrane came out for an acoustic song and played “Life is a Highway.” Cochrane was joined by fellow Tom, Tom Wilson, for a version of “The Weight.” Wilson continued with a tribute to Crowbar, describing the trill of his 12 year-old self hearing Crowbar on Hamilton radio. Toronto radio host Roger Ashby got a shout-out and a bunch of people piled onto the stage for a jamming finale of “O What A Feeling.”