Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

A long-haired figure sat alone onstage in a plaid shirt, blue jeans and construction boots. With just an acoustic guitar and, occasionally, a piano, he sang 18 songs—many of them brand new—to an adoring, sold-out audience. There was magic in the air. When Neil Young played Massey Hall on January 19, 1971, it was a triumphant homecoming for the Toronto-born troubadour, who’d left five years earlier to find fame in California. The concert proved to be a watershed event, forever sealing Young’s reputation as a formidable artist and a national icon. Last year, Luminato celebrated Canada’s best songsmiths, including Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot. This year, the arts festival i...

It may be the perfect partnership. As husband and wife, Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, while raising three happy, rambunctious young sons. But Kreviazuk and Maida are also successfully married in songwriting, an alliance that has benefited their respective careers and made them Canada’s go-to power couple for American stars like Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson and Pink and such Canadian artists as Avril Lavigne, Rex Goudie and Eva Avila. It all began in 1996 when Winnipeg-born Kreviazuk, who had just released her debut album, Under These Rocks and Stones, met Maida, frontman of Juno Award winning rockers Our Lady Peace, backstage at a Pearl J...

Roberto Occhipinti is diversity personified. He’s won awards and acclaim as a musician, composer and record producer. Throughout his career, the Toronto-born bassist has performed in classical orchestras, jazz ensembles, Latin groups, rhythm & blues outfits and rock bands. He has worked in theatre and opera, written for radio and television, played on film soundtracks and done more recording session jobs than he can remember. To call the hard-working musician versatile would be the height of understatement. “I’ve always had very catholic tastes about my musical endeavors,” admits Occhipinti. “I don’t wait for the phone to ring. I’d rather make a call than hang around. I get involved with...