The Lightfoot Band charms Blyth audience

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

On Friday, The Lightfoot Band brought the songs of Gordon Lightfoot to Blyth Memorial Hall for an unforgettable concert that won the hearts of the audience. 

The Lightfoot Band brought the superlative sound you would expect from a collection of top-tier musicians who have played together for decades - it was a consummate performance of Lightfoot classics and deep-cuts. But the band brought so much more to the stage than great songs - they also brought great stories about their time with the band. 

Rick Haynes, Barry Keane, Mike Heffernan and Carter Lancaster spent close to half a century traveling with one of the true legends of Canadian music, and they have plenty to tell about it, from making their way in the early days or reminiscing about Lightfoot’s steadfast integrity in the face of an unreasonable Jimmy Fallon. 

Local legend and longtime tour manager Warren “Wiggy” Toll also appeared on stage to say hello to fans and relatives in the audience. Lead singer and guitar player Andy Mauck may be a much newer addition to the crew, but his history of friendship with Lightfoot and the band is a fascinating tale of kismet, stolen guitars and scuba instruction that you have to hear to believe, like a musical Horacio Alger story. “Being here is the greatest honour of my life,” Mauck said to the crowd, before launching into another beautiful rendition of a Lightfoot classic.

Filling the hole in a band that is caused when an irreplaceable performer the likes of Gordon Lightfoot leaves this world is a daunting task, but any apprehension that fans may have had going into Memorial Hall melted away by the time intermission began. After the show’s encore, the enthusiastic tech crew gave out set lists to lucky audience members, and the band invited anybody who wanted to say hello or ask questions to meet them in the theatre’s lower hall. The impromptu meet-and-greet was very well attended, eventually spilling over across the street to The Blyth Inn, where the infectious spirit of this musical band of brothers led to a rollicking good time for all.