On May 23rd, the remaining members of a legendary Canadian band reunited at Toronto's Massey Hall in tribute to a fellow iconic Canadian performer, the late Gordon Lightfoot, reports Rosie Long Decter of Billboard Canada.
Those in attendance at the sold-out event knew they were in for a star-studded tribute to the folk singer-songwriter, but there was one major act they weren't expecting: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush, billed in advance as L+L made a surprise appearance to honour Lightfoot.
The two surviving members of Rush, who have only performed together a handful of times since drummer Neil Peart passed in 2020, took on Lightfoot's 1966 song "The Way I Feel", joined by folk-rockers Blue Rodeo. Their six-minute version of the song featured vocals from Lee and closed with an acoustic solo from Lifeson.
“It was important for us to pay tribute to Gordon,” Lee said in an interview with Karen Bliss of Variety. “After the gig, Gordon’s daughter Meredith [Moon] said to us, ‘Leave it to Rush to make ‘The Way I Feel’ sound prog,’ so I think we succeeded,” he added.
Lee and Lifeson also came out for the closing performance, "Summer Side Of Life." The ensemble number featured the rest of the tribute concert's lineup, including a mix of classic Canadian musicians like Burton Cummings and Sylvia Tyson, as well as contemporary artists like Aysanabee, Allison Russell, William Prince, and Julian Taylor, who all put their own spin on Lightfoot's melodic work throughout the show.
In his career, Lightfoot performed at Massey Hall a record-setting 170 times, earning the venue the nickname "The House That Gord Built." Lee and Lifeson also have a history with the venue, recording Rush's 1976 live album All The World's A Stage there.
