Another big name coming to the Essar Centre this year

NEWS RELEASE

ESSAR CENTRE

************************* Canada’s most celebrated singer-songwriter - Gordon Lightfoot - at the Essar Centre, Sault Ste. Marie December 5

From love songs to depictions of Canadian history and wilderness, Gordon Lightfoot's music touches the listener on more levels and in more ways than most musicians could ever dream of.

He is a national treasure, a cultural icon whose time-defying style and legendary hits have made him one of Canada’s most anticipated live performers.

Now in this, his fifth, decade of touring, Gordon Lightfoot announces that he will hit the road again this fall for a series of Western Canadian and Ontario concerts dates.

Lightfoot’s Fall 2011 Tour kicks off on November 20, 2011, in British Columbia with back-to-back concerts in Vancouver, Kamloops, Prince George and Dawson Creek; followed by Edmonton, Banff, Calgary and Medicine Hat, Alberta.

The tour continues through the Prairies with stops in Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg and then heads back to Ontario for concerts in Thunder Bay, the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie on December 5, Sudbury and ends on December 8-9 in Stratford.

Born November 17, 1938, in Orillia, Ontario Gordon Lightfoot studied at Los Angeles’ Westlake College of Music.

He returned to Canada in the early 1960s and began performing at the Riverboat during Toronto's fabled folk scene.

In 1966, his debut album "Lightfoot!" was released.

Tracks such as "For Lovin' Me," "Early Mornin' Rain," "Steel Rail Blues" and "Ribbon of Darkness" brought him international recognition as a songwriter.

Cover versions of his songs were recorded by artists such as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley, until 1971 when his own version of "If You Could Read My Mind" became a Top Ten hit.

In 1974, his classic single "Sundown" went to number one on the American charts, followed two years later by "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," inspired by a Newsweek magazine article; it reached number two on the U.S. Billboard charts.

By the 1990s he was mostly touring, giving just 50 concerts a year by 1998, mainly in North America, while he released two albums in the period.

In 2004, he released his 20th album - "Harmony" - and appeared as a featured guest on Canadian Idol.

Mr. Lightfoot has won 15 Juno Awards and been nominated for five Grammy Awards.

He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2001.

In May 2003 was made a Companion of the Order of Canada and is also a member of the Order of Ontario, and in 2004 was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Show details

When

Monday, December 5, 2011, 8 p.m.

Where

Essar Centre, 269 Queen Street East. Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1Y9

Tickets prices

$49.50, $69.50, 4 Pack special price $150 (applicable fees apply)

Limited number of VIP Packages available

Purchase online or call 1-866-775-9422

Tickets on sale

Presale: Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Public on sale: Friday, March 11, 2011

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