By Will McGuirk
This will be a wonderful gathering of peers and pals. I had the good fortune of seeing Paul Langlois join the Skydiggers at Hillside for one of his first public performances after the death of Gord Downie and the closing down of Tragically Hip touring. The Skydiggers carried Paul through the emotional set and I imagine they will be there on the Concert Hall stage to help out once again. Paul Langlois Band has a few more gigs under the collective belt now, saw them at Mariposa last year, and once again a tight-knit camaraderie on stage.
The Sadies too have been dealing with their own loss, Dallas Good, and while the band have continued to tour, (and record I understand), as a trio, the gap of Dallas is still very much part of the night.
The Skydiggers have been playing since the 1980s and the Queen St country rock scene of Blue Rodeo, Crash Vegas and Cowboy Junkies. They are touring their new EP, ‘Hide Your Light/ Bide Your Time’
I will hazard a guess there will be a lot of cross-playing between the bands and one or two Hip tracks on the list. The show will be I’m sure equally cathartic and triumphant.