At the first Mariposa Folk Festival in 1961, Gordon Lightfoot didn’t make the cut.
This year, the first to occur following his death, the spirit of one of Orillia’s favourite sons was front and centre as the festival began the programming for its 63rd year. The Way We Feel – A Lightfoot Celebration inaugurated the main stage Friday evening, a year removed from its last performance at the folk festival.
Only this time, the guest of honour wasn’t watching from the side stage.
Mariposa, without Lightfoot, is a foreign concept for many, including Mariposa Folk Foundation President Pam Carter.
“Gord will be hugely missed and I think his absence will be really poignant this year. It’ll be the first year he either hasn’t been hired to perform or just come loping across the parking lot with guitar in hand,” she said.
“It’s going to be a bittersweet kind of weekend. There’ll be a lot of cover songs, a lot of people reminiscing.”
Those cover songs began during The Way We Feel’s performance Friday afternoon, setting what will likely be the standard to meet for the weekend. The collective on stage Friday featured Matthew Barber, The Good Brothers, Meredith Moon and many more.
The Way We Feel first took the stage at Hugh’s Room in Toronto in 2003, and performed at least annually, often with Lightfoot watching in the wings, until 2017. It was the brainchild of Jory Nash and Aengus Finnan, two up-and-coming Canadian folk musicians at the time who wanted Lightfoot to be honoured by a tribute CD, which were hugely popular compilations in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
When they heard a competing tribute was in the works, featuring the likes of Blue Rodeo and The Tragically Hip, they shifted their focus to a tribute concert. Soon enough, the honouree became an attendee.
“Somewhere around year five or six, Gordon Lightfoot joined us. Took it in and borrowed my guitar the first year to do a song on stage, and kept coming back every year,” Nash recalled. “He just became a part of the fabric of our show.”
So much so, that when another tribute was being held in Lightfoot’s honour, he called Nash up to ask if some of the players from “our show” would take part.
After taking a few years off, the players reunited at Mariposa last year, timed to coincide with Lightfoot’s induction into the Mariposa Hall of Fame. Like so many, Nash was unaware it would be the last time he would perform in front of Lightfoot.
“None of us knew, so you weren’t thinking, ‘oh my gosh, this is the last time,’” Nash said. “It wasn’t until he passed that I framed last year’s show in that light: that was the last time we got to play it for him. So, this time was for him without him.”
Planning for the 2023 festival began long before the nature of Lightfoot’s health became known. Yet, when he died in May, organizers dropped everything to ensure his legacy would be honoured during the weekend in the most appropriate manner: on stage.
“Gord’s an icon in the industry. He’s beloved in Orillia because he’s from Orillia. He’s beloved in the industry,” Carter said. “(The Way We Feel) were more than happy to come here tonight.”
That sentiment was echoed by Nash. Soon after Lightfoot’s death, he and festival artistic director Liz Scott were in communication about a tribute to the Canadian legend. In theory, it had the potential to be a logistical nightmare. In practice, however, it came together almost immediately.
“It would be just hard, but the next day, Liz called me back and said ‘this is what we want to do,’” Nash said. “Within five days, I had everybody booked. Not one person said no. The Good Brothers are literally flying out to Alberta in the morning, and they came here. Anne Lindsay was on tour, she was playing in Alaska two days ago. She was on a plane late last night to get to this. They’re wonderful artists, but they know what this meant.”
This year marks the second Mariposa Folk Festival post-pandemic, and the second consecutive festival to sell out weeks in advance, with 2019 being nearly sold out. More than 30,000 people are expected to enter the gates at Tudhope throughout the weekend.
More than two decades since returning to Orillia and taking up shop in Tudhope Park, Mariposa might be as healthy as it has ever been, even factoring in the concert industry following COVID-19. Carter credited that, primarily, to the continued support of the Orillia community.
“The festival, when it came back in 2000, really got supported by the community,” Carter said. “The citizens of Orillia, the business community, really embraced Mariposa when it came back.”
Lightfoot, too, played a role in that success right out of the gate, performing in that first year.
“He was the headliner and that ensured ticket sales,” Carter said. “He donated his fee – we paid the band – and it set Mariposa up for financial success and we really haven’t looked back.”
Friday’s main stage entertainment also included artists such as The Wood Brothers and perennial Mariposa favourite Matt Anderson, joined this year by backing band The Big Bottle of Joy.
The diversity in the lineup, getting younger without forgetting its history, is how Mariposa can continue to be viable for years to come, as it puts its tagline of “true to our roots for generations to come” to practice.
“To me, it’s always the discovery. There are a lot of names that I don’t know, but young people do. I’ve got a young nephew who is like, ‘oh, my God, this is the best lineup ever,’” Carter said. “And without the youth and the young adults, we have no future. We’ve made really big gains in that demographic and that will ensure our success going forward.”
One of those youngsters was Nash’s son. Sharing the festival experience with him this year – his son didn’t attend last year – was a moment to remember for Nash.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever play another festival, and I remember being here last year and I didn’t bring (my family); it just didn’t work… and I just remember thinking ‘I wish they could be here, I wish my son could take in a festival like this,” Nash said. “And to be given another chance is very gratifying for me. Tomorrow we’re just going to come and enjoy the festival.”
The festival continues Saturday, with appearances from Tegan and Sara, The Rural Alberta Advantage, KT Tunstall, Martha Wainwright, Paul Langlois Band and scores of others before wrapping up on Sunday.