A bunch of Canadian music legends are coming to Toronto, but they won’t be getting awards
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame event celebrates the best (and the most bygone)
“Tom Cochrane, k.d. lang and the dude from Barenaked Ladies walk into the Meridian Arts Centre” sounds like a set-up for the most CanCon punchline ever. In fact, the trio of Northern music icons are performing an act of service, lending their star power to this year’s induction ceremony for the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. To be clear, they are not winning awards—they’re presenting them to slightly less famous but still accomplished honourees.
The Legends Induction Series is, according to CSHF executive director Nick Fedor, “more than a ceremony—it’s a living bridge between eras of Canadian music.” It’s also a pretty good way to get bigger names on your red carpet. You could say that Tom Cochrane’s career is a highway the CSHF wants to ride all night long. (But you wouldn’t because, for the love of a dude playing the harmonica in the middle of the road, that song is a national treasure and deserves our respect.)
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At the ceremony on October 17, Cochrane will induct the band Triumph (of “Lay It on the Line” fame), k.d. lang will induct singer-songwriter Jane Siberry, and Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies will induct Andy Kim (it’s about time, CSHF). Chantal Kreviazuk is also set to attend.
If you’re wondering how all these performers—who peaked before or during the reign of Jean Chrétien—are bridging eras in Canadian music, the night will also feature Breakthrough Songwriter nominee Nemahsis, the Palestinian Canadian artist who says she was dropped by her label for being vocally pro-Palestine and then went on to win a Juno Award and a Polaris nomination.
Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”
