'The Long River: A Tribute To Gordon Lightfoot' will see J.P. Cormier and Symphony Nova Scotia do three live engagements

Folk singer/songwriter J.P. Cormier has been bopping around to his idol Gordon Lightfoot since his days in diapers.

Now, Cormier has the distinguished honour of doing a tribute to his hero on-stage at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium with Symphony Nova Scotia.

"This is a huge undertaking to be doing his music in such a grand, special way. It's added wrinkles to the process that wouldn't be there otherwise, but I'm really excited," said Cormier.

The Long River: A Tribute To Gordon Lightfoot will see Cormier, conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser and the beautiful symphony do three live engagements in November.

Cormier, an East Coast mainstay with 13 East Coast Music Awards and one Canadian Folk Music Award to his credit, says his brother introduced him to Lightfoot's sound when he was just three.

"He would play the records, and I have been listening to Gordon my whole life. He's a brilliant lyricist and can contain more information in less lyrics than any writer I've ever heard," he said.

"I've been doing music with the symphony for 20 years. It just feels so natural, but this is a really special one. We'll be rehearsing and working hard on this one."

Though he's loved in the Maritimes, he says he hardly ever gets to do shows in Atlantic Canada.

"The Cohn is the best theatre on the East Coast. There just aren't a lot of venues for folk guys like me. But I'm always excited to be there," said Cormier, who lives just outside Halifax.

He has long been an advocate and used his songs to promote social change, highlight issues including post-traumatic stress disorder in troops and LGBTQ+ issues.

"What's the point of being in this business if you don't tackle big issues? I want to write songs that matter. You need to write to the standards of men like Lightfoot," he said.

"If I'm not trying to be as good as I can be, then I'm not doing it right. I want to leave a lasting effect, and have music that will outlive me by 100 years. Gordon has done that 1,000 times over."

Cormier did a cover album of Lightfoot's music, titled The Long River, 15 years ago, and he was taken aback when the symphony asked him to cover his hero.

"Gordon was over the moon when he found out about this. I stopped trying to emulate a man like him years ago. I do as a writer, but some things you just can't match," he said.

"I just stay true to the original recordings. They're so brilliant, so there's no point in changing them. I try to make the songs my own, and he enjoys that more than anything else."

Cormier met Gordon Lightfoot for the first time in 2002 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ont., when Lightfoot was playing a gig with Stompin' Tom Connors.

"I had already been sending Gordon my records for years. He loved my instrumental work. We met in the food line, while we were pouring cups of tea," he said.

"We started talking about footwear. He had these silver, shiny Nikes on, and I also love collecting bizarre shoes. I was introduced to his manager, and I just thought Gordon was a tremendously nice man, and a genuine gentleman."

Promotional material for the upcoming show has a personal endorsement from Lightfoot himself, and that's the greatest thing Cormier could ask for as an artist.

"When this all came about, he spoke to me on the phone one day about his approval of my work for the last 30 years. It brought me to tears," he said.

"It'll be nerve-racking if he comes to the show, but he'll be welcome all the same."

The performance will go at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium from November 2-4.

Visit the Dalhousie University Arts Centre's website to buy tickets now.