Video
Video Links
The Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle
A hidden treasure from 1966 — Gord explains the song then performs it. One of Lightfoot's early narrative story-songs, based on the real 1965 fire aboard the SS Yarmouth Castle, a cruise ship that caught fire and sank in the Bahamas, killing over 90 people. A precursor to his more famous "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
Festival Video
Watch highlights from the Lightfoot Festival on YouTube
Explore
Featured Festival Links
The Lightfoot Band
The official website of the original musicians who recorded and toured with Gordon Lightfoot for decades.
Visit thelightfootband.com →Orillia Museum of Art & History
"Gordon Lightfoot, Turning Back the Pages" — a permanent display of artifacts owned by Gordon at OMAH.
Visit orilliamuseum.org →The Mariners' Church of Detroit
The Edmund Fitzgerald 50th Anniversary Memorial Service (2025) — commemorating Gordon's most iconic song.
See program images below.
Edmund Fitzgerald 50th Anniversary
Mariners' Church Memorial Service
Program from the Edmund Fitzgerald 50th Anniversary Memorial Service at the Mariners' Church of Detroit, 2025.
Press
News Releases
Who are the Lightfoot Band and Why Should We Care?
Warm, humid days of deep summer remind us of the cool winds of Autumn and the stillness of a winter's night. Gordon Lightfoot captured these emotions in his more than 200 songs. He was an icon born and raised in Orillia, Ontario.
The fourth annual Lightfoot Festival runs October 29–31 and opens with a high-energy headlining concert by The Lightfoot Band — featuring original members who performed and recorded with Gordon Lightfoot for decades — at the Orillia Opera House's Gordon Lightfoot Auditorium. This marks the band's third consecutive year headlining the festival.
Classic Rock History notes: "Lightfoot released 20 studio albums across his career, beginning with Lightfoot! in 1966 and ending with Solo in 2020. His sound centred on his baritone voice, folk-based twelve-string acoustic guitar, and a steady group of musicians who helped shape his recordings and live performances."
As festival founder Karen Hilfman Millson noted, after high school Gord's musical career began with friend Terry Whalen. They formed the Two Tones and when they tried out for the first Mariposa Folk Festival — which began in Orillia — they were not accepted because they sounded too commercial. It wasn't long after that Gordon began his solo career.
Red Shea was a key lead guitarist from 1965 to 1970. Rick Haynes joined on bass in 1968, Barry Keane joined on drums in 1975, and Mike Heffernan completed the band on keyboards in 1981 — giving Lightfoot a rare level of musical continuity for decades. Event tickets are on sale now at lightfootdaysfestival.ca
