Skim through the GDW archives over the last twelve months or so, and you’ll find Terra Lightfoot’s name jump out pretty frequently. In our post-pandemic era concert-going adventures, the Hamilton, ON-born (and now Haliburton, ON-based) blues rocker earned the distinction of being the Canadian artist we caught live the most times in 2022 – opening (solo) for Matt Andersen in VA, contributing to Tom Wilson’s Mohawk Symphony in Hamilton, headlining a festival in Gravenhurst, and opening for Matt Mays in Ancaster.
We take pride in seeking out great live events, and with Terra’s busy touring schedule, crossing paths again this year was inevitable. It would take a little longer than anticipated, but we smiled once Terra was announced as the Friday night headliner at Home County Music & Art Festival – the dates for this annual event circled on our calendar the moment we replaced the calendar on our wall back in January. And with both Eli Abrams (bass/vocals) and Glenn Milchem (drums/vocals) joining Terra (guitar/vocals) for this mid-July event, we knew that the trio would bring a ton of energetic rock and roll to Victoria Park.
Performing for 80-minutes, and cranking out 13 tracks, plus 1 encore, Terra delighted with a mix of older tunes and some new cuts from her next studio album, tentatively set for release in the fall. “So, I’ve never been to Home County fest, which I think is an error on my part, but being that I’ve never been here, I figured it would be fine with you guys if I shared some new material, is that okay,” Terra asked, prior to performing her first unreleased tune, “The Only One Of Your Kind.” “I’m gonna do a song about something that I only completely neglected, and I only found out during the first two years of Covid, because I had so much time to write and I thought what have I never written about? I’ve written about love, loss, breakups, getting together; all the beautiful parts of a love story, but I’ve never written about my best friend.”
With plenty of positive feedback from an energized crowd, Terra was happy to mix a few more unreleased tunes into the mix. “Somebody Else’s Feelings” was preceded by a brief tale of its origins: “I wrote it standing in a circle of songwriters and somebody said, ‘I’m doing this Bob Dylan cover night and I’m excited about it because it’s just so easy to sing somebody else’s feelings. And I just immediately excused myself and went and wrote this song.”
Another previously unheard tune (for us) would follow a rousing performance of “Slick Back Kid,” allowing Terra time to both discuss the song and an observation about her bass player. “We weren’t going to do this song, but it’s a brand new one called Penchant For Love, and it’s the first song that I’ve ever written from a place that may be a little bit of anger, natural fear. [About] setting boundaries, that’s a nice way to say it,” she offered, before turning to Abrams. “You know, I’m cognitive of playing with Eli Abrams, I’ve never seen him put his hat back on in the middle of a set, I don’t know what that means,” she contemplated. Eli gave a response, off mic, causing Lightfoot to break out a grin. “Did you guys hear that? He choked on his own hair folks. That’s the danger of rock and roll. Be really careful.”
As is customary, Terra would weigh up the ‘folk festival’ crowd before cranking up both the dials and the intensity, with the trio raising the decibel meter with popular cuts “Stars Over Dakota,” “No Hurry,” and “Pinball King.” Sharing more news about the upcoming album, and her upcoming wedding, Terra was on fine form, and whilst teasing us with the familiar opening rings of “Midnight Choir,” addressed the crowd once more. “This is the closest thing to a country song that we have, and I know in London that you guys seem to like country,” she shared. Crickets. “Okay, the people that like country are not here tonight.” Cue the amped-up version of this tune that Terra has often used as a show closer – yet here tonight, plenty more tunes would follow.
Prior to the show’s finale – the epic seven-minute ‘by the seat of your pants’ jam, “Hold You,” Terra did hint that one more song may follow, time permitting. With a few minutes remaining, Glenn and Eli took their leave as Terra slowed things down with the always-beautiful “Norma Gale,” before inviting the guys back out – and with encouragement for an encore from the stage MC, opted to close the evening with a rousing version of “Consider The Speed.” Once again, Terra Lightfoot left us in complete awe. Having followed her career over the last decade, it has been amazing to witness her blossom in this kick-ass headliner. And knowing Terra, she’s not done yet – who knows what the next level shall bring? We can’t wait to find out.
Set List:
- Called Out Your Name
- The Only One Of Your Kind (*unreleased*)
- Someone Else’s Feelings (*unreleased*)
- Stars Over Dakota
- No Hurry
- Paradise
- Pinball King
- Need You Tonight (*unreleased*)
- Midnight Choir
- Slick Back Kid
- Penchant For Love (*unreleased*)
- Hold You
- Norma Gale (solo)
Encore:
- Consider The Speed
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
