Blue Rodeo celebrates 40 years with packed hometown show in Toronto's Distillery District
It may have been 4 p.m. on a weekday, but it didn't stop a large crowd from packing in front of the stage by Mill Street Brewery and belting along to a set of classic Canadiana in the band's hometown.
Blue Rodeo was formed 40 years ago by Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, who met in high school in Toronto, and led Monday's concert along with Jimmy Bowskill and Colin Cripps. The group would rise from a Queen Street bar band to a part of Canada's cultural fabric.
Craig Hamilton said he took the train in from Long Branch to catch the anniversary show.
"The sound of Jim Cuddy's voice, can't miss that," he said.
Hamilton said he was thrilled the band led off with his favourite song, 5 Days in May, which he said contains his favourite lyric from any Canadian songwriter.
"When he sings, 'Rain on the windshield headed south' — every time I hear that line it just conjures up all these images, and I just love that song," he said. "They've been bringing us fantastic music for many, many years."
Hamilton was one of many people in the crowd enjoying a specially crafted beer put out in honour of the band's milestone, which he said was a perfect complement to the sun and music.
"Everybody loves Mill Street, and who doesn't love Blue Rodeo, so to bring the two of them together … it's fantastic."
MPP Chris Glover, who represents Spadina-Fort York, was also on hand for the show.
"It was fantastic. How often do you get to see Blue Rodeo, especially on their 40th anniversary, and in this setting in the Distillery? It's just a beautiful setting," he said. "This is what makes Toronto so much fun to be in in the summertime."
It's a setting Blue Rodeo knows well.
The band got its start in Toronto, playing its first show in 1985 at the Rivoli, according to its official website. It had been selling out shows in the city for months before the release of its first album, Outskirts, in 1987. But it took off when the music video of its lead single Try, already a popular staple at its concerts, was put on heavy rotation at MuchMusic.Six years later, the band released its most commercially successful album ever, 5 Days in July, and never looked back.
Blue Rodeo was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in September 2009 — the fifth band to receive the honour.
This year, the group was the subject of a documentary called Lost Together, available on CBC Gem, and got its own Canada Post stamp. It kick off its official, country-wide 40th anniversary tour this fall.
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