Watch moving tributes to Gordon Lightfoot, Robbie Robertson and Karl Tremblay at the 2024 Juno Awards
Alexandra Stréliski, Allison Russell and Aysanabee performed odes to the late Canadian musical icons
Canadian singer-songwriter Jim Cuddy said a few words to honour Karl Tremblay, Robbie Robertson and Gordon Lightfoot at the 2024 Juno Awards: "They touched our hearts and they touched our souls, their bodies of work leave behind a legacy that will continue to inspire us."
He then introduced the artists who would be commemorating the lives of these Canadian musical icons. Alexandra Strélisiki started off the performance with an instrumental rendition of "Les étoiles filantes" by Karl Tremblay's band Les Cowboy Fringants. It was a stirring and stripped-back version of the Québecois folk song.
The tribute to Gordon Lightfoot and Robbie Robertson followed and was led by Montreal folk singer and musician Allison Russell and Oji-Cree singer-songwriter Aysanabee from Sandy Lake First Nation. They were joined by a full band and fellow 2024 Juno nominees Shawnee Kish, Logan Staats, William Prince and Julian Taylor. Russell and Aysanabee turned Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind" into a dazzling duet and then were joined by the other vocalists for a rocking group rendition of The Band's hit, "The Weight."
The previous evening, at the 2024 Juno Opening Night Awards, singer-songwriter Begonia performed her song "Butterfly" during an extended In Memoriam segment. It was an emotional tour de force. Watch below:
Host Nelly Furtado is bringing the party to the 2024 Juno Awards on Sunday, March 24, at 8 p.m ET. Tune in on CBC-TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and CBC Listen, and stream globally on cbcmusic.ca/junos.
