Review by Randy Cameron
The seventeenth and final Gil’s Hootenanny ended on a high note with a headline performance by Toronto’s Ken Whiteley. Known as the Grandaddy of Canadian Gospel, Folk and Blues music, Ken played to a capacity crowd at the Unitarian Congregation’s beautiful hall in Westboro. Supported by bassist Gord Mowat, Ken had the whole room singing songs like Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released”, “This Little Light of Mine”, “Give Your Hands to Struggle” and “That’s When I Need a Song”, co-written with past Gil’s headliner Eve Goldberg. “You sound great!”, he told the enthusiastic audience, “I should be recording this tonight!”.
Warmly greeting the crowd, but bundled up against the chill of a cold Ottawa May Day, was the Just Voices choir, led by Bridget Grounds. Inside, the show commenced with the traditional procession led by Carm Whittle and Patricia Reynolds, supported by Arthur McGregor and the Gil’s Hootenanny organizing team singing “If I had a Hammer”.
The first set featured members of the Gil’s Hootenanny team in indivdual and collective performances of songs of hope and protest, including “We Shall Overcome”, “3 Little Birds”, “The River”, “A Right to Be Me”, “Never Turning Back”. “Dona Dona” and Mark Evenchick’s “A Light of a Much Brighter Kind”, that had the crowd clapping and singing in harmonies.
Tamara and Karen Levine took turns speaking about their father Gil, in whose memory the Hootenanny began back in 2010. Moving from the Elmdale Tavern to the Glebe Community Centre, the RA Centre, and finally to the Unitarian Hall, Gil’s Hooteanny on May Day each year has become an annual tradition for folkies and activists alike in the Ottawa region. The Levine daughters were supported by their spouses, children and grandkids. They also spoke lovingly of their mother Helen who began to play the ukulele in her nineties, and who attended every Gil’s Hootenanny until her passing in 2018.
Whiteley and Mowat’s set was warmly received by the full house. After singing “Motown” backup to his “Keep Going”, we were in full voice and support as Ken played “Greed is a Flawed Organizing Principle” on his ‘least threatening instrument’, the ukulele!
This great show was a fitting finale to a 17-year run for Gil’s Hootenanny. Gil Levine, enthusiastic campfire and picket line singer, friend of Pete Seeger, and Hootenanny lover, would have been overjoyed and proud to witness the singalong. As Whiteley said, ‘AI is NEVER going to replace this!’ After he and Mowat played solos from the stage, he stopped playing, extended his arms to the room and cried, ‘Audience Solo!’ and our collective voices rose in chorus.
The night ended with a rousing rendition of “Solidarity Forever”. We will all miss this important annual event, but let’s make sure to find other places to raise our voices in hope and protest.