Last night I was a member of the sold-out audience in Huntsville where Bruce Cockburn was playing his second night at the Algonquin Theatre. Cockburn is both a Member and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame. He has received 6 Honorary Doctorates and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. A prolific song-writer he has dozens of albums to his credit. To call him a Canadian icon is an understatement.
Bruce Cockburn’s musicality is outstanding. He can make the guitar weep in one song and rage in the next. Even more impressive are the lyrics. Cockburn has the heart of a poet and a burning passion for justice. His songs reflect the global struggle for freedom and peace and he faces with honesty the inequalities both in Canada and around the world.
It was a real privilege to hear him and to be taken on a global ride of music and issues. Bruce Cockburn richly deserves every honour he has been given and more. It reminded me of the value of the arts and how the artist can touch the soul of the nation.
Thank you Bruce.
