The Wailin Jennys Pay Tribute to Bruce Cockburn at Massey Hall

The Wailin' Jennys are heading to Massey Hall to honour a music legend this week.

The award-winning trio will join a host of Canadian acts paying tribute to singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn at the venerable Toronto venue on June 16. The concert, called The Canadian Songbook: 40 Years of Bruce Cockburn, is part of the Luminato Festival of Arts and Creativity. Hosted by CBC's Jian Ghomeshi, other guests include Barenaked Ladies, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Buck 65, Amelia Curran, Jason Fowler, Michael Occhipinti, Sylvia Tyson, and Hawksley Workman.

"We're excited to be part of a celebration of one of our favourite songwriters of all time,” says Nicky Mehta in a release. “It is nothing short of momentous to get the chance to interpret Bruce Cockburn's songs and share the stage with him--we're very honoured."

The band, which includes Mehta, Ruth Moody, and American Heather Masse, will be performing two Bruce Cockburn songs as well as providing some backing vocals. This isn't the first time the band has landed on stage with Cockburn; they sang backup for his main stage performance at the Edmonton Folk Festival in 2006. 

After a year-long hiatus, The Jennys came back strong in 2009 with their latest release, Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House, which spent several weeks in the top 10 of Billboard's Top Bluegrass Albums chart. They also recorded their third studio album with acclaimed producer/engineer Mark Howard (Daniel Lanois, Bob Dylan, U2, R.E.M., Emmylou Harris) last winter for a planned release this fall before hitting the road for shows across Canada and the U.S. Meanwhile, Mehta-penned song "Begin," of the band's Juno-nominated release Firecracker, aired in an episode of Lifetime's popular show, Army Wives, earlier this month. 

After the Luminato Festival show, The Wailin' Jennys head back on the road for a summer tour that will have them playing dates in Massachusetts, Ontario, California, New York, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

The Jennys will also take over the Winnipeg Folk Festival's main stage on July 7, along with Emmylou Harris and Jimmy Cliff.