Submitted by Don Graham
I first met Meredith Moon about seven years ago when we shared a stage at a fundraiser in downtown Toronto, Ontario. As she sat there picking on a banjo I was instantly drawn to her authenticity and her connection to roots music. It was refreshing to see someone so young keeping that music alive.
At that time i had no idea that her Dad was Gordon Lightfoot, not that it made a difference to her obvious talent, but the music lineage was being carried on in fine fashion.
I asked Meredith how she got into Appalachian banjo music she said, “I was really drawn to that music with it’s raw honesty and generic sound. During the Folk revival I went down the rabbit hole and started getting into the origins of this music and was captivated by it. I started listening to Odetta and Elizabeth Cotton and all those field recordings. I’d been playing guitar since I was about 14 and at around 20 I decided to teach myself banjo and got into that whole Appalachian roots feel.”
Continuing on we discussed her songwriting influences and types of music she listened to. “I was a big Dylan nerd so I’d say he was an influence. Also John Prine and later on I’d listen to bands like Smashing Pumpkins and draw something from their brand of music. Whenever I’d write something new the first person I’d play it for was my Dad. That’s one of the things I miss most is being able to play him my new songs. But I can go off in the woods and sing it for him and I’m sure he hears me.”
Over the years I’ve watched this young singer/songwriter/performer grow into her own on stage, in the writing room and the studio. Her album, Constellations was released last year to critical acclaim. It’s an honest body of work that easily puts her neatly in the footsteps of Gord.
I am going to perform a couple of my Dads songs and one of mine a favourite of his, “Slow Moving Train.”
She leads an all-star tribute to her father, Gordon Lightfoot on May 23, 2024 at Massey Hall with two extraordinary house bands, Blue Rodeo and the members of Gordon Lightfoot’s longtime band, The Lightfoot Band Rick Haynes, Barry Keane, Mike Heffernan and Carter Lancaster, and will feature performances by Allison Russell, Aysanabee, Burton Cummings, Caroline Wiles & Bob Doidge, Sylvia Tyson, The Good Brothers, Tom Cochrane, William Prince and some yet to be announced.
As her star continues to rise Meredith Moon is busy with festival dates and shows booked into the Fall and is heading to the studio to record a new album.
She only performed publicly with her father for the first time in 2022, opening some Canadian dates for the songwriting legend. “He didn’t introduce me as his daughter. He completely understood and respected why I wanted that. He’d just say, ‘Give it up for Meredith Moon.’ That was really nice.”