The Alberta-born singer received additional tributes from Jill Barber, Jane Siberry, William Prince, Ron Sexsmith and more at the National Arts Centre on Oct. 2.
Some of Canada’s biggest talents gathered in Ottawa to celebrate the influence and legacy of k.d. Lang.
On the evening of Oct. 2, musicians including Michael Bublé, Allison Russell, Jann Arden and Ron Sexsmith honoured the Alberta-born singer-songwriter at the National Arts Centre.
Throughout lang’s four-decade career, she has been praised for her originals and her renditions of other artists’ songs, which led her to make 2004's Hymns of the 49th Parallel, an album of songs by lang's favourite Canadian songwriters, including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Ron Sexsmith and others. The reached No. 2 in Canada and remains her highest-charting album to date.
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At lang’s tribute concert, it was her turn to be serenaded by covers of her own songs. As the Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer sat down at the Ottawa venue, there were many cheers from the crowd.
A Canadian treasure feeling the love 😭 🇨🇦 k.d. lang, 64, received a standing ovation at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, where Michael Bublé, Jann Arden, Jane Siberry and more fellow artists honoured her extraordinary 40-year career with a joyful - and emotional - tribute concert ✨🎤 📽️: @kdlang @nac.cna #kdlang #canada
Singer-songwriter Jill Barber opened the show with a performance of lang’s 1992 hit “Miss Chatelaine,” dressed in a voluminous, frilly red dress. Later in the night, Barber shared that when she hears lang’s voice, “all I can think is that it sounds like Canada: its vastness, its depth of emotion, its ability to express beauty and pain and longing, sometimes all at the same time.”
Meanwhile, musician Allison Russell sang "Trail of Broken Hearts" and told the crowd that lang’s music was “part of the reason” she survived growing up in an abusive household.
Fellow Albertan Jann Arden took the opportunity to honour lang's diverse musicality. “Look her up on any of the streamers. They don't know what she is. It's like alternative, country, jazz, rock. It's all there. All the genres. And she's making them distinctly her own, reimagining her artistic expressions constantly,” she said.
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In addition to her solo covers, lang would occasionally tap the song’s original artist for a duet, including Roy Orbison, when the pair covered his 1961 hit “Crying,” almost 30 years later, in 1987. The song secured lang her first-ever Grammy award for best country vocal collaboration in 1989.
The same goes for her cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which appeared on Hymns of the 49th Parallel. She re-recorded the song in 2010 for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, and it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. On the Billboard Hot 100, it reached No. 61.
At lang’s tribute concert, Michael Bublé performed a solo rendition of “Crying” while folk singer-songwriter William Prince put his spin on "Hallelujah.” Friend and collaborator Jane Siberry performed "The Valley, which lang covered on Hymns of the 49th Parallel.
Additional attendees included Governor General of Canada Louise Arbour, who celebrated lang’s unique artistry.
“In many ways, k.d. lang is the opposite of a stereotype. I deeply admire her freedom: the freedom of her artistic choices and the freedom of her convictions,” she said, explaining that lang’s “life and work speak to a freedom that she has embraced fully. In doing so, she has inspired people in Canada and around the world to stand up for who they are, sharing her talent without constraints.”
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Throughout the night, virtual tributes came in from country artist Reba McEntire, singer-songwriter Carole King, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and director Gus Van Sant.
When lang came on stage to express her gratitude, she tried to deflect all of the eyes on her. “I think there was a reason I was such an oddball, because then I could skirt some of the attention,” she said.
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Still, she joined her peers to sing her biggest hit, “Constant Craving,” to close out the night’s performances. The track was lang’s first-ever entry on the Hot 100 — it reached No. 38 and spent 19 weeks on the chart.
“Let's take this show on the road to the Kennedy Centre," lang joked. "Hell yeah! Here come the Canadians! They're queer, and they're very, very talented.”
