Taw Connors is of two minds when it comes to his famous father.
On one hand, he’d like the legend of Stompin’ Tom to stand on its own, a legacy built on the back of the nation that embraced him from the shores of his father’s Maritime home to the British Columbia coast.
On the other hand, he doesn’t want the country to forget.
A long-time Geraldton, Ont. native, Taw Connors, whose gravelly voice sounds a lot like his dad’s, said he’s resisted the urge to hit the road and keep the memory of songs like Sudbury Saturday Night, Bud the Spud and the iconic Hockey Song alive.
Insanely private and almost reluctant to discuss his relationship with Stompin’ Tom Connors, Taw Connors said the idea of a tour has been brewing for the past three years, following the 2013 death of his father.
It took a performance at a Northern Ontario senior-living facility to convince him the time was right to haul out the plywood and retrace some of the steps Stompin’ Tom took over a five-decade career.
“I sang about three or four songs for about three or four people in there,” said the younger Connors, better known around Geraldton for the pizza he and his wife made at their restaurant than being the song of a legendary Canadian musician.
“They just loved it. I ended up playing two hour straight for those people and they just loved every minute of it.”
When the show ended, a dementia patient in the front row shook Connors’ hand vigourously, thanking him for the show.
“He had seen my father play back in the day in St. John’s, N.B. I didn’t know this at the time, but the gateway to the long-term memory for all these people who have dementia Alzheimer’s is music.”
Taw Connors is convinced the man truly thought it was Stompin’ Tom on stage.
The enthusiastic response gave Taw Connors the confidence he needed to embark on a small tour of Ontario towns. The trek begins Sept. 2 in Geraldton and carries him through Thunder Bay on Sept. 14.
“The reason I want to do this, I want to do it for myself and my family, of course,” Connors said in a recent interview during a pre-tour stop in Thunder Bay.
“But I also want to do it for my father, in respect for what he’s done as a singer, artist and the songs that he wrote for our country and our people, about our country and our people.”
Connors said he plans to do about 33 tunes at each show.
The songs of his father, an everyman as comfortable jamming in a local saloon as he was in front of thousands, continue to resonate because Canadians can relate to each and every one in some shape or form.
But asked to pick a favourite, he said it’s too tricky to narrow it down to one.
“I love most of all of his songs, so there’s no particular favourite. Every time I say ‘this one’s my favourite,’ then I think about this other one and this other one’s my favourite. But I love performing the songs,” he said.
“I like to see the different people when they listen to the songs and it brings back memories to them. It really touches me.”
The tour also includes stops in Couchiching First Nation on Sept. 10 and Marathon on Sept. 16.
