Gordon Lightfoot fan invited to play before music legend's concert

CTV Atlantic Live at Five: Musician shares talent A Maritime musician is set to take part in Gordon Lightfoot's latest tour.

Canadian music legend Gordon Lightfoot is on a cross-Canada tour and his first stop in the Maritimes will be in Antigonish, N.S. later this month

Francis Arsenault, a local singer-songwriter, bricklayer and Gordon Lightfoot fan, has been asked to be a part of the big night.

Arsenault began playing the guitar at the age of 10 and says he was a huge Lightfoot fan from the beginning. The first song he learned to play was Lightfoot’s classic ‘If You Could Read My Mind.”

“It’s just the tone of his voice and that’s what caught me,” says Arsenault. “I just love his voice. When he sings, you know it’s him and nobody else.”

A few weeks ago, Arsenault received an exciting email from Lightfoot’s management team, asking him to take part in the Canadian icon’s Antigonish stop on April 29.

“They want me to be a part of the show and to play for 45 minutes at the pre-reception show and I get to meet Gordon,” says Arsenault.

Arsenault will play for special guests and VIP concertgoers before the concert. He and his wife Debbie have also been given tickets to the show.

“It’s nice to see him have this opportunity to do this and it’s nice to meet Gordon Lightfoot and see him perform as well,” says Debbie.

Arsenault works as a stonemason and bricklayer by trade, but says the Lightfoot event has encouraged him to continue singing and writing songs.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh