Shannon Lyon heartfelt homecoming show in Kitchener-Waterloo

Last night I saw friend and soulful songwriter Shannon Lyon return to his hometown of Kitchener-Waterloo for a sold-out show at the L Lounge. Fellow K-W native Mike Alviano – a former member of Shannon’s band from the early 1990s Strange Days – opened.

Lyon is a restless wanderer; like many songwriters, he loves to travel – always searching for the inspiration to that next song. Europe is where this soulful song-slinger has found his adopted home –  living and recording for many years now in Holland and Germany. In chatting with him in the past, he says it’s where he truly found himself – audiences are often more receptive to his music there and he feels more at peace. That said, Lyon still loves coming home. This homecoming was a long time coming as it had been four years since he had even set foot on Canadian soil, so the love of his friends, family and fans was shown at the Kitchener show. Family members sat in the front row and old friends came and hugged him afterwards. He also crafted a set list that included many compositions written nearly 20 years back from his Kitchener days such as “Ok Guy.”

The rest of the set included a sampling of his soulful songs – old and new; some favorites were “Blue Flowers,” “Someday Mourning,” “Barcelona,” and “Lake Huron.” 

In chatting with him briefly after the show, Lyon said that he’s written a lot of new material, but doesn’t know what to do with it. The reality of the music industry today, where too many people download songs for free and don’t pay for the art an artist has created. 

If you haven’t checked out this pair of K-W songwriters, take a listen, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by their honest, heartfelt, and soulful sad songs that speak to a life lived, love’s lost, and travels taken. 

Shannon Lyon (this is a clip of a performance on CBC with Jiam Ghomeshi back in 2004 of “You Showed Me How” from his record Wandered, released on V2 Records.