Cummings, CBC, CNN part of New Year’s show
Burton Cummings is coming to share the land — or at least Queen Victoria Park — on New Year’s Eve.
The Canadian rock icon and former Guess Who frontman will headline the annual free concert at Queen Victoria Park.
The lineup, announced Friday afternoon, will also include The Sheepdogs (who played the 2011 show), Burlington’s eclectic Walk Off the Earth and local group Avenue Inn, who recently won for rock group of the year at the Niagara Music Awards.
Cummings, a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and an officer of the Order of Canada, will play the show for the first time. He nearly played New Year’s Eve in Niagara Falls last year, performing Dec. 29 at Scotiabank Convention Centre.
“A guy like Burton Cummings, what an epic person to have performing here,” said Mayor Jim Diodati. “I think he’s a classic piece of Canadiana.”
The Sheepdogs are no strangers to Niagara, performing multiple times in the area over the past eight years. Walk Off the Earth also has history with the city, playing a small club shortly before their inventive video for “Somebody That I Used to Know” landed them on The Ellen Show.
CBC will also be back, televising portions of the show across the country. While a host hasn’t been named, Diodati said the network will again make Niagara Falls its home base for the night.
But this year, there will be twice the TV: CNN has also confirmed it will send a crew to the show as part of its New Year’s
Eve coverage hosted by Anderson Cooper.
“This is pretty darn exciting,” said Diodati. “It’s going to be a massive international audience.”
Details of the coverage have not been announced yet by the respective networks. Rick Mercer hosted CBC’s hourlong show last year.
Like last year, the Niagara Falls show will feature all-Canadian talent, and feature two fireworks shows, at 9 p.m. and midnight. Food vendors and a licensed beverage area will also be on site.
Diodati said the lineup touches all bases and should appeal to any audience, whether at the park or watching at home.
“To me, this is the perfect kind of show I like to go to. It’s not going to be all one age group, it’s going to be a big cross-section.”
The show is presented by the city, Niagara Parks Commission and various tourism partners.