SPILL LIVE REVIEW: THE SECRET PATH 10th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT @ THE CONCERT HALL, TORONTO

THE SECRET PATH 10^th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

@ THE CONCERT HALL, TORONTO

OCTOBER 23, 2026

The Concert Hall in Toronto was the perfect venue for an evening of celebration and remembrance. The fundraiser to honour the 10^th anniversary of The Secret Path had a cast of musicians that represented a vast swipe of incredible Indigenous talent.

The evening was divided into three parts. Opening remarks were given by Foundation Board members, including chair Dr. Alika Lafontaine and President and CEO Sarah Midanik. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, however, after inspiring and emotional speech by founding member of the foundation, Mike Downie, and words by Pearl Achneepineskum, Chanie Wenjack’s sister.

Each of the 10 songs of The Secret Path were then performed by an absolutely stellar list of Artist Ambassadors, including Amanda Rheaume, Aysanabee, Drives the Common Man, Julian Taylor, Natasha Fisher, Nimkii and the Niniis, Sebastian Gaskin, Thea May, Tom Wilson and Thompson Wilson, William Prince, and Wolf Saga. The performers were backed by Josh Finlayson (Skydiggers) and Mike Celia on guitars, David Engle on keyboards, Anna Ruddick on bass, and Jeremy Elliott (Julian Taylor Band, Staggered Crossing) on drums. After a brief intermission, the performers returned to the stage to perform a selection of Tragically Hip songs as well as their own songs, the mood becoming much more celebratory and hopeful. The evening opened and closed with a drum song by Nimkii and the Niniis.

One of the most moving moments of the evening was the performance of “Here, Here, and Here” by father/son team of Tom Wilson and Thompson Wilson. The pair stood face to face, and Tom put his hand on his son’s shoulder as the two leaned into each other, the taller son leaning down to his father. The song portrays the final moments of both the album and of Chanie’s story, Chanie leaving this world envisioning his father’s embrace, in stark opposition to the signing of the official documents of the horror that was the residential school.  “I lived here, here and here/I died here, here and here/You sign here, here and here.” What an incredible vocal pairing – Tom’s deep, breathy, deep vocals in juxtaposition to Thompson’s, weaving together octaves and harmonies. Such an incredible performance!

THE SECRET PATH ALBUM REVIEW

Throughout the show, however, the audience members were treated to one great performance after the other. I was not prepared for the powerful vocal performance given by Thea May; she is definitely a force to be reckoned with. It is always a pleasure to see Julian Taylor, persuading the audience to sing along as he joined Amanda Rheaume for “Wheat Kings,” and again encouraging call and response during “Seeds.” Aysanabee joked about getting the wrong memo, having prepared his own version of “The Secret Path” for the evening. We were certainly glad he did. He has an amazing ability to control the intensity of his vocals and his fingerpicking, much like controlling the reins of a horse, letting it go, then holding it back. Lastly, we were treated to Drives the Common Man’s fingerpicking on his Gretsch, layered over his beautiful vocals on “Swing Set.” There were so many high points to the performances this evening, to leave anyone out feels like an injustice. Kudos to all of you.

Two armchairs were set up directly over stage right, reserved for two people who would never sit in them. One for Chanie Wenjack, whose tragic story ended far too young. At 12 years of age, three years after being sent to Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School, and only three days after running away from it to walk back home, not knowing how far his journey would be. He was only 50 kms into his journey when he froze to death on the tracks that he thought would lead him home, 600 kms away, sometime between October 22 and 23, 1966. Gord Downie, who was only two when Chanie died, along with his bandmates, was able to unite an entire country with The Tragically Hip’s final performance a year before his passing. He made it his final mission in his last year to bring Chanie’s story to life – a story which was similar to the horrific stories of 150,000 other children who were sent to residential schools. The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Foundation was started October 16, 2016, and The Secret Path was released the next day. Gord walked away into the stars on October 17, 2017. It is no wonder that October 17 to 22 has been designated by the Foundation as Secret Path week. Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack, whose lived were lived in different decades, yet those lives would intersect and become eternally intertwined, through The Secret Path and through the work of the Chanie Wenjack & Gord Downie Foundation. And even though to the naked eye, those two chairs were empty, the spirit of Chanie Wenjack and of Gord Downie filled the room – and every heart – tonight.

If you are unfamiliar with the work of the Chanie Wenjack & Gord Downie Foundation, I urge you to go to their website and check out the incredible work the organization is doing to educate children on the truth about residential schools and how to make change.

Downie Wenjack Links

Gord Downie Links

The Tragically Hip Links