CP Holiday Train Concert | JoJo Mason and Sam Roberts Band
Written By | Brad Reiter
The CP Holiday Train came rolling into Windsor on a balmy Friday evening in late November to the delight of children, music fans and lovers of all things Christmas. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the CP Holiday Train has been travelling across Canada and the United States bringing its bright lights and musical performances from coast to coast to coast raising funds and awareness for local food banks. The shows are entirely free but patrons are encouraged to bring food donations and cash for those in need. In addition to the donations raised at the show, CP Rail presented a cheque on stage for $7,000 to help support the Windsor Food Bank Association at a time of high need.
The travelling stage dropped, literally, at 6:00pm with rising Canadian country music artist JoJo Mason warming things up. The energetic singer-songwriter mixed some original content with some Christmas favourites for the younger fans in attendance in an acoustic set.
Multi time Juneau Award winner and Canadian rock superstar Sam Roberts was the main act. Long known as a great studio musician but an even better live performer, The Sam Roberts Band didn’t disappoint. Roberts got the crowd dancing with fan favourite Don’t Walk Away Eileen. Mixing in his own version of Christmas favourites including Feliz Navidad, the band brought the house down with a performance of Detroit ’67 with the Detroit skyline and the GM Renaissance Centre serving as a backdrop for the show.
Of course the real star of the show was Santa Claus and kids of all ages were anxious to get a view of the jolly man in red. At the end of the night, the train rolled off for a brief hiatus before starting a leg in Western Canada, finishing with a penultimate performance in Port Coquitlam BC on December 18th. The train will continue entertain audiences across North America while helping to stock the shelves of local food banks to help those in need at one of the most important times of the year. Here is a link to the remaining schedule. Give generously if it comes to a town near you!