July12th, 2018. Lighthouse performs at Bluesfest in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Photo credit: Marc DesRosiers

It was at Kingston’s Queen’s University in 1970 when Lighthouse superfan Doug Fresque first experienced the band perform live. Lighthouse consisted of thirteen members at the time and was opening for the American rock group, The Byrds.

Although some members of the band would change, Lighthouse was on the cusp of representing Canadian rock and roll to an international audience. Not to mention the success Lighthouse enjoyed at home, racking up three-Juno’s as Canada’s Best Group of the Year and Canada’s first Platinum selling recording artist.

Forty-eight years later the band is still performing with co-founder Paul Hoffert (keys), Russ Little (trombone) and Ralph Cole (guitar) making up a portion of the ten-member ensemble that took to the Black Sheep Stage at Ottawa’s Bluesfest on July 12th. In attendance for the show was Doug Fresque, a dedicated fan who has followed the band closely for nearly fifty-years, “every time I see them it’s always a great experience, they are a fun band and operate like a well-oiled machine.” Seeing the band perform live at this year’s Bluesfest was a part of Doug’s 70th birthday gift from his two-sons Eythan and Bryde. In fact, Bryde’s name was inspired by the band’s late lead singer Bob McBride.After a few attempts, the two were able to contact the band’s manager and were able to ensure that Doug would receive a backstage pass to go with his festival pass – but it didn’t end there. During his birthday breakfast Doug received a phone call from Lighthouse’s Paul Hoffert wishing him a happy 70th birthday and letting him know he would be an honorary roadie for the bands performance at Bluesfest. “That was awesome” described Doug when asked about how it felt to receive a personal phone call from the band. “They were very nice people and I am gracious, when I met Paul Hoffert he said, ‘oh you’re the birthday guy!’ They seem to be genuine people.”

Doug was able to spend some time with the band before and after the show and was provided with the best seats in the house, directly in front of the stage without the crowd. Lighthouse did not disappoint with powerful performances from singer Dan Clancy as well as Hoffert and Cole. On the drums was Jamie Prokop, the son of the late Skip Prokop who passed away in 2017 and was one of the bands founders.