Standing tall in homecoming concert on namesake stage By: Eva Wasney Posted: 4:51 PM CST Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025

Burton Cummings is back at Burton Cummings Theatre — and looking forward to another hometown visit in the not-so-distant future.

The Guess Who vocalist performs to a sold-out crowd at his namesake venue Nov. 13, and is set to return to Winnipeg next June for a celebratory reunion with Randy Bachman.

The forthcoming Takin’ It Back Tour, announced Monday, will be the bandmates’ first time hitting the road together as the Guess Who in more than two decades. The North American tour comes on the heels of a protracted legal battle over the ownership of the band’s name, which saw the duo performing their hits under the name Bachman-Cummings.

“Finally that’s all cleared up,” Cummings says of the trademark lawsuit with former Guess Who members Jim Kale and Garry Peterson, which was settled in September 2024 after the songwriter took the step of terminating his public performance licence agreements, sacrificing his royalties in order that his songs could not be performed at concert venues.

“The fake Guess Who is gone and Randy and I have assumed the name and we’re gonna go out and honour the music,” he says.

Cummings and Bachman are also celebrating their joint nomination for induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Other nominees include Taylor Swift, Sarah McLachlan and David Byrne.

“It’s fantastic; of all the facets of being a recording artist, to me, the most important and most valuable one was always the songwriting,” Cummings says of the accolade, which will be announced in 2026.

But first: a sold-out solo show at the Burt.

Cummings is excited to be capping off a long year of touring with a homecoming concert.

“I’m a very nostalgic person,” says the 77-year-old singer-songwriter, who now resides in Moose Jaw, Sask. “I learned everything in Winnipeg, from the first time I heard Elvis on the radio, from the first piano lesson I ever took, from the first time I ever got kissed by a girl.

“It’s more than a trip back to Winnipeg — it’s always a time travel.”

As part of his naming rights deal with True North Sports and Entertainment — which was inked in 2002 and extends to at least 2032 — Cummings has agreed to semi-regular appearances at Burton Cummings Theatre, with proceeds from the events reinvested in the historic downtown venue.

Previous concerts have helped fund the glowing green marquee bearing Cummings’ name and a memorabilia display in the theatre’s Ticketmaster Lounge, unveiled during the artist’s 75th birthday show in 2022. Cash from tonight’s show will go toward exterior upgrades and repairs.

“We always try to create something physical that becomes a permanent reminder of his commitment to the theatre,” says Kevin Donnelly, True North’s senior vice-president of venues and entertainment. “So that’s what we’re thinking with this — new doors, windows and giving a bit of new sparkle to the exterior of the building.”

Cummings will also be donating some new personal artifacts to the second-floor display.

“I’ve uncovered the initial scribblings for No Sugar and American Woman and These Eyes and Stand Tall,” he says, naming of some of his ’70s hits. “We’re gonna frame a lot of them and put them up in the theatre.”

Audiences at next year’s Guess Who concert can expect to hear those enduring hits, as well as deep cuts from the band’s catalogue, Cummings says.

The Takin’ It Back Tour rolls through Canada Life Centre on June 5, 2026. Tickets are available Friday Nov. 14, at Ticketmaster.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com