The cat’s been coming back for 40 years

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/05/2022 (1536 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg is Fred Penner’s place.

For more than four decades, the musician and entertainer has resonated in the hearts of children and parents, and children whose parents, too, grew up in the warmth of Penner’s timeless tenor.

This summer the Winnipegger returns home to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his debut album, The Cat Came Back.

The album came out in 1979, but pandemic cancellations delayed the anniversary tour until this year.

Each day from June 9 to 12, Penner’s songs will strum and thrum and thump and hum at Winnipeg International Children’s Festival at The Forks (which is also celebrating 40 years).

Penner — in his clear, earnest voice — reflected on the journey the iconic album kicked off.

“When this whole thing started rolling, I don’t think any performer ever knows how long or how short the journey may be. Is it a one-hit wonder, or are you going to make a career out of this?” he said. “And fortunately, the timing was so perfectly right when I came on the scene in the late ’70s.”

Alongside family performers Raffi and Sharon, Lois & Bram, Penner blazed across Canada and spread into the United States, offering audiences the well-written tunes and rhythms they hungered for.

“It kept snowballing, and now I’m looking back at 45-plus years of being in business, and I’m still in some degree of shock that this has been my life,” the 75-year-old said.

Watching The Cat Came Back endure generation upon generation has been “a huge feather in the cap,” Penner said. However, he said, feeling the connection to his audience, seeing how they respond to him and find joy in his music, is what this tour is really about.

On May 7, at the Kootenay Children’s Festival in Cranbrook, B.C., Penner rediscovered how strong that bond can be.

After two years of cancelled events and isolation, emotions bubbled over during the show.

“It was tearful. It was a very emotional time. And to know that people feel that depth of the music, of relating to me, it is overwhelming and it is delightful at the same time,” he said.

Part of Penner’s lasting appeal has been his refusal to condescend to children. The family performer said it’s something he’s always kept in mind.

“I have great respect for children, for the intelligence of the child,” he said.

“Sometimes I say — sort of jokingly but there’s a bit of truth there — that children are more intelligent than adults because adults have developed all these bad habits along the way. They’re lost in their own worlds, trying to make a living. But kids are so pure in their energy and their questions, and their beauty is right there in front of you. And I just love to see a child singing.”

For Penner, who spoke from a “semi-retirement” property he owns on the west coast, it’s always an occasion when he gets to perform in Winnipeg; although, with children and grandchildren in the city, visits are far from rare.

“It’s my home,” he said, in a tone of summation. “I love Winnipeg. I’ve always talked about the value of the city, the arts community… I mean, I’m disheartened sometimes by the politics and the violence that is rampant, not just in Winnipeg, but on this planet. There’s lots of concerns about where we’re going as people in this world, but Winnipeg has so much love and beauty to it.”

So, the man comes back, and Winnipeg just couldn’t have it any other way.