Leonard Cohen To Be Honored

Leonard Cohen’s family is fulfilling his final wishes by hosting a public event in Montreal to pay tribute to the acclaimed Canadian singer/songwriter. The lineup includes Elvis Costello, Lana Del Rey, Sting and more.

“Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen” is set for Nov. 6 at the Bell Centre. The event takes place almost exactly a year after he passed away at age 82.

Tower Of Song: A Memorial Tribute To Leonard Cohen
– Tower Of Song: A Memorial Tribute To Leonard Cohen

“My father left me with a list of instructions before he passed: ‘Put me in a pine box next to my mother and father. Have a small memorial for close friends and family in Los Angeles … and if you want a public event do it in Montreal,’” singer-songwriter Adam Cohen said in a statement. “I see this concert as a fulfillment of my duties to my father that we gather in Montreal to ring the bells that still can ring.”

The lineup also includes Feist, Philip Glass,

An announcement notes that the Prime Minister of Canada and the Premier of Quebec will also join in the festivities.  

Record/concert producer Hal Willner is producing the show, which will be co-promoted by Evenko, Rubin Fogel Productions and Live Nation/Robomagic. Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning director Jack Bender, who has worked on “Game of Thrones,” “Lost” and “The Sopranos,” is filming the event for an upcoming special.

Tickets go on sale Sept. 23 at 12 p.m. EDT.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Canada Council for the Arts, the Council of Arts and Letters of Quebec, and the Montreal Arts Council. Cohen’s managers, Robert Kory and Michelle Rice, released a joint statement that pointed out that the signer/songwriter “often mentioned the Arts Councils, whom he credited as providing essential support in the early days of his career.”

Three days after the concert, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal will debut its new exhibit to the public: “Leonard Cohen: Une brèche en toute chose / A Crack in Everything.”