Exotic venues, sold-out concerts, and the companionship of the world’s most powerful people have given Liona Boyd an adventure-packed lifestyle that, like her music, is one in a million. The internationally acclaimed classical guitarist has crossed numerous boundaries, both musically and romantically.
In this colorful memoir she serves up a rich and fascinating mix: childhood with her progressive parents in England, Canada, and Mexico; exacting music studies in Toronto; down-and-out years in London and Paris; her eight-year love affair with Canadian prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau; drug experimentation in a Mexican artists’ colony; her enduring friendship with the British Royal Family; private performances for many heads of state; behind-the-scenes glimpses into her privileged years in Malibu and Beverly Hills; and whirlwind trips around the globe to eminent concert stages.
It all makes for a rousing, feisty, passionate tale, as compelling and entrancing as the music of her guitar.
Liona Boyd, known around the world as “The First Lady of the Guitar,” has released twenty-eight albums, spanning a wide range of styles, many of which have gone gold and platinum. She has been awarded the Order of Canada medal, has been inducted into the Guitar Gallery of Greats, and has won five Juno Awards. Liona divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach, Florida.