83-year-old Newfoundland musician still playing sold-out shows, even with memory loss

At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.

At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.

The windows were steaming up, the dance floor was packed and the sold-out crowd of about 150 seniors were swinging around in pairs, asking the lead guitarist of the headlining band for one more song before he took a break.

Dan Gambin didn't need much convincing. He put down his guitar, picked up his accordion and launched into a traditional Newfoundland jig.

"He's a legend," said Tess Culleton, who plays guitar and sings alongside Gambin in the Best Kind Band.

Gambin is 83 and he was diagnosed with dementia about two years ago. Though he's beginning to have trouble with his memory, he's still playing four instruments in two bands, and his decades-long music career shows no signs of slowing down.

"I love the music, I always did, b'y," Gambin said in an interview earlier in the week, strumming a guitar as he spoke at his daughter's house in St. John's.

"The communication between the band and the people, that's what it's all about."