Out of the danger zone, Kenny Loggins wrestles with retirement as he premieres doc in Toronto

Kenny Loggins is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout-Nick Spanos (Mandatory Credit)

TORONTO — After more than five decades on the road, Kenny Loggins thought he had cut loose for good.

The “Footloose” singer wrapped what was billed as his final tour in 2023, ready to focus on home and life beyond the stage.

But retirement, he says, isn’t that simple.

A recent collaboration with hitmaker Charlie Puth — the swingy, yacht rock–tinged track “Love in Exile” — stirred something familiar. The song, which Loggins co-wrote alongside Puth and longtime collaborator Michael McDonald, came together quickly, almost instinctively, in the studio.

“It was so fun,” Loggins tells The Canadian Press. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah — I remember me. This is what I do.’”

The 79-year-old adds that feeling has complicated his plans of slowing down

“I’ve been on the road doing what I do since I was 21,” he says. “So there’s a level of identity that’s connected to that persona. And now pulling the plug on that is challenging.”

That tension is at the core of “Kenny Loggins: Conviction of the Heart,” his new biographical documentary, which makes its world premiere at Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival on Monday.

“I’ve had a long relationship with Toronto,” the Washington-born singer-songwriter says, adding that decades of touring have left him with plenty of memories there, but “none I’m going to say out loud.”

The 94-minute film, directed by Dori Berinstein, follows Loggins’ winding career while unfolding in real time as he prepares for his purported final performance, charting his path from pop duo Loggins and Messina to Hollywood’s go-to voice for soundtracks, including “Top Gun.”

The singer-songwriter says he didn’t want to shy away from the “scary parts” of his story. That meant revisiting complicated relationships — including with his hard-to-please older brother, who first sparked his love of music — and confronting his struggles balancing life on the road with life at home.

It also meant opening up about his son Lu’s transition.

“There’s been so much negativity and so much fear spread around people who need to transition that I felt the other side of the coin needed to be expressed, which was that expression of love,” he says.

“To publicly accept his transition was an expression of love that I wanted to do for him. And maybe for other parents who find themselves in the same situation.”

Berinstein says that story became a natural extension of the film’s central idea: “When we first started talking for the film, Kenny had the line, ‘My whole career has been a journey into being myself.’ And then Lu was going through that process. So there was such an amazing parallel there.”

That idea, of becoming yourself, is one Loggins says he’s still working through, even now.

Looking back, he sees a pattern in his life: a recurring need to prove himself, first to his older brother and later to collaborators, including writing partner Jim Messina.

“When we have a particular issue that we need to work on in our lives, it’s going to keep showing up until we begin to gnaw at the ropes. And that issue is around some version of self-esteem.”

Loggins describes himself as “terminally shy” growing up — a trait that would later create a divide between his public and private selves. For years, he says, the most authentic version of himself only emerged under the lights.

“It was really my second wife, Julia, who began to hip me to the fact that I am more myself on stage than I am offstage,” he says.

“Offstage, I went back into being the shy version of Kenny.”

Leaning into that assured version of himself, he says, helped foster a self-belief that would define his career.

“When I went solo, nobody told me going solo from a successful duo was highly unlikely. The statistics are really low,” he says.

“And because I didn’t know I couldn’t do it, I went and did it.”

Looking back, Loggins credits that mindset for many of his opportunities, including becoming the king of movie soundtracks, starting with penning the theme for 1980s comedy “Caddyshack.”

“I’d always imagined that I would write for movies, so when it was offered to me, it was like, ‘OK, I’ll do that,’” he laughs.

In the film, Loggins says he’s leaving the stage in order to be more present with his family and understand who he is outside of the spotlight.

Still, even as he steps back, the question of whether he’s truly done lingers.

Puth recently called to ask if he’d join him onstage in Santa Barbara for a performance of “Love in Exile.”

Loggins is mulling it over. He hasn’t played a show since 2023.

“Is this too stressful now, or is this going to be fun?” he says.

“Part of me really would like to be done. It’s been a long road, and I’m kind of tired of it.”

He pauses.

“But at the same time, you miss it.”

“Kenny Loggins: Conviction of the Heart” screens April 27 at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema and April 28 at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026.

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press