Ten years ago this month, the Tragically Hip played their final concert. Millions watched as the band’s farewell performance from Kingston was broadcast across the country. It was an unforgettable send-off for the group known as Canada’s band.
But long before they filled arenas, the Hip were Kingston’s band. And they had deep roots at Queen’s – Gord Downie, Artsci’87, LLD’16, Gord Sinclair, Artsci’86, LLD’16, Rob Baker, BFA’86, LLD’16, Paul Langlois, LLD’16, and Johnny Fay, LLD’16 are all Queen’s alumni.
Now, those connections are taking centre stage again. You could say it’s been the Summer of the Hip (and perhaps the fall, too).
A series of events, promotions, and tributes is celebrating the rock group whose songs – from “Ahead by a Century” and “New Orleans is Sinking” to “Bobcaygeon” and “Courage” – remain enduring Canadian anthems.
For Queen’s alumni who arrived on campus in the 1980s and early 1990s, it’s a chance to look back to a time when the Hip were still playing local bars and campus venues, building a following before the rest of the country caught on.
One of them is Ramsay Duff, Artsci’90. Now CEO of a long-term care firm in Nova Scotia, he returned to Queen’s in July with his daughter, Liz Duff, to revisit some of the places where the band’s story began. Liz Duff hosts the Late Night Scrolling podcast, which covers Canadian pop culture. She and her father shot videos that will be released on social media ahead of the CBC rebroadcast of the Hip’s final concert on Aug. 22.
“The Tragically Hip were the house band for Queen’s,” Ramsay Duff says. “We felt they were our own.” As a student, he saw the band play at Clark Hall Pub, Alfie’s, Grant Hall, and other venues.
“They were just emerging then,” he recalls. “If you went to Morrison’s [restaurant] on a Sunday morning, they’d be there after a concert the night before. They were just a regular bunch of guys having breakfast.”
He also caught the band’s concert at Fort Henry in 1991, the year they released their second album, Road Apples, and broke through nationally. (Fun fact: the band wrote and rehearsed much of the album in Grant Hall.)
But Duff remembers an earlier chapter, too. In the late 1980s, the Tragically Hip competed to become the house band at Clark Hall Pub. They didn’t win, he recalls.
It didn’t matter. By then, everyone who had seen them on campus knew they were going somewhere. “They were this amazing live act,” he says.
Kingston is also celebrating the band’s members this summer.
Forever Hip marks the tenth anniversary of the band’s final concert with downtown events, concerts, tours and other activities. It culminates the weekend of Aug. 20-22 with a series of events and a rebroadcast of that final show in Springer Market Square behind city hall.
A large Forever Hip mural was also recently unveiled downtown. It features a striking image of Gord Downie (who died of cancer in 2017) wearing the wide-brimmed white hat with feathers that he wore during the band’s final concert.
Moira Demorest, Artsci’05, music officer with Tourism Kingston, says the summer-long celebration is meant to honour the band’s legacy and lasting impact on the city.
“They put Kingston on the map in a new way. We’re showing gratitude for what they did and continue to do in giving back. They’ve mentored so many other artists here and have had a real impact on the cultural landscape of Kingston.”
The band’s legacy is also showing up on stage.
It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken runs Oct. 22 to Nov. 8 at the Grand Theatre in Kingston. Presented by the Thousand Islands Playhouse, the musical features multiple Tragically Hip songs, including the title track, “Wheat Kings,” and “Grace, Too.”
“The songs are showcased in a new way that I think people will really enjoy,” says Marta McDonald, Artsci’14, producer at the Thousand Islands Playhouse. “The Tragically Hip’s music is very poetic. It’s a lovely tribute to the band.”
The musical’s plot isn’t about the band. Instead, it’s set in 2002, when Waleed, an exiled journalist, arrives in Kingston and unexpectedly falls in love with Kate, who owns a local music store. He also rooms with a Queen’s Commerce student.
The musical is another sign that the bond between Kingston, Queen’s and the Hip hasn’t faded. For many alumni, the band was more than a popular local group. They were part of the experience of being at Queen’s.
As pop culture commentator, Duff says that’s what she and her father wanted to capture in the videos they filmed around campus.
“It’s the story of Queen’s love for their band, and how that became Canada’s love for our band.”
