Critically acclaimed for more than three decades, The Tragically Hip has been at the heart of the Canadian musical zeitgeist, evoking a strong emotional connection between their music and their fans that remains unrivalled. A five-piece group of friends including Rob Baker (guitar), Gord Downie (vocals, guitar), Johnny Fay (drums), Paul Langlois (guitar) and Gord Sinclair (bass), who grew up in Kingston, Ontario.
The Tragically Hip have achieved mass popularity with more than 10 million albums in Canada and over 1.5 million sold in the U.S, as well as peer recognition through 15 Juno Awards – picking up the distinguished Humanitarian Award in 2021 which recognizes Canadian artists or industry leaders whose humanitarian contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada and beyond.
Their studio catalogue includes their self-titled debut album The Tragically Hip (1987), Up To Here (1989), Road Apples (1991), Fully Completely (1992), Day For Night (1994), Trouble At The Henhouse (1996), Phantom Power (1998), Music @ Work (2000), In Violet Light (2002), In Between Evolution (2004), World Container (2006), We Are The Same (2009), Now For Plan A (2012), Man Machine Poem (2016) and Saskadelphia (2021). A National Celebration was the final show of The Tragically Hip’s Man Machine Poem Tour recorded on August 20th, 2016, at the K-Rock Centre in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, and is their last performance as a five-piece band.
Through their career, the band became a cultural touchstone in Canada, who despite their accolades and numerous recognitions, will always be proudest of the humanitarian work they have done over the years through numerous charitable organizations and causes.
Humanitarianism
The Tragically Hip were inducted into The Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and honoured with the Order of Canada in 2017 for their tireless involvement with the Indigenous rights movement.
From the early days of their music career, the band has been at the forefront of fundraising and social awareness efforts, playing host to many benefit concerts over the years in support of causes close to their heart. In 1993, the band donated proceeds from a concert to the Healthcare 2000 campaign in support of Kingston’s hospitals. In 2000, The Hip (as they are known to their fans) produced and headlined a benefit concert in Winnipeg for War Child Canada, the largest ever outdoor performance in the country at the time. In 2004 they created “The Tragically Hip Community Fund” to continue to support local charities in their hometown. Many charitable organizations have benefitted from The Tragically Hip’s generous endeavours, including ALS, Parkinson’s research, Aids awareness and fundraising, The White Ribbon Campaign (ending violence against women), food banks, the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, many environmental issues including Waterkeeper Alliance, the Special Olympics, the Limestone Learning Foundation, B’nai Brith Canada, Camp Trillium and more.
In 2016 the band embarked on a 15 show, final tour and the last show in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario was broadcast live across all platforms on CBC, with an estimated 11.7 million people tuning in to watch. The tour also helped raise over one million dollars for The Canadian Cancer Society and the Sunnybrook Foundation. Charismatic front-man, Gord Downie, passed away on October 17, 2017, following his battle with terminal brain cancer.
Most recently, the band donated over $50,000 to music industry charity, Unison Benevolent Fund, through the sale of their “Courage Masks.” Proceeds from the sale of the masks go directly to Unison’s Financial Assistance program to provide ongoing emergency financial relief for musicians and crew members during the COVID-19 pandemic.
