A Kingston band whose songs about local history and landscapes became national anthems.
If you want to hear what made them matter, put on 'Ahead By a Century' or 'Bobcaygeon'. That's the sound of a band finding its own voice.
They weren't trying to sound like anyone else, and that plain-spoken quality is what connected. Tracks like 'Ahead By a Century' and 'Bobcaygeon' became staples on Canadian radio, with Gordon Downie's lyrics often pulling from local history and landscapes. Their music, especially songs like 'Grace, Too', still gets played a lot up there, more for how it feels familiar than for any grand statement.
The Tragically Hip formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1983, with their debut album 'Up to Here' coming out in 1989. They built a following with songs like 'Cordelia' and 'Fully Completely' that mixed rock with folk and Celtic touches. After Downie's brain cancer diagnosis in 2015, their final tour the next year felt like a national event in Canada before they stopped playing.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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