Kingston reacts to the loss of hometown boy,
Fans converge on Kingston to remember the man who cut the soundtrack to their lives
KINGSTON— Catherine Rodrigues wept as she knelt before a growing pile of flowers in Kingston’s Springer Market Square. Holding her face in her hands, she prayed for the Canadian icon who captured the country like few had before.
She, like many others, came to pay their respects to legendary Canadian musician Gord Downie, who died Tuesday night at age 53 after suffering from brain cancer. In the town where Downie grew up — where the famed band the Tragically Hip got their start — the loss is palpable.
On Wednesday night, hundreds of people gathered in the square as local radio station K-Rock 105.7 — temporarily renamed Gord FM — kept a steady stream of Hip playing.
Many people clutched flickering candles, as they gathered under the glow of red and white lights, to mourn their collective loss and celebrate Downie’s legacy.
They sang, they clapped, they danced, proving — if there was any doubt — that the music will live on.
Scott and Christy Goodman drove more than three hours from Brantford to be in Kingston for the vigil.
They wanted to pay their respects to “Canada’s poet,” said Scott.
The Tragically Hip are always playing in the house, the garage, the backyard, said Christy, so it was no surprise to her when Scott told her that morning “we’re going on a road trip.” The memorial had continued throughout the day as fans lined up to share memories and offer sympathies in a book of condolences set up in the square. Many left flowers around a stone unveiled earlier this year in commemoration of the Hip’s final concert last summer.
Melanie Wells, who grew up near Kingston, teared up as she waited alongside two friends, for her turn to pay her respects. “It’s a band that’s been with me my whole life,” she said of the Hip. “It’s the soundtrack to my life.”
Downie “was a constant reminder that it’s not a dress rehearsal — you’re only here once, do it right,” added Cyndi Brakes, a longtime fan who grew up in Kingston. While many remembered Downie for music, some also remembered his advocacy and his efforts to raise awareness of Indigenous issues in Canada and the country’s legacy of colonialism.
Barbara Canton, a retired teacher who taught Downie as a teenager at the Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute, remembered him from before he was famous.
“He was always smiling,” said Can- ton, who was Barbara Edwards when she taught Downie drama and math. “The whole group of them were just lovely guys,” she said of the group of friends that would go on to become one of Canada’s most beloved musical groups.
Back then, Canton said she didn’t live far from Paul Langlois’s parents’ home, where the group would often rehearse. She remembers the neighbours would sometimes complain about the noise, but years later they’d all say they heard the band play and practise before they were famous.
As a teacher, you always hope your students’ dreams are fulfilled, Canton said over the phone. “For Gord, I believe they were.”
It’s a huge loss, she said, not just for Kingston, but for the world.
In Kingston, though, where the Tragically Hip began, where a street bears their name, the loss is particularly poignant.
At Brian’s Record Option, where owner Brian Lispin said the band members used to come to browse the musical selections and study their craft, fans visited throughout the day to buy T-shirts and albums.
Back at the square, Mayor Bryan Paterson said “The Tragically Hip were more than just a band here, they were family.” They never forgot their roots and have given back so much over the years, he added.
The mayor, like others the Star spoke to Wednesday, said it wasn’t unusual to see members of the Hip having lunch at local restaurants or walking around downtown.
It’s “almost as though they’re still as much a part of this community as they always were and that really impressed me,” said Paterson.