Hip hit Edmonton for last time July 28
In what’s likely to be one of the most emotional farewells ever seen across the nation’s arenas, the Tragically Hip are coming to Rexall Place on Thursday, July 28, 2016 for the last time.
The 11-show, all-Canadian tour announcement on the band’s website Wednesday morning followed Tuesday’s news that lead singer Gord Downie has incurable, terminal brain cancer.
Tickets will be available 10 a.m. Friday, June 3, for the Man Machine Poem Tour supporting the band’s latest album. Further details to come, but other dates include fan club presales on May 30.
The final show will be in the Hip’s hometown of Kingston, Ont., Aug. 20. With the sad news, support immediately flowed in on social media from everyone from the Trailer Park Boys to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Hip formed in 1984, recording 14 studio albums, including the new one to be released June 17. The Hip’s numerous hits are a buffet of singalong Canadiana, including 38 Years Old, New Orleans Is Sinking, Ahead By a Century, Bobcaygeon, Courage and Wheat Kings. Nine of their albums hit No. 1 in Canada, and they hold 14 Junos, including top album nods for Trouble at the Henhouse, Phantom Power and Music at Work. The band last played here Feb. 12, 2015, celebrating their 1992 album, Fully Completely.
Downie, 52, is well-loved for his tangential improvising, twisting stage moves and random insertions of other artists’ songs into his own. He has three solo albums, four if you count his recent album with the Sadies, which the musicians supported at Interstellar Rodeo in 2014. His book of poetry, Coke Machine Glow, sits on many shelves alongside the work of Al Purdy and Leonard Cohen.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Sunnybrook Foundation.