2024 was a banner year for the Tragically Hip.
Which is a statement with bittersweet implications, considering that the band no longer exists in the active duty sense, the 2017 death of vocalist, frontman, performance artist and poet Gord Downie having left an unfillable void at the heart of Hipdom.
But with the runaway success of the award-winning, 4-part docu-series No Dress Rehearsal - a deeply moving and often disarmingly intimate affair, directed by the late singer’s brother, Mike Downie - and the recent release of the deluxe 30th anniversary edition Up To Here box set, the Hip’s 40th birthday still managed to feel like a celebratory affair. And the broad viewership garnered by No Dress Rehearsal’s appearance on Prime Video suggested that the band’s appeal, still massive in its native Canada and in border cities like Buffalo, continues to spread to new geographic and demographic regions around the world.
My monthly Classic Vinyl Live with Jeff Miers series, held at the Sportsmen’s Tavern in Buffalo, NY, celebrated the Hip and Up To Here with a memorable December evening featuring conversation with (and a live performance by) renowned Tragically Hip tribute ensemble The Strictly Hip. Prior to the event, Tragically Hip founding member and bassist Gord Sinclair was kind enough to grant me an interview, conducted via Zoom from his home in Kingston, Ontario, which received its debut screening at the Sportsmen’s Tavern as part of the evening’s festivities.
I’m sharing the interview here, for everyone who wasn’t able to be there at The Sportsmen’s on that night.
Enjoy!
And here’s to a musical and meaningful 2025…
Share this post