A Canadian band whose lead singer was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer have performed their last concert at the end of an emotional farewell tour.<\/p>\n
The Tragically Hip drew a sell-out crowd to the last show in Kingston, Ontario, on Saturday, broadcast live across Canada.<\/p>\n
PM Justin Trudeau, who was at the live show, said the band had “been writing Canada’s soundtrack for over 30 years”.<\/p>\n
Lead singer Gord Downie, 52, announced his illness in May.<\/p>\n
The news caused shock across Canada.
\nThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation called Mr Downie the country’s “unofficial poet laureate”.<\/p>\n
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that the 15-stop Man Machine Poem tour “left a trail of heartbreak but also celebration across the nation”.<\/p>\n
Mr Trudeau tweeted after the concert that the band would be “forever in our hearts and playlists”.<\/p>\n
He also tweeted a picture of himself writing on a wall of messages to what he dubbed “Canada’s band”.<\/p>\n
Formed in the 1980s, the blues and rock band penned lyrics which explicitly referenced Canadian life, with a small-town charm that won the country over.<\/p>\n
They started as a college band working the local circuit and then took off, but their success across 14 albums was mostly confined to within Canada.<\/p>\n
Known simply as The Hip to many Canadians, their songs became part of a national identity.<\/p>\n
The most Canadian band in the world<\/strong> The Kingston concert was broadcast on Canadian TV and was shown at hundreds of public screenings across the country in bars and outdoor venues.<\/p>\n “There is a Canadianness that runs through them to the point where new citizens should be given a Tragically Hip CD after they take the oath,” said Alan Cross, a radio show host and music historian.<\/p>\n The final concert, at the Rogers K-Rock Centre, sold out in minutes. Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Canadian band whose lead singer was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer have performed their last concert at the end of an emotional farewell tour. The Tragically Hip drew a sell-out crowd to the last show in Kingston, Ontario, on Saturday, broadcast live across Canada. PM Justin Trudeau, who was at the live show, said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":241524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[137],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nKingston designated Saturday as The Tragically Hip Day in honour of its local heroes.<\/p>\n
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