It’s been a good month for Hip fans, with a new EP release, and the announcement of a performance at this year’s 50th JUNO Awards. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced on the 13th of May, that 15-time JUNO Award-winning band and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees, The Tragically Hip, will be taking the stage once more. This special performance will be accompanied by singer-songwriter Feist and marks the first time the band has performed live since the passing of lead singer and lyricist Gord Downie in 2017.
It’s a sweet story, The Hip and Feist have been working together for over 20 years, and one of her earlier tours in her career was with the band back in 1999. Of the upcoming performance, the band said: “We are all huge fans and Gord loved her. It’s an honor to be able to play one of our songs with her. It’s been such a difficult year for our fellow musicians, we wanted to do something to honor them in a way that would make Gord smile”.
Feist returned the love, saying “I was a kid in their midst and I’m touched to be invited into the clan now, to play alongside them. The only way I’m making any sense of it is to imagine I’ll be singing backups for Gord, and know my 20-year-old self wouldn’t believe it. Like the rest of Canada, I’ll be so happy to hear these kings of song play again, and am very honored to join them as they receive their Humanitarian Award.”
The 50th JUNO Awards will also see The Tragically Hip receive the 2021 Humanitarian Award Presented by Music Canada for their lasting and impactful contributions to various social and environmental efforts which include The Canadian Cancer Society, the Sunnybrook Foundation, Camp Trillium, the Special Olympics, and more. The award will be presented to them by Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees and rock legends, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush. You can watch the performance broadcast on Sunday, June 6, 2021, which is airing nationwide at 8 p.m. EST and 5 p.m. PST on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, and streaming globally at CBCmusic.ca/junos.