Gord Downie, the frontman and lyricist of beloved Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip, has announced he has terminal brain cancer.
The news was made public this morning on the band’s website, where the band, in a joint statement, described the 52-year-old musician’s condition and vowed to tour one last time this summer. “[W]e’re going to dig deep, and try to make this our best tour yet.”
Downie has been performing with the Tragically Hip for more than 30 years. A press conference to further explain his diagnosis is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday morning at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital.
Read the band’s full message below. The Tragically Hip’s summer tour dates will be revealed later in the week.
Hello friends.
We have some very tough news to share with you today, and we wish it wasn’t so.
A few months ago, in December, Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
Since then, obviously, he’s endured a lot of difficult times, and he has been fighting hard. In privacy along with his family, and through all of this, we’ve been standing by him.
So after 30-some years together as The Tragically Hip, thousands of shows, and hundreds of tours…
We’ve decided to do another one.
This feels like the right thing to do now, for Gord, and for all of us.
What we in The Hip receive, each time we play together, is a connection; with each other; with music and it’s magic; and during the shows, a special connection with all of you, our incredible fans.
So, we’re going to dig deep, and try to make this our best tour yet.
We hope you can come out and join us this summer — details and dates will be coming this week.
And we sincerely thank all of you, for your continued love and support,
Paul, GordD, Johnny, Rob, GordS