Ten years on — let's gather in Kingston.


Special Dispatch!

Tuesday, June 3 202

Ten Years On - Let's Gather In Kingston

Dudes,

Ten years.

This August marks ten years since The Tragically Hip took the stage in Kingston for the last time — August 20, 2016 — and since that night became something bigger than a concert for all of us. I want us to be there together for the anniversary, and I'm writing today to start figuring out who's in.

Here's what makes the timing perfect: the City of Kingston and Tourism Kingston are putting on an official "Forever Hip" series, August 20–22, right in Springer Market Square — the same downtown spot where 25,000 people gathered to watch the broadcast in 2016. And it's all free!

Thursday, Aug 20, 7–10pm — a Choir! Choir! Choir! Hip singalong in the Square, with live tributes from Miss Emily, The Abrams, and members of Kasador.

Friday, Aug 21 — archival Hip footage on the big screen, music walking tours, a local merch market, and an evening screening of the documentary Long Time Running. (The band's new live album, Live July 22 – August 20, 2016, also drops this day.)

Saturday, Aug 22, 7pm — the one we'll all feel: CBC's commercial-free rebroadcast of A National Celebration on the big screen in the Square. A chance to relive that night, together, where it happened.

Around those events, I'd love for our community to make a proper weekend of it — Thursday Aug 20 through Sunday Aug 23.

Here's the shape I'm picturing:

Thu Aug 20 — a community meet & greet before we head to the Square for the singalong.

Fri Aug 21 — a free day to soak up the Kingston festivities, and possibly a group listening session for the brand-new live album.

Sat Aug 22 — a midday boat cruise through the 1000 Islands for anyone who wants it, dinner together, then the big concert viewing party that evening.

Sun Aug 23 — a farewell brunch before we head home. • • • • • • •

A lot of the specifics — which restaurants, which bar, whether we lock in a block of hotel rooms and cruise tickets — depend on how many of us are coming.

So this is the ask:

👉 Take two minutes to let me know if you're thinking of joining:

I'm asking a few quick things: Are you planning to come? Roughly how many in your group? Will you be staying overnight? (This tells me whether to negotiate a block of hotel rooms.) Which would you want in on — the boat cruise, group dinner, brunch, the album listening? Want a commemorative weekend tee? I'm designing a shirt to mark the occasion ($30) — let me know if you'd want one and your size, so I know how many to print. Nothing here is a commitment yet — I just need a sense of the numbers so I can start booking the right-sized everything.

The more responses I get by Tuesday, June 30, the more likely we can make this happen. It would mean a lot to stand in that Square with you on these special days.

Peace out,

jD

The Tragically Hip Podcast Series

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TTH Podcast Series

About jD Hey, it's jD. I'm a Toronto-based podcaster, creative producer, and lifelong Tragically Hip superfan who's been building The Tragically Hip Podcast Series since 2018. What started as a track-by-track deep dive into the band's catalogue has grown into a six-show network that's raised over $35,000 for the Downie Wenjack Fund, The Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research, and CAMH. I'm not a journalist, I'm not a critic — I'm a fan who loves this band as much as you do, and everything I make comes from that place. About Yer Letter Yer Letter is the monthly newsletter for the TTH Pods community — written for fans, by a fan. It's where I share what's happening across the network, what's coming up, and the kind of Hip conversation that doesn't fit anywhere else. No fluff, no filler — just the stuff worth reading. If you've found your way here, you already know why the Hip matters. This is just another place we get to talk about it.

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