The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration rebroadcast

Ten years on, the image of The Tragically Hip taking their final bow is still one of the most shared moments in Canadian music history. On Friday, August 22, CBC brings it back for a 10th anniversary rebroadcast of The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration, the concert film recorded at the band's final show at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston on August 20, 2016. In Halifax, that means the broadcast lands at 8 p.m. Atlantic time on CBC-TV and CBC Gem, with the whole thing preceded by a short film called A Beautiful Thing, directed by Mike Downie, which pulls together behind-the-scenes tour footage and testimonials from Canadians.

For anyone who has never seen the original, it's worth a bit of context. The Hip formed in Kingston, Ontario, in 1984, and the lineup on that stage was the one that carried them through: vocalist Gord Downie, guitarists Paul Langlois and Rob Baker, bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay. Downie passed away on October 17, 2017, after a terminal brain cancer diagnosis in 2015, and the band announced in July 2018 that they would no longer perform under the name. That final Kingston show was the last time those five stood together on stage, and the film captures it in full.

If you'd rather not watch it alone on your couch, it's worth knowing that this isn't the only way the anniversary is being marked. A three-day celebration kicked off in the band's hometown of Kingston on August 20, with 'Rockin' the Square featuring Choir! Choir! Choir!' at Springer Market Square on Thursday, 'Forever Hip in the Square' on Friday, and a concert viewing party of A National Celebration on Saturday evening. Public screenings have also been set up across the country and even internationally, from the National Music Centre at Studio Bell in Calgary to The Wicklow Pub in Vancouver and The Canuck True North in New York.

Closer to home, Nova Scotia has its own spread of screenings. The Brooklyn Recreation Committee is hosting one at the Brooklyn Community Hall at 3960 Route 3 in Brooklyn; Filmocalendar has a screening at the Sydney Museum, the Old Sydney Society at 173 Charlotte Street in Sydney; the Glasgow Square Theatre is running it at 155 Riverside Parkway in New Glasgow; Rosefinch Mercantile & Tea Room is showing it at 1615 Port Medway Road in Port Medway; the Town of Amherst has the Amherst Theatre at 47 Church Street; and the Ketch Harbour Area Community Hall is holding one at 964 Ketch Harbour Road in Duncans Cove. Whether you go to one of those or settle in at home, the timing is the same: the broadcast starts at 8 p.m. Atlantic, with A Beautiful Thing running first.

If you're looking to keep the momentum going past Friday, there's plenty more Hip to catch up on. The live album The Tragically Hip: Live July 22 – August 20, 2016 is set for release on August 21, the day before the rebroadcast, and the documentary series The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal premiered back on September 20, 2024, along with a digital release of 'Wait So Long'. There's even a jukebox musical, It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken, which premiered at the Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton earlier this year. For now, though, the main event is Friday night at 8 p.m. on CBC.