The Tragically Hip will perform with Feist as part of the 2021 Juno Awards, marking the first performance from the beloved group since frontman Gord Downie's 2017 passing.
"We've known Leslie Feist for over 20 years, having toured together in 1999," the Hip shared in a statement. "We are all huge fans and Gord loved her. It's an honour 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 honour them in a way that would make Gord smile."
The Tragically Hip last performed at the Junos in 2007, following a 2005 performance to mark their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Feist last performed at the awards ceremony in 2017, in tribute to Leonard Cohen.
In a statement of her own, Feist added, "I had a chance to tour with the Hip early on in my touring life, for something like a year. Getting to be a fly on the wall of a camp that operated with such warmth and community by day, and then watch them transform and transcend every night to touch so many people was my first big education."
She continued: "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 honoured to join them as they receive their Humanitarian Award."
The aforementioned Humanitarian Award will be presented to the Hip by Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. Past winners include include Rush, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Arcade Fire, Neil Young, Tom Cochrane, Sarah McLachlan and more.
The 2021 Juno Awards will be broadcast nationwide from Toronto through CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos on June 6.
Revisit the complete list of 2021 Juno Awards nominees.
"We've known Leslie Feist for over 20 years, having toured together in 1999," the Hip shared in a statement. "We are all huge fans and Gord loved her. It's an honour 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 honour them in a way that would make Gord smile."
The Tragically Hip last performed at the Junos in 2007, following a 2005 performance to mark their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Feist last performed at the awards ceremony in 2017, in tribute to Leonard Cohen.
In a statement of her own, Feist added, "I had a chance to tour with the Hip early on in my touring life, for something like a year. Getting to be a fly on the wall of a camp that operated with such warmth and community by day, and then watch them transform and transcend every night to touch so many people was my first big education."
She continued: "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 honoured to join them as they receive their Humanitarian Award."
The aforementioned Humanitarian Award will be presented to the Hip by Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. Past winners include include Rush, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Arcade Fire, Neil Young, Tom Cochrane, Sarah McLachlan and more.
The 2021 Juno Awards will be broadcast nationwide from Toronto through CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos on June 6.
Revisit the complete list of 2021 Juno Awards nominees.
