For the Season Two kickoff episode of School of Hip (check out the cool new logo!) Chaz n’ Heath talk GEDFest, an annual concert event dedicated to the memory of the late, iconic Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, which raises funds for various charities in the fight against cancer.
Now in its ninth year, GEDFest, which began as a grassroots Calgary event, has blossomed into a 12-city extravaganza with GEDFest gigs across Canada between October 16 and 24, from Vancouver to St. John’s, Newfoundland. The growing festival has even expanded into the United States with this year’s first American show being held Oct. 21 in Buffalo, New York.
To date GEDFest has raised $732,000 for cancer charities and this year they’re aiming to cross the $1M mark!
From its inception, all GEDFest headliners have been bands from the Tragically Hip tribute band community and that includes Calgary’s Trickle Down, whose drummer just happens to be the founder of GEDFest, and one of this episode’s guests, Keith Dyck. Also joining us is fellow podcaster Sarah J of the excellent Dropped Among This Crowd (DATC) podcast. Sarah is the organizer of this year’s Buffalo GEDFest show, featuring highly-in-demand New York Hip tribute act The Strictly Hip.
Talk includes the origins and expansion of GEDFest, the robust and ever-growing universe of Tragically Hip tribute bands, and a look at an inspired series of Hip-themed mini-shows on Sarah’s DATC podcast, Tangentially Hip.
For further exploration:
Learn more about GEDFest. Check out a GEDFest show near you.
Listen to Sarah J’s podcast Dropped Among This Crowd (featuring the Tangentially Hip series).
School of Hip is a proud part of the burgeoning empire that is the Boneless Podcasting Network. Listen there, or find us on iTunes, Spotify, Acast and other podcasting platforms. Please subscribe, review and give us five stars reviews to spike those algorithms, helping us grow our beloved show!
Reach out to us on our School of Hip Facebook Group or on our School of Hip Discord and watch for our posts in the awesome Reddit Tragically Hip community.
Also:
The Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip by Michael Barclay.
Chaz Charles is the founder of the Boneless Podcasting Network, currently hosting five fantastic shows (and appearing in many more!)
Heath McCoy is the author of Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, available on Amazon.ca and at ECW Press. He appears in the award winningdocumentary Singhs in the Ring on Crave TV and he too pops up in many a Boneless show.
And once again, to all you rock n’ roll podcast lovers .... GO BONELESS!
","author_name":"Heath McCoy & Chaz Charles"}