The Tragically Hip is the tip of the iceberg in Kingston music history 

There’s an exhibit on display at City Hall in Kingston that’s bound to get a lot of traffic, both this weekend as the city commemorates the 10th anniversary of the final concert from local boys done good The Tragically Hip and until the display closes later this year. 

“Music From Miles Around” is a deeply researched time capsule that tells the city’s long running relationship with music — from the first written account of Indigenous music in the region dating back to 1792 through the current vibrant and thriving local scene including Kasador, Tiny Horse, The Codas and others who are thrilling audiences in the Limestone City and beyond. 

The exhibit, sponsored by Empire Life, includes “archival materials, artifacts, personal stories, immersive experiences and interactive elements,” allowing visitors to “discover the people, places and moments that wrote Kingston’s music story.” 

One of the first panels inside the exhibit, after exploring the 18th and 19th centuries and early musical organizations, provides a timeline of bands founded in Kingston dating back to the 1950s: The Red Caps/The Chevrons and The Monarchs in 1957, followed by Bob McCord and the Vibrations in 1960s, Streetnoise, Rick and the Rodents and Percy & The Teardrops in the 1970s before The Filters, The Tragically Hip and The Headstones in the 1980s and The Mahones and Weeping Tile in the 1990s. 

Another panel contains replications of handwritten lyric sheets for a number of songs from The Hip, Sarah Harmer and Weeping Tile, Kasador, The Wilderness and the Headstones among others, all of which reference Kingston in some way. 

The exhibit is a winding and wonderful reminder that the musical universe in Kingston is more than just The Hip, but for this weekend in particular, that’s the group that will get most of the attention — and it’s the group for which the exhibit has dedicated the most room.

The final space in the display is dedicated to the work of Johnny Fay, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair, Paul Langlois and Gord Downie, with a timeline of their career including releases and awards, culminating in a very special room focused on the final show.

There’s a microphone stand in an illuminated case, built by the beloved tech known as Bobby Ray, in addition to the wooden models used to make Downie’s custom shoes for the final tour (along with the stencil used to stamp lyrics into the soles of the shoes), scraps from his spectacular suits and one of the hats custom made for him by Izzy Camilleri in metallic leather.  There’s a wall holding four large, framed photos from the final show, against a backdrop of dozens of outtakes from the last tour. 

“As the city marks 10 years since The Tragically Hip’s final hometown concert on August 20, 2016, visitors can experience never-before-seen artifacts, personal stories and behind-the-scenes pieces that contributed to Kingston’s most iconic band,” according to the city’s website announcing the exhibit. 

“From their early years in Kingston to the final concert that brought millions of Canadians together, The Hip are a powerful part of this story. But Music from Miles Around, Sponsored by Empire Life, goes beyond one band. It places The Tragically Hip within the wider Kingston music scene that helped shape them, including the classrooms, record shops, rehearsal spaces, venues, teachers, bandmates and community spaces that gave generations of artists a place to begin.” 

Nothing happens in a vacuum and this exhibit does a really fantastic job tying together the roots of this healthy, tall and multi-branched family tree of musicians, venues and organizations that keep it healthy and flourishing to this day. The curators and researchers left no stones unturned and it’s well worth the trip to spend time poring over every detail, every photo, every concert poster, every artifact. 

“This exhibition is about more than famous names and major moments. It celebrates the people who taught lessons, repaired instruments, hosted shows, ran record shops, organized festivals, formed bands, and helped shape Kingston’s music community,” the city says. “Whether you grew up going to shows in Kingston, remember The Hip’s final concert or are simply looking for a free cultural experience downtown, Music From Miles Around, Sponsored by Empire Life, invites you to experience the city through sound in a whole new way.” 

Located inside Kingston’s City Hall, at Springer Market Square, the exhibit — which, again, is free to everyone! — is open extended hours this weekend; 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon-7 p.m. on Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday, before returning to regular hours for the duration of the show: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Thursdays and noon until 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.