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Eddie Vedder pays tribute to Gord Downie, The Tragically Hip

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder took a moment during the rock band’s Chicago concert to honour Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip, who were playing their final show in Kingston, Ontario.

“There’s something going on north of the border tonight,” Vedder told the crowd at Wrigley Field over the weekend. “It involves somebody that we consider a family member just ‘cause he’s part of the group of touring musicians we’ve met over the years.”

Vedder said he met Downie when they were both recording in Seattle. He called Downie “very courageous” for taking the band on their one last tour, after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer last year.

The Hip were on their latest cross-country Man Machine Poem tour, which ended on Saturday night in their hometown in Kingston.

“So they’re up there, going through the emotions up there. I just want to send them our energy from our gathering up to their gathering up there, and wish the best to Mr. Gord Downie. We love you,” Vedder said.

The jumbo screen then cuts to a fan in the audience wearing a Hip T-shirt before the group performed Light Years.