Gord Downie Microphone

Few musicians have influenced Canada’s cultural landscape quite like Gord Downie, the charismatic lead singer for the beloved Canadian rock band, the Tragically Hip. Equal parts artist and activist, Downie often used his music to pay tribute to his home country, while also examining its complicated history. The microphone seen here was used by Downie to record all vocals for the Hip’s 2016 album Man Machine Poem, as well as his award-winning 2016 solo album Secret Path, which told the story of Charlie Wenjack, a 12-year old Indigenous boy who died while trying to flee a residential school in 1966.