Gord Downie & The Country of Miracles

Best known as the frontman of the Tragically Hip, Gordon Downie is a Canadian singer/songwriter who made his full-length solo debut with Coke Machine Glow in 2001 and released follow-up albums periodically. Born on February 6, 1964, in Amherstview, Ontario, Canada, he co-founded the Tragically Hip in 1983. In association with MCA, the band made its commercial recording debut with The Tragically Hip EP in 1987, followed by the full-length album Up to Here in 1989. The second Tragically Hip album, Road Apples (1991), took the band to the top of the Canadian charts. Their next five albums were also chart-toppers, making the Tragically Hip one of the most successful Canadian bands of the '90s. They won ten Juno Awards during the decade. Following the turn of the century, Downie made his solo album debut with Coke Machine Glow (2001). Released on the label Zoe with an accompanying book of poetry, Coke Machine Glow features Downie and a backing band comprised of Julie Doiron, Josh Finlayson, Atom Egoyan, Dale Morningstar, and Dave Clark. A couple years later, he released the follow-up album Battle of the Nudes (2003) on Rounder Records. Downie subsequently released a few albums with the Tragically Hip, In Between Evolution (2004), World Container (2006), and We Are the Same (2009), before resuming his solo career. His third album, The Grand Bounce (2010), was billed to Gord Downie & the Country of Miracles. Despite the different billing, the album features more or less the same backing band as Downie's prior solo albums. Produced by Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, The Grand Bounce was a Top Ten hit on the Canadian albums chart and spawned the single "The East Wind."