The Strictly Hip have been playing The Tragically Hip’s music since 1995, and by their own count have made more than 3,000 shows of it across North America. They bring that catalog — what the band calls “the soundtrack of a million camp fires, road trips, and backyard parties” — to Higher Ground in South Burlington on Friday, August 28. If you’ve been burned by tribute acts that lean on the costume and leave the music somewhere backstage, this is a different proposition.
About the Show
Originally from St. Catharines, Ontario and now based in Buffalo, The Strictly Hip frame their work with what they call “an almost scholarly methodology” — reverence, respect, and a commitment to accuracy across The Tragically Hip’s catalog, which the band’s own site describes as the work of “Canada’s most commercially successful rock act.” The five-piece — Jeremy Hoyle on vocals and guitar, Bruce Wojick and Frank Nicastro on guitar and vocals, Alan Sliwinski on bass, and Johnny Panic on drums — are upfront about the intent. This is not an impersonator act. The Higher Ground event page puts it plainly: the music is delivered “passionately, respectfully and with reverence to its creators.”
The band relocated to Buffalo in 1999 and built its Western New York base through a weekly Sunday residency at Crocodile Bar that ran for eight years. National touring expanded in 2003, and The Strictly Hip has since performed across twelve major U.S. markets. Though rooted in the Tragically Hip catalog, the band has developed what the Buffalo Music Awards site describes as “a show and reputation across America that is multi-genre and multi-generational.” Nine Buffalo Music Awards for Top Tribute Band between 2000 and 2009 followed, along with a Hall of Achievement recognition in 2010. Hoyle earned four BMAs as Top Male Rock Vocalist in that stretch; Wojick earned five as Top Original Rock Guitarist. The band played Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo as recently as May 2026, and the Higher Ground event page notes they regularly sell out venues across North America.
Venue & Logistics
Higher Ground is in South Burlington, Vermont, just east of Lake Champlain, well within reach for anyone coming from the Champlain Valley or working north along I-87 through the north-country corridor. JamBase lists this show specifically in the Higher Ground Ballroom. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. show, and the event is all ages.
Tickets
Tickets are $20–$25. Buy tickets