we are less as a country without gord downie in it. >> reporter: downie was diagnosed with terminal brain led the band out on a farewell tour of the country the following summer, culminating in one final show in their hometown, kingston, ontario. ♪ >> reporter: while the venue held only a few thousand people, the hip's last show was broadcast nationwide. nearly 12 million canadians, about a third of the country's population, gathered from halifax to vancouver to say good-bye. ♪ >> reporter: in gord's final months, he continues to make music and to push for change, a fierce advocate for uniting canada's native population. he was honored at an assembly of first nations gathering alo alongside trudeau in what he would call the greatest day of his life. ♪ >> it's been said it was like losing bob dylan and springsteen in one for canada, it meant that much. at least they got to say farewell. >> they did. he was a national treasure. >> sure was. >>> from sunflowers to starry nights he's one of the country's most beloved artists. now he eason spired a remarkable new film where every frame has bee

without gord downie in it. and we all knew it was coming. but we hoped it wasn't. >> wow. f the band, attending their last gig a year ago, downie was known for frenetic stage presence and telling long stories in the middle of his songs. he was 53 years old. >>> and hours after saudi arabia irked issued its official decree allowing women to drive, the kingdom has appointed the first female spokes woman to the saudi embassy in washington. she has worked in the departments of labor and economy and the world bank. a move by saudi arabia to polish its image to join the ranks of modern, tolerant societies. >>> a california student is playing it forward. >> instead of going out to play, he sits down to play. he sits down at the piano and give everybody a little music to listen to. the 10 year old has been playing since he was 5. he came up with the idea because he thought it would be great to add music to his classmates' play dates. >> listen to how good he is. ♪ so he actually started the lunch time concerts about a month ago. and he just plans to keep on playing. but i love the

they're still experiencing the heartbreaking loss of gord downie.nant rock band for 30 years. >> it's my honor to untroy deuce to america my friend the tragically hip. ♪ >> reporter: while the band enjoyed some success in the u.s., the hip as they were known reeged legendary status in their home country. in part due to their enigmatic front man and their songs which focused the history and spirit of canada. ♪ >> reporter: the hip won canada's grammy, the juneau award, 16 times, the most in any band's history. they also received the order of canada and even had their own postage stamp. >> i thought i was going the make it through this, but i'm not. it hurts. >> reporter: canada's prime minister justin tru parliament this week while speaking about downie's death. >> he loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life. he wanted to make it better. he knew as great as we were we needed to be better than we are. we are less as country. >> downing was diagnosed with a terminal brain cancer in late 2015