HEMI-VISON Tour Poster (Image Credit: Courtesy/Alex Johnson)

By Jett Schwaier

CONCERT

Canadian rock band Big Sugar brings the Hemi-Vison 30 year anniversary tour to Medicine Hat

Feb 12, 2026 | 9:48 AM

Big Sugar is returning to Medicine Hat on Saturday, Feb. 14, to perform at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre as the band celebrates the 30th anniversary of its album Hemi-Vison.

The release of Hemi-Vison in 1996 introduced Big Sugar to a national audience with hit songs such as “Diggin’ A Hole,” “If I Had My Way,” and “Gone for Good,” helping establish the band to their blues, reggae and rock sound.

Medicine Hat is among many stops in the band’s anniversary tour, featuring a two-set performance that opens with the full record performed live in its entirety, followed by a second set of fan favourites.

Lead singer, vocalist and front man for Big Sugar, Gordie Johnson, said the 30-year milestone snuck up on him.

“It’s really nice when someone taps you on the shoulder and says, these songs you’ve been playing for 30 years, people still really like them,” Johnson said.

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The Medicine Hat show is significant for Johnson, who once lived and attended high school in the city, which created experiences that helped shape his career.

“It really is like home for us to be able to have my mom and dad in the audience,” Johnson said.

“There’s always lots of folks that I know from when I was a teenager, or people that I’ve known from over the years.”

“Medicine Hat certainly had an influence on my music and on my career. In fact, our most popular song is called ‘All Hell for a Basement,’ and that’s a phrase that I heard growing up in Medicine Hat.”

Johnson said the show at the Esplanade is structured for a theatre audience, reflecting the band’s evolution since the 1990s, when Big Sugar earned a reputation for high-volume performances.

“We were known as one of the loudest bands in North America, and that was all really great when we were young, but it’s a more mature presentation now,” Johnson said.

“We’re not trying to be the loudest anything anymore, with such a beautiful venue like the Esplanade.”

The band’s power trio, which includes Johnson, bassist Anders Drerup and drummer Root Valach, built its chemistry on the road during the 500 Pounds tour, which ultimately sparked the idea of the anniversary tour of Hemi-Vison.

Johnson said the tour started from an interest that was sparked by Jack White of the White Stripes, who reissued their 500 Pounds album on his label and praised the band publicly.

“That sent us on a two-year journey of playing songs from that record [500 Pounds], and toward the end of that tour, then people started saying, but what about Hemivision,” Johnson said.

“Now, all the way through the summer, we’ll be doing Hemi-Vision shows in Canada.”

As the tour continues, the band is also working on a new album expected to be released later in 2026, with new songs being introduced during the second set of the anniversary shows.

Tickets for the show are available online.