Remember when the Black Keys came to town about five minutes before they blew up? You do if you were at SummerSonic on the Garrison Grounds in 2008. If you're me you also remember the members of Stars flinging flowers into the crowd in the pouring rain, or two cops crossing the grounds and stopping in awe during a Loel Campbell drum solo in Wintersleep's set, or Citadel-wide singalong to The Weakerthans' "Left and Leaving."

• Bahamas comes back to town in September. photo Dave Gillespie

Well get ready to make some new memories: SummerSonic is back, September 7-9, with a similarly killer lineup: Ben Harper, Daniel Lanois, Rise Against, Stars, K'Naan, Lagwagon, The Vandals, Bahamas, Matt Anderson, Martin Sexton, The Stanfields with more TBA.

Tickets range from $30-$85 and go on sale July 6 at sonicconcerts.com.

• Source
• This skyline crushes dreams

“The road to success is not paved with festival laminates,” writes Fucked Up’s Mike Haliechuk in this week’s issue of The Grid, which I read on the subway in from the airport, before I was inundated with Canadian Music Week (officially known as “Slacker Canadian Music Festival,” but no one called it that). Haliechuk writes of the festival model, and how it makes young bands believe record deals will fall out of a taco truck at 4am, when in reality festivals are loaded with already buzz-heavy headliners, making “losers out of the hundreds of showcasing bands, who underwrite the process by paying registration fees and providing music free of charge, only to walk away with nothing.”

I’ve been thinking about this since last June, when my band played North by Northeast at 8pm on a Saturday in a cavernous goth club on Queen Street, the audience consisting of our Halifax ex-pat friends, other locals in town for NXNE and Pop Explosion staff. It numbered about 25. (I was at CMW as media, not to play.)

The best summer festival if you're asking me, Montreal's Osheaga has announced an absolute batshit lineup for this year's run August 3-5, including Florence and the Machine, Metric, Snoop Dogg, The Black Keys, Kathleen Edwards, Passion Pit, Common, The Raveonettes and duuuude go see for yourself!

And Halifax will be repped by Classified! Plus if you want to split Feistian/Amherstian hairs, you can tenuously connect us to Santigold as well—she is married to local former snowboarder Trevor Andrew AKA Trouble Andrew, who you may have caught at HPX last year.

The 2011 Music Nova Scotia Music and Industry Award nominees were announced today. Carmen Townsend and Jenn Grant have racked up five nominations each, including Entertainer of the Year and Female Artist of the Year. (We're also quite pleased to see that Grant's ridiculously sweet video for "Getcha Good" - featuring Maynard St and the hilarious faces of Aaron Mackenzie Fraser - was nominated for best video.) Additionally, you can start voting for the Entertainer of the Year award online here (voting closes September 29.) A complete list of nominees is below. The awards will be given out on Sunday November 6. Nova Scotia Music Week runs from November 3 - 6 in Yarmouth.

Alternative Recording of the Year
Presented by Aberdeen Paving

Armada Drive — Armada Drive
Kuato — Winter EP
Laura Peek — Key
Ryan MacGrath — Cooper Hatch Paris
We're Doomed — Like A Machine

Blues Recording of the Year

Scott Macmillan and Brian Doyle — Live Off the Floor
Jenny MacDonald — Bye, Bye Mr. Bluesman
Dan Doiron — Even My Guitar is in Love With You
The Hupman Brothers Band — Loveseat Volume 1
The Hupman Brothers Band — Loveseat Volume 2

Country and Bluegrass Recording of the Year
Presented by Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame

Aselin Debison — Homeward Bound
The Modern Grass Quartet — The Modern Grass Quartet
Norma MacDonald — Morning You Wake
Jimmy Rankin — Forget about the world
Ryan Cook — Peaks & Valleys

Digital Artist of the Year
Presented by Lixar

Jenny MacDonald
Christina Martin
Ghettochild
Keith Mullins
Three Sheet 

DJ of the Year

DJ IV
DJ Y-Rush
Petey Punch
Uncle Fester
R$ $mooth
DJ T-Woo

Electronic Recording of the Year

Snug — Time Travel
Minus World — Minus World
Ruth Minnikin and Her Bandwagon — Depend On This
Scientists of Sound — Wealth and Hellness
Mat Trouble — Revenge of the Nerd

Bell Aliant Entertainer of the Year — PUBLIC VOTE
Presented by Bell Aliant

Jenn Grant
Carmen Townsend
David Myles
Jimmy Rankin
Three Sheet

Female Artist Recording of the Year
Presented by Delta Hotels

Jenn Grant — Honeymoon Punch
Carmen Townsend — Waitin’ and Seein’
Norma MacDonald — Morning You Wake
Laura Peek — Key
Molly Thomason — Beauty Queen
Kim Wempe — Painting With Tides

Folk Recording of the Year

Norma MacDonald — Morning You Wake
David Myles — Live at the Carleton
Zac Crouse — You Plan to do Nothing
Molly Thomason — Beauty Queen
Kim Wempe — Painting With Tides
Christina Martin — I Can Too

Francophone Recording of the Year

Luc Tardif - Et sans aucune raison apparent
Timmy Saulnier - L'Homme que Je Voudrais Étre
Élise Comeau — Élise
Bête 5 - Bête 5
Unisson — Unisson

Group Recording of the Year
Presented by Rudder's Seafood Restaurant & Brew Pub

Shelter With Thieves — Someday is Never Soon Enough
Something Good — Business As Usual
Three Sheet — Sheet Music
Gloryhound — Electric Dusk
Slowcoaster — The Darkest Of Discos

Hip Hop Recording of the Year
Presented by Coastal Financial Credit Union

Quake — The Myth
Ambition — Just for Kicks
J-Bru — The Jason LP
Ghettochild — In The Making
Something Good — Business As Usual

Loud Recording of the Year
Presented by Yarmouth Metal

Armada Drive — Armada Drive
Stone Mary — Hellbound Gypsy Train
Orchid's Curse — Voices: The Tales of Broken Men
Shelter With Thieves — Someday Is Never Soon Enough
We're Doomed — Like A Machine

Male Artist Recording of the Year
Presented by Delta Hotels

David Myles — Live at the Carleton
Jimmy Rankin — Forget about the world
J-Bru — The Jason LP
Dave Gunning — A Tribute to John Allan Cameron
Ryan Cook — Peaks & Valleys
JRDN — IAMJRDN

Music Video of the Year
Presented by NSCC Burridge Campus and NSCC School of Applied Arts New Media

Jenn Grant — Getcha Good — Director: Andrew Stretch
The Stanfields — Ship To Shore — Director: Aram Kouyoumdjian
Ghettochild Feat. Chad Hatcher — On the Move — Director: The Hansen-MacDonald Brothers
J-Bru — Movin' On Up — Director: Marc André Debruyne
Gypsophilia — Agricola and Sarah — Director: Sydney Smith and Jason Levangie

Musician of the Year
Presented by Minor Music

Scott Macmillan
Jordi Comstock
Kev Corbett
Keith Mullins
Kevin Fox
Adam Fine

New Artist Recording of the Year
Presented by Grant Thornton LLP

Quake — The Myth
Carmen Townsend — Waitin' and Seein'
Cassie and Maggie MacDonald — Fresh Heirs
Zac Crouse — You Plan to do Nothing
We're Doomed — Like A Machine
Scientists of Sound — Wealth and Hellness

Recording of the Year
Presented by Krista Keough Creative Communications

Jenn Grant — Honeymoon Punch
Carmen Townsend — Waitin' and Seein'
David Myles — Live at the Carleton
Jimmy Rankin — Forget about the world
Slowcoaster — The Darkest Of Discos
Ryan Cook — Peaks & Valleys

Rock Recording of the Year
Presented by Graves Electrical Ltd.

Stone Mary — Hellbound Gypsy Train
Carmen Townsend — Waitin' and Seein'
Slowcoaster — The Darkest Of Discos
Gloryhound — Electric Dusk
Jay Smith — Jay Smith

SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
Presented by SOCAN

Jenn Grant — How I Met You
Laura Peek — Stay Sharp
Jimmy Rankin — Here in my Heart
Tanya Davis — Eulogy for You and Me
Ruth Minnikin — Depend On This
Ryan Cook — Gaspereau Valley

Traditional/Roots Recording of the Year
Presented by The Old Triangle

Dave Gunning — A Tribute to John Allan Cameron
Cassie and Maggie MacDonald — Fresh Heirs
Pogey — Full Speed Ahead
Kenneth and Angus MacKenzie — Piob is Fidheall
Scott Macmillan and Brian Doyle — Live Off the Floor

Urban Recording of the Year

A'drian S - My Nightmare, My Everything
JRDN — IAMJRDN
Dutch Robinson — Life

Music Nova Scotia 2011 Industry Award Nominees

Booking Agent of the Year

Stephanie Purcell
Jason MacIsaac
Craig Mercer
Shimon Walt

Community Presenter of the Year

Little River Folk Society
CKDU
Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society

Company of the Year
Presented by ECMA

GroundSwell Music
Marcato Digital Solutions
Diminished Fifth Records
Forward Music Group
Limelight Communications Group

Corporate Sponsor of the Year
Presented by Music Nova Scotia

Marcato Digital Solutions
Molson Canadian
The NSLC
Maritime Broadcasting Systems (MBS)
Z103 (Evanov Radio Group)
Rogers

Educator of the Year

Donna Rhodenizer
Greg Simm
Waye Mason
Shimon Walt

Event of the Year

2011 Canada Games
25th Anniversary Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival
Halifax Pop Explosion (HPX)
Celtic Colours International Festival
Riverfest

Industry Professional of the Year

Ian McKinnon
Darren Gallop
Stephanie Purcell
Kimberly Sinclair
Jonny Stevens

Manager of the Year
Presented by Graham Construction Ltd.

Jason Burns
Ian McKinnon
Darren Gallop
Heather Gibson
Mike Greatorex

Media Professional of the Year
Presented by Red Tentacle Music Solutions

Alison Lang
Stephen Cooke
Tom Bedell
Maria Panopalis
Phlis MacGregor

Producer of the Year

Jamie Robinson
Dave Gunning
Daniel Ledwell
Dale Murray
Fred Lavery

Production Company of the Year

Cargo Productions
Tour Tech East
Sound Systems Plus
Christie Lites
Cottage Lunch
Ocean Blue Music

Promoter of the Year

Sonic Concerts
Leif Helmer
Craig Mercer
Broken Chord Promotions
Yarmouth Metal
Troy Arseneault

Publicist of the Year

Matt Charlton
Wendy Phillips
Peggy Walt
Spincount
Red Tentacle

Radio Program of the Year

Halifax Is Burning (CKDU)
That East Coast Show (CKBW)
East Coast Rising (101.5 The Hawk)
East Coast Countdown (Syndicated)
Atlantic Airwaves (CBC)
Route 104 (Q104)

Radio Station of the Year
Presented by Theriault Financial

CKDU 88.1FM (Halifax)
Live 105 (Halifax)
The Coast 89.7 (Glace Bay)
101.5 The Hawk (Port Hawkesbury)
Q104 (Halifax)
Big Dog 100.9 (Truro)

Recording Studio of the Year

Wee House of Music
Echo Chamber
The Sonic Temple
Lakewind Sound Studios
Codapop Recording Studio

Studio Engineer of the Year

Darren Van Neikerk
Charles Austin
Eric Leclerc
Michael "Sheppy" Shepherd
Andrew J.H. Gillis

Technician of the Year
Presented by Sound Systems Plus

Steve "Snickers" Smith
Eric Leclerc
Robbie Aggas
Brian Power
Ryan Smith

Venue of the Year
Presented by Broken Chord Promotions

The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
The Petite Riviere Fire Hall
The Seahorse Tavern
The Carleton Music Bar & Grill
Glasgow Square Theatre
The Marigold Cultural Centre

Visual Artist of the Year
Presented by Argyle Fine Art

Mat Dunlap
Janette Rawding
Daniel Ledwell
Jeff Clairmont
Chr!s Sm!th
Nick Brunt

Volunteer of the Year
Presented by Sonic Entertainment Group

Scott Drummond
Kevin Hall
Debbie Rockola
Brian Doherty
Chantal Caissie

• writer's strike

Music Nova Scotia announced the list of artists who will be showcasing at this year's Nova Scotia Music Week in Yarmouth. The event runs from November 3 - 6. You can learn more about the artists and hear samples of their music here.

Ambition
Andrew Hunter & The Gatherers
Aselin Debison
Audrey and the Agents
Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers
Black Moor
Brite-VU
BROKEN OHMS
Carleton Stone
Carmel Mikol
Carmen Townsend
Cassie & Maggie MacDonald
Charlie A'Court
Chelsea Nisbett
Christina Martin
Colin Grant Band
Dreamplane
DRUMLIN
Dylan Guthro
Edo King & Afro Nova Musica
Electric City Underground
Fleur Mainville
Ghettochild
Ghettosocks
Gianna Lauren
Glory Glory
Gloryhound
Gypsophilia
Ian Sherwood
In-Flight Safety
Jay Smith
J-Bru
Jeff Torbert
Jenn Grant
John Campbelljohn
Jon McKiel
Kenneth MacKenzie
Kestrels
Kim Wempe
Last Call Chernobyl
Laura Merrimen
Laura Peek
Mo Kenney
Molly Thomason
Nick Everett
No Flyers Please
Orchid's Curse
POGEY
Quake
Rachel Davis
Rain Over St. Ambrose
Ria Mae
Ryan Cook
Ryan MacGrath
Sanktuary
Scientists of Sound
Slowcoaster
Soho Ghetto
Something Good
Steve Gates
Stone Mary
Tanya Davis
The Hupman Brothers Band
The Moonshine Ramblers
The Stanfields
The Stogies
The Town Heroes
Three Sheet
We're Doomed
Writers' Strike
Young River
Zac Crouse

My singular reason for attending day two was Bright Eyes.

Montreal's Osheaga festival rivals any Bonnaroo or Coachella lineup, but since it comes after those, it has yet to gain their traction on a wider scale, which is crazy to me, since it takes all of four minutes on the train to get from the festival site to downtown.

On Sunday, most of our camp staggered towards their cars, headed home. Around ten of us decided to stay, despite the plump grey clouds hanging ominously above us. At this point my tent, bedding, clothes and rainboots were so mud-fucked that it didn't matter. We stayed.

There is something very decadent about drinking red wine on a Sunday and listening to DJs in the sunshine for upwards of four hours. San Miguel and Criminal Intent serenaded us with electro house and drum and bass and it was purrrrfect. I spaced out and watched the hippies and tweakers move in their own special ways while the sun warmed my filthy skin.

The newly-flame-haired Vilify came on, letting loose an onslaught of deep, black-as-pitch dubstep and jungle. She endeared herself to me immediately by playing a dubstep remix of Tyler the Creator's "Yonkers" and went on to drop some major crowd pleasers - I heard snippets of "Gimme da Loot," Buju Banton's "Champion" and Sister Nancy's "Bam Bam" amongst others. Super fun! Also, she's hot.

I was going to post a photo of Vilify here but I can't find any right now. Instead I will post a photo of the worst tent I saw all weekend. Poor guy.

Then the Caravan happened at the Palace Yurt. Unsurprisingly the crowd looooved them. They are pretty much the perfect Sunday camping band. Fuckin' vibes all over the place. Wicked.

Later we skipped over for No Flyers Please, who were playing Evolve for the first time ever. They were incredible. Best set ever. Probably one of my favorites at Evolve. I am admittedly biased because I would enjoy No Flyers Please anywhere, whether they played in a yurt, an igloo or an abattoir in Calcutta. As it was, they went over well in the Yurt. Lots of barefoot dancing, and I saw a guy in a Gumby costume.

We ended up at the Synergy Stage for Dub FX. My friends had raved about his set the previous evening, so all pistons were set to awesome, or something. Here's the thing - on paper, Dub FX sounds like something I would hate the shit out of. From the Evolve website:

"Benjamin Stanford is a worldwide street performer and studio recording artist from St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia. His trademark is creating rich live music using only his voice aided by Live looping and effect pedals. Dub has travelled to all far reaches off the globe to perform with his fiancée Flower Fairy. "

Street performer? Voice music? Flower Fairy? Generally, all signs would be pointing to EYYARGHGH!

However, Dub FX was awesome. Totally, unequivocally awesome. I'm still trying to figure out how he and his fiancee (who, yes, is named Flower Fairy and wore an animal costume for the entire set and is probably one of the better female MCs I've seen in my life) managed to hold a giant audience captive for nearly two hours, using nothing but a bunch of pedals and their voices. I am still trying to understand how he managed to rap in three different voices and it didn't sound cheesy or abnormal. I'm still wondering how those fucking pedals worked and how such a moving, beautiful array of sounds came out of them. How could they create such an atmosphere using so little?

Then Chali 2na joined them onstage, his voice rumbling along the organic dub beats, speaking in half patois, half party-rap coo, and when he wasn't speaking, he watched Stanford thumbing and stomping and turning knobs, his eyes slowly widening in reverence. I looked around and saw nothing but dancing bodies and grins that were so wide they looked painful. It was pure happiness.

My Evolve ended pretty much there. I had seen everything and I was satisfied. And like this man we saw, doggedly weaving on a pair of stilts into the sunset, we left the field feeling a little fuzzier and more relaxed than when we arrived. The best thing you can do after Evolve is try to preserve that rare sweet feeling for as long as possible.

Day 2

Ah, the hazy Saturday mornings at Evolve. After drifting into slumber at 5am, when the bass was finally turned off, I was awoken at 7am by a group of drunken campers to my right. "SOMEONE GET ME SOME FOOD," one of them said. "WHY AM I STILL HIGH?"

I stepped out to see that some people were STILL setting up camp after arriving late the night before. In fact, three kids were sleeping in the tiny surface area beneath our busted flagpole under a small camoflage tarp. We peeked underneath and saw that they were curled around each other like kittens.

We spent most of the day walking around shaking off the detritus of the previous night, hanging out at our camp, drinking and dodging a friend who was drunkenly and emphatically wielding a watergun. I was crotch-sprayed several times, as was my phone (which had already died - hence the complete lack of photos for today). By the time we made it down to the Sunshine Stage for the Idlers, our group looked like we'd been continually peeing ourselves with delight.

The Idlers predictably played a solid set, passing out neon streamers and boasting a formidable hypewoman in the form of Susan Evoy on saxophone. The sound problems seemed to be ironed out, and the 11-piece reggae/ska band from Newfoundland were obviously thrilled to be playing for the first time at Evolve. Smiling hippies wove their way down to the stage in droves. I danced for the entire set (reggae dancing is fairly low on the awkward scale for me) and spotted Carmen Townsend wrapped in ethereal scarves near the back of the crowd, gently swaying and looking like a ginger Stevie Nicks.

I went back to the tent and fell asleep, waking up in time for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, who should be renamed Edward Sharpe and the Boring Songs That Go On Too Fucking Long. Home" was a nice respite and it was cute to hear the crowd singing along emphatically, but again even this particular jam dragged. I felt like the band had an exaggerated sense of their own import, and this was highlighted when they finished the set, took what felt like a 20-minute break, and then came back on with some sort of lullaby, with the lead guy imploring the audience to sit down while he walked amongst them with his lank neo-Jesus hair, shitty loose pants and meandering lyrics.

• all we are saying is "wear different pants."

Real feelings of deliverance awaited me in the Palace Yurt, where I arrived just in time to see Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt mirroring Edward Sharpe as he implored the small crowd to get down on their knees. The band's frontman Neil Fridd - clad in a Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat-style smock - was backed up by Rich Aucoin's bassist and drummer, a fellow on synths along with saxophone alchemist Nathan Pilon. In 15 minutes he unleashed a dance circle (where Aucoin himself busted out some moves) Pilon stepped on a riser to play a blistering sax solo, everyone was leaping and losing their shit and Fridd raced through the crowd, yelping his feel-good lyrics like a manic but beatific prophet. In 15 minutes, he created more genuine glee than Edward Sharpe did in a bloated hour and a half. Excellent.

I ran back to the main stage in time to catch Chali 2na. I love Jurassic 5 to death and had heard great things about Chali's solo stuff. While the set started out a little tentatively, Chali seemed to loosen up and draw energy from the crowd as it grew larger. He didn't play a lot of J5 songs, but the ones he did play - "Quality Control", "Freedom", "What's Golden", - were solid. His band was absolutely fantastic and each member was given a good 10-minute period near the end of the set to shine. The keyboard player sounded exactly like Michael Jackson (RIP). It was very good. It was the closest I will ever come to seeing Jurassic 5, and I was satisfied.

Saturday night at Evolve is usually when my body starts to give out, and on this fine night, it did. I lay in a chair at my camp and listened to everyone jibber-jabber around me. I heard someone say the Yurt was packed for Tupperware Remix Party, while someone else mentioned that Dub FX was amazing. I didn't care. I was tired. I slept.

Another Evolve has come and gone. As usual, it went by way too fast, and as usual I'm grungy and chunks of dirt and food are still falling out of my hair (after two showers!) But my head still feels like a mellow, happy swamp. This year is probably the busiest and craziest Evolve I've ever been to, but for the most part, the extra bodies actually contributed to the festival's vibe rather than detracting from it.

As mentioned previously, I'm a terrible photographer, so if you want to see real photos by real photographers, please head over to Noisography or funkfactor.com. However, if you're looking for flippant remarks, ill-timed exclamations and ribaldry, get over here.

Day 1

So this year my traveling companions and I decided we should go up to the festival grounds on Thursday. After our annual Giant Tiger stop in Truro, the sky darkened and by the time we hit Antigonish, it was pouring. We had neglected to pick up umbrellas and/or ponchos at the GT (although we did pick up many varieties of chip). So we joined the group of devil-may-care campers in the grassy bank reserved for "early camping" and set up our tent in the muck, getting drenched. We warmed up under a strategically-arranged tarp and proceeded to drink watery beers while the kids around us whooped and hollered. Bless the youth for their positive attitudes.

Day 2

The dappling glow of the morning light, framed through the previous evening's soupcon of dew, heralded a day of enchanting sunshine and devastating, ball-shrinking heat. Friday is Evolve's busiest and most physically taxing day. You have to haul all your camping shit up the hill and then you have to set up your campsite, tent, and, if you're feeling ambitious, a giant flagpole:

See how high it is? It broke.

Anyway, then it was time to get to the serious business of drinking more beer and figuring out what to do for the evening. Excuse me for some small conflict-of-interest business, but I must mention my friend Rekkid Bitch Mike, who performed his first-ever DJ set at Evolve at 4pm and confidently drew a crowd into the Yurt, like he was the Pied Piper of jungle. Also, he dressed like a cross between Mad Max and a janitor. Good work!

I had meticulously printed and highlighted a schedule two days early and sealed it in plastic so it wouldn't get wet. "I brought a schedule, I'm totally amazing," I said to my friends. Then I went to the bathroom and lost it. So we went to see Skratch Bastid.

To be perfectly honest, I am iffy on Skratch, namely because I've seen him play the same set at Evolve a number of times. A Tribe Called Quest has a lot of songs besides "Can I Kick It?" - you know what I mean? So I walked up to the Synergy Stage feeling skeptical. Then someone told me he had some ladies working a stripper pole onstage. I was prepared to be very "Ugh, really?" about this until I actually watched the ladies, who represented a dance studio (I couldn't read the text on their shirts) and were amazing. Then Skratch did a cool thing where he mixed Tom Morello's wah-wah guitars on "Bulls on Parade" with Rhianna's "wah-wahs" from the bridge of "Rude Boy." Clever!

These two older gentlemen, dancing at the back of the tent, were in the running for Having the Best Time:

• woo! all right!

We then strolled over to the main stage to check out Carmen Townsend. There was a girl hula-hooping on stage with the band. I couldn't tell if it was planned or if she had simply leapt on (this happened a lot throughout the weekend).

Then she left and Carmen launched into some tunes from her debut album Waitin' and Seein', sporting her band's brand-new drummer Steve. While the band appeared to be playing well and Carmen's voice sounded strong as usual, there was something off in the mix - the sound kept coming in and out. The lights were also weird - they kept coming on at strange times, and didn't align with the rise and fall of the music. Maybe she was a guinea pig for the rest of the night? Carmen soldiered through and even covered the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" with surprisingly great aplomb, but in the end, things still sounded off, and that's a shame.

Fred Penner performed a 15-minute opening set for Man Man, which was completely perfect. He led the audience through some stretches and pep talks, performed "The Cat Came Back" (featuring a giant chorus of "Miaows") and Pete Seeger's song "Garbage." I don't know what else to say about Fred Penner - it was just very delightful. The same tricks that work for kid audiences also work for audiences of hippies. Just make them repeat what you say, raise their arms and make animal noises. All bands should do this.

Then Man Man came on and my heart proceeded to break. COMPLETELY. The sound problems that had plagued Carmen's set had returned tenfold. I am told that the person doing sound for their set had only an hour to set everything up, which in my limited understanding isn't really sufficient for a band that plays about 40 instruments, screams, sings in falsetto, makes baby noises and depraved cackling noises.

Look, I don't know much about doing sound, and I understand there are mitigating factors when you're putting on a festival in the middle of a valley, but that band worked REALLY hard to put on a good show, despite the fact that they were mostly shrouded in darkness (no spotlight on the lead singer when he grabbed the microphone, no light on the drummer when he did a solo, etc) and their sound and lighting remained wretched through their entire set. There would occasionally be moments of glory - "Engrish Bwudd" sounded particularly great - and once we moved up front, the pure spectacle of Man Man eclipsed the miserable mash of the audio. They screamed, they danced, they looked insane, the drummer was relentless, and the lead singer Honus Honus put on a raincoat and acted like a giant pervert.

• eric duncan

Then we saw Pretty Lights, who had great sound and pretty good lights, doye!

(Obviously not my photo)

So remember how I said i know nothing about DJs? I went back to my tent and surveyed the group about Pretty Lights. About half the people at my camp insisted Pretty Lights is unmissable, while the other half were like "Yeah, dunno, he's kinda boring." I can see the validity of both camps. At his essence, Pretty Lights is just a dude playing heavy electro beats with two Macbooks while his giant lights and speakers bedazzle you. On the other hand, sometimes it's really nice to be bedazzled. Also the guy was having the best time up on his riser as he twiddled back and forth between the Macbooks. I've actually never seen any DJ having as much fun as that guy. Jumping and yelling, messianic poses to the sky, tipping his hat, pointing, more jumping. And the crowd was massive. It was good and simple fun.

Then we went back to camp and ate chips! Part Two comin' atcha!

I got back from Evolve yesterday and I'm still picking out gnarly clumps of festival from my hair and playing catchup on everything I missed. Festival updates coming around lunch! Hold onto your butts!

In the meantime, for those of you going to Sappyfest this weekend, you can see two local bands on the bill - Quaker Parents and Long Weekends - playing a free, all-ages CKDU lobby show today at 5:30pm. Halifax is Burning host Trevor Murphy will interview both bands along with Sappyfest organizer Paul Henderson. You can check it out in person after work, listen at 88.1 FM or at the CKDU website.

click to enlarge

• have a seat

I'm leaving for Evolve right after work tonight at 5pm to camp with my pals. This is my fifth Evolve - and is it just me, or does it seem like people are exceptionally excited to go this year? Maybe it has to do with the lineup, which is pretty good this year, or perhaps it's because we endured 30 days of rain-induced darkness and everyone is ready to dance and get wrecked in the lovely sunshine. Whatever the reason, everyone has their own favorite things to do and see each year, so here's mine.

1. Stop at the Giant Tiger in Truro to pick up all the stuff I forgot to pack.

I always try to pack carefully the night before Evolve and generally I forget approximately 40 items, like sunscreen and flip flops and underwear and toothpaste. So we try to stop at the old GT to amass all the things that were left behind on the drive up. The Truro GT is quite exceptional, in my opinion. They have everything, and their clothes are totally cute, and sometimes they have hot dogs.

2. Eat breakfast at the Horn of Plenty.

The Horn of Plenty is a time-honored food stand at Evolve that always has great coffee and tasty, reasonably healthy breakfasts. I'm told they've started doing BBQ, which is aces! The lineups in the morning can be brutal so you should either go as early as possible or sleep until you're woken by hunger pangs.

3. Man Man.

Man Man are one of those bands that I wouldn't play while I'm, say, doing dishes or something, but they are absolutely made for a festival like Evolve. When I saw them in 2009 (on the heaviest lineup ever - the year with !!! and Battles) I found them hilarious, mindblowingly weird and very proficient. If you don't like fruity, guttural music you might not be into it, but I do believe everyone should see a Man Man show at least once in their lifetime, just to say that they did. Here is a video. Don't miss them and don't be a doink!

4. The Palace Yurt

I've always enjoyed the shows in the Palace Yurt (how can you not have fun in a yurt?) and have always vowed to catch more shows there. This year features a number of acts that are worth your while, especially when they're on such a small stage. I'm planning on checking out The Sheepdogs (who currently have a 50/50 shot of making it on the cover of Rolling Stone and sound exactly like one of my favorite dad bands, The Allman Brothers), Tupperware Remix Party (playing a 2:30am set, ruh roh!) The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, The Caravan and No Flyers Please. STOKED AS HELL.

5. Vilify

I'm not familiar with a ton of the DJs on the schedule this year, so I will be relying on my wiser friends to tell me what's fun. However I'm definitely looking forward to a set from former Haligonian VILIFY. I have a pretty big soft spot for drum n' bass and jungle (I'M OLD ALL RIGHT?) and she specializes in both, plus ragga and breakbeat, which I also fucking love to death. The music will assist with my ongoing search on How To Dance To Dubstep. I aspire to one day move like this little fella right here.

6. Fred Penner

No words, just video. I may cry.
Also listen for the live mashup with "Crabbuckit."

Look back here on Monday (later) for a little festival wrap-up replete with my trademarked "shitty iPhone photos." Safe travels to all and have a time.

• chartattack.com

The teeny Yukon hamlet of Dawson City seems like one of those places that is basically perfect in every way if you can handle a bit of chilliness and can somehow get your ass out there. The Dawson City Music Festival in particular has made a name for itself by hosting consistently strong and diverse lineups over the past few years in a relatively intimate setting (the population of the place is something like 2,000 people.) This year's lineup featured some of Halifax's finest, including Rich Aucoin, Amelia Curran, Steve Gates and the mayor of Sackville Shotgun Jimmie. Exclaim! was at the fest and has posted a very nice and detailed review of the show (example: Aucoin playing for little kids and playing with Nathan Lawr for the first time ever, Curran being "effortlessly charming") and has provoked both my envy and unwavering sense of local pride. You can read it here.

• lindsay duncan

The Stan Rogers Folk Festival is currently hosting a video contest for bands who are looking to win a spot playing in the festival. So far Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers and Mary Stewart have uploaded videos of quiet, intimate little performances in their homes, while others like Amanda LeBlanc and Air Traffic Control have submitted video of them playing outdoors. Hurry — go and watch and vote for your favorites at stanfest.com. The festival runs July 1- 3.

Check out Mary Stewart's video "Good Wife" below.

• gianna lauren

It's officially summer touring season, with a whole cluster of Halifax bands headed all over which where. The latest event is Sled Island, which has been producing an increasingly bomb lineup of musical talent from across Canada and the world for about five years now. This year's festival runs from June 22 - 25 and is being curated by the CBC's Grant Lawrence and Bogus Toklus (a thrash band featuring former members of Pride Tiger). Acts include the Buzzcocks, Dum Dum Girls, the Dandy Warhols, Of Montreal, Man Man and others, frig!

Gianna Lauren writes that she, Jon McKiel, Cousins and Duzheknew will be meeting up at a bar in Edmonton called Wunderbar (run by former Haligonian Craig Martell, who stocks the bar with Propeller Beer) before heading to Calgary. McKiel and Lauren will be backing each other up during the festival. Lauren will be staying in Calgary to record with Forest Tate (aka Brendan Fraser, not the Encino Man guy, but the guy who used to live in Halifax.) Meanwhile, Quivers and Jenn Grant will also be making stops at the festival during their own tours.

Lauren will be blogging her traveling adventures at acrosscanadawithus.tumblr.com. Haligonians lucky enough to end up in Calgary this weekend should check out sledisland.com for a complete schedule of events.