Music Nova Scotia’s annual industry celebration slash music fest, Nova Scotia Music Week, just dropped news that has me ready to battle the rental car crisis for passage to Sydney, Cape Breton (where this year’s event will be held). In a release sent this morning, the organization says that its annual awards show and brunch—the veritable hollandaise sauce on top of days’ worth of concerts, showcases and elbow-rubbing—will pay tribute to legendary Halifax a cappella quartet Four The Moment.
A bit of music history here: Four The Moment was founded in 1981, making their debut at an anti-Klu Klux Klan rally when word was the racist organization was making moves into town. From there, the group became a national sensation, performing coast to coast and on CBC with an original songbook that centred African Nova Scotian history.
But it wasn’t just the political and representational lyrics that made Four The Moment influential: The group also pioneered a new sound in a cappella music, weaving in elements of reggae and gospel to the genre. “The group as a whole are essential modern pioneers – forging a new identity of African Nova Scotian music, and shaping what it means to be part of the African Nova Scotian community,” says Music Nova Scotia’s press release.
This year is the quartet’s 40th anniversary. The tribute performance will take place during the NSMW awards show, featuring Amariah Bernard-Washington, Zamani Miller, Haliey Smith, and Micah Smith. Nova Scotia Music Week happens November 3 to 6, 2022—and the awards show and brunch takes place Nov 6 at 11AM at the
Membertou Trade and Convention Cente. Tickets for brunch are $35 and are on sale now via NSMW’s site.
This article appears in Sep 1-30, 2022.
