If you still don’t have plans for New Year’s Eve, HRM has you covered. The city has long played host to the best party in town by sending off the year with a live showcase at Grand Parade square—and 2022’s slip into 2023 proves no different: Today, it was announced that Juno-winning pop-rocker JJ Wilde will headline the free, all-ages showcase.
Wilde—who’s opened for KISS and Pearl Jam—burst into the Can-rock mainstream earlier this year, as the first woman to win the Rock Album of the Year Juno since Alanis Morissette in 1996. Mixing crunchy, 1970s-y guitars with smoky vocals, Wilde’s brand of velvet-edged rock brings a rough-and-tumble Sheryl Crow or platform-shoed version of The Beaches to mind.
Sharing the bill with Wilde is Devon Cole, the cowboy-boot-wearing, TikTok famous indie pop darling who’s made headlines for her consent-themed redux of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”. Halifax DJs OKAY TK and Meg B get the party started with dance-focused opening sets. It all goes down December 31 at 11pm—and, as usual, the concert is capped off with a fireworks display.
New Year’s Eve at Grand Parade feat. JJ Wilde, Devon Cole
When: Dec 31
Where: Grand Parade square (1770 Barrington Street)
Time: 11pm
Tickets: This is a free, un-ticketed show.
This article appears in Nov 7-30, 2022.