No problem

A post shared by deadmau5 (@deadmau5) on Nov 10, 2016 at 1:31pm PST

After months of waiting (OK, maybe that was just me), the headliner for the year's biggest outdoor birthday party has finally been announced! Today the city confirmed that Deadmau5 will be rocking The Common with what he calls "the world's most transformative DJ stand" his CUBE 2.1.

It'll be the first time the cube sees Canada, so house heads will want to make sure they're within moshing distance to witness it in all its EDM glory. Rounding out the bill is a sonic buffet ranging from North Preston R&B giant Reeny Smith to poet laureate Rebecca Thomas to local rocker Matt Mays.

The party kicks off at 5pm but as this show will probably be the hottest ticket in town, you might wanna make a day of it—or at least arrive early.

While we wait for the fun, practice your moves with mau5's newest mix, stuff i used to do, which dropped earlier in 2017.

• No word on whether the goat will be included in the tour.

The Beach Boys co-founder will be surfin’ much more than the USA for his upcoming tour, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Pet Sounds by giving fans one more chance to hear the songs live from the man himself.

The first leg of the tour kicked off in March 2016, and Wilson played 99 shows that year. He’s extending the tour with 56 new dates, including a fall performance at the Scotiabank Centre. Feel those good vibrations as Wilson plays one of music’s most-loved albums in its entirety.

If you’re a Beach Boys fan, don’t spend September 16 in your room. God only knows if you’ll get a chance to see Wilson perform again.

• Ria Mae closes this year's GroundSwell Music Festival.
• Lane Dorsey

GroundSwell Music Festival
Mar 16-18
Various times and locations (see listings below)

The stars have aligned for this year’s GroundSwell Music Festival. Celtic-tinged rock landing on St. Patrick’s weekend? It’s too perfect. With three nights of big ticket shows and lots of genres on offer (from Ria Mae’s power-pop to roots music from Rawlins Cross), we’ve put together a playlist to get you jammin’.

Ria Mae closes the fest on Saturday night at Olympic Hall, and we're grooving to this song that scores 12 out of 10 on the Halifamous scale (thanks in part to a Classified verse):

Your daily dose of bagpipe, thanks to Rawlins Cross—that rocks Spatz Theatre Thursday, March 16:

In-Flight Safety dropped an EP last year and this fresh take on a lyric video gives us life—perfect for before they play with Ria Mae and Arsoniste March 18:

The Stanfields will 100% play this song, aka your theme tune for when things get rowdy, when they hit the Olympic Hall stage Friday, March 17:

And, a taste of how Like A Motorcycle rock live, before they open for The Stanfields at Olympic Hall on St. Paddy's with their new guitarist David Casey, who apparently smells great. Like A Motorcycle are fresh from another Euro tour so really I bet they ALL smell great now:

• via jimgaffigan.com

Hold the hot pockets, kids, because everyone’s favourite food-obsessed comedian, Jim Gaffigan, just announced a Halifax date as part of his upcoming The Noble Ape world tour.

Promising all new material (nope, not even stuff on his recent Cinco Netflix special will see the stage), we’re counting the days until May 12—and filling the time with UV shirts and trips to the food court.

Get full details (including a ticket link) by checking our event listing and, in the meantime, here’s a bit of Gaffigan to guffaw at.

• via sonic concerts

July Talk is ready to push and pull its way back to Halifax in support of their latest album Touch, hitting The Marquee on April 21.

The Toronto indie darling’s sophomore effort has a slightly more poppy sheen than its previous album, but the dissonant, soft-and-gruff, hers-and-his vocal play the band is known for remains (thankfully) intact.

Jam out to July Talk's latest hit, "Picturing Love", while you wait for tickets to go on sale March 3 at 10 am.

Want more details (including a ticket link)? Check out our event listing.

• Submitted by sonic concerts

Good Charlotte is the latest early-aughts band to hit town with a big ticket show, taking over the Casino Saturday, April 22. (For those keeping track, their peers Billy Talent are coming to town in March and Simple Plan rocked the Scotiabank Centre last fall).

Yep, the times may be a-changin’ but Canadian power-pop-infused rock is out to prove its staying power, it seems.

Fans certainly won’t be complaining as Good Charlotte’s late 2016 disc, Youth Authority, provides an ample case for not growing up (or, at least, not growing old).

Whatever, just start sliding into your skinny jeans now and you’ll be ready to rock with the pop-punk princes like it’s 2008 all over again.

In the meantime, check out their latest video:

• screen grab via sonicconcerts.com

Matthew Good misses the good ol’ days, it seems, nostalgically naming his upcoming coast-to-coast tour (complete with a Halifax stop) I Miss The New Wave: A Beautiful Midnight Revisited. It’ll be fascinating to see the Vancouver alt-rocker take the Matthew Good Band’s 1999 record and turn it into a one-man show, though his doing so means any last flickering hopes of a MGB reunion are probably dead.

A five-song ep of the same name drops December 2, with a Warner Music press release quoting Good as saying “I’ve waited almost 20 years to reimagine these songs in the studio; I think I may have actually bettered what some consider my best work.”

Load Me Up was one of Beautiful Midnight’s biggest hits, and we’re curious to see how it’ll be stripped down at The Marquee on March 25. In the meantime, let’s vibe out to the original:

• screen grab from Dine Alone Records

It’s been a good year to be in Wintersleep. The band members spent 2016 headlining Gridlock festival, dropping an album that was also totally jaw-dropping (more on that in a second) and, now, will be celebrating all those wins with a big show at The Marquee.

Hitting the stage January 14 and 15 with their sweeping, folky-but-still-hard-hitting latest effort The Great Detachment, we’re sure the Marquee will be packed with chants of poetry-inspired lyrics like "I can't survive on my Amerika/ If the worst is true/ Is it just a waste of time?” Oh, and the fact that the newest songs harken back to the vibe of 2007’s breakout hit single Weighty Ghost? Even better.

Speaking of time-wasting, the Jan 14 show has already sold out (the worst! It’s true!) so fans better bust a move to tickethalifax.com to snatch up Jan 15 seats.

click image

• Gord Downie onstage in Toronto during a 2015 performance.
• David Bastedo

Secret Path concert
Tuesday, November 29, 8pm
Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
$61

If you were one of the many folks disappointed The Tragically Hip’s farewell tour didn’t stop in Halifax, you’re in luck. It looks like Gord Downie will be gracing the city with his presence—and his music—after all.

Downie is also using his voice to raise awareness about the history of Canada’s residential school system. He is set to perform songs from his recent album, Secret Path. The 10 songs are based on the story of Chanie Wenjack.

The 12-year-old died from starvation and exposure as he fled the he Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ontario. Wenjack was trying to walk home from his family, who lived more than 400 miles away.

Secret Path started off as a series of poems, which were later turned into songs and recorded. The album’s release was accompanied by a graphic novel by Jeff Lemire as well as an animated film.

Proceeds from the sale of Secret Path will be donated to the Gord Downie Secret Path Fund for Truth and Reconciliation. The money is dedicated to finding missing Indigenous children.

Tickets for the concert go on sale Thursday, November 17 at 12pm. Tickets are $61 (including tax and CIF) and will be available at the Dalhousie Arts Centre box office, by phone at (902) 494-3820 and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7:30pm.

• The Arkells are bringing big pop-rock vibes to Halifax in early 2017.
• screen grab from Arkell's website

While Turner’s soulful folk is the headline draw in some towns (he opened the 2012 London Olympics with an acoustic guitar and scathing, anti-consumerist solo), here he’s playing second fiddle (er, second guitar?) to the energetic Arkells.

It’s an odd couple bill, for sure, but we bet the Arkell’s Private School fans (and, no doubt, lots of private school girls) will dance like it's a Saturday night come the cold, winter Wednesday in February. Turner lovers, meanwhile, will be emotionally recovering from singing along to freedom anthems.

Take part in a little of both by snapping up a ticket (ranging from $43-$63-ish) and heading to the Scotiabank Centre on February 15, 2017.

• Courtesy of band

While rockers The Trews never exactly went away, they definitely went quiet for awhile, shuffling their lineup and moving to the big smoke, making some re-imagine the Antigonish musicians as a Toronto band. These changes, combined with a national tour bringing the boys back to Nova Scotia this December, make it feel safe to say they're on a comeback—releasing a best-of album with four new tracks and going on their most ambitious tour since 2014.

They'll be lighting up the Marquee stage December 16 with heaps of fan favourites, like (we expect) Poor Old Broken Hearted Me, a Maritime-infused blues jam. Check out their live vibes with this performance:

• Marianas Trench laying down serious Indiana Jones vibes en route to the Scotiabank Centre this November.
• Courtesy of band

You probably remember the teen-dance melodies of Marianas Trench being all over the radio in the early aughts, with the Vancouver pop-punks' hit "Shake Tramp" peaking at 65 on the Canadian singles chart in 2006-2007.

And though you might have since forgotten about the lead singer's candy-coloured hair and all those candy-sweet melodies wrapped up in hard guitar, the band is launching a cross-country tour to prove it haven't gone anywhere. The group will be stopping in Halifax on November 21 with new songs from 2015's album Astoria in tow. Break out your black eyeliner and get ready to dance, m'kay? Tickets go on sale next Friday, September 9, and are available at www.marianastrench.net.

And if Trench isn't your thing (or if you're just looking to stack the cooling nights with some hot tunes) we've rounded up some other big ticket shows hitting the city in the coming months.

Our Lady Peace with I Mother Earth, Edwin and The Standstills

• The band appears to be back in the studio, but hasn't released anything new (yet!) before its November tour stop in Halifax.
• Twitter screen grab from @ourladypeace

Be still, my teenage heart! OLP is bringing its poetry-infused grunge-rock to the Scotiabank Centre November 2, and is sure to have all the hits you remember (like "We Are All Innocent" and "Starseed") along for the ride. And though it's been awhile since OLP put out any new material, the band has been feeding fans rarities from the vaults both via online subscription and at live shows—leaving hope there's something special in store for the Halifax performance. Rock fans, prepare your air guitars. Get your tickets, ranging from $39.50 - $59.50, at ticktatlantic.com.

Matthew and Jill Barber's album release show.

• The Barber siblings get along just fine, recording a joint album that'll debut in Halifax this November.
• Via Jill Barber's instagram (@jillbabrber)

The musical siblings have each dropped a number of albums in their own right, but they recently combined forces to craft a folky-country-Canadiana medley of covers and originals, aptly titled The Family Album. Playing the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium November 16, you'll be able to sit back and bask in the warm-fuzzy feels of watching the brother-sister duo share the stage. Bonus points if you bring your own sibling, too. Grab tickets (ranging from $37 to $42) here.

Sam Roberts Band w/ Adam Baldwin

• Sam Roberts Band brings a new record to Halifax this November.
• Courtesy of band

Simple Plan

• Simple Plan stops by Halifax on huge worldwide tour this November.
• Screen grab of band's instagram, @simpleplan

Hitting the Scotiabank Centre as part of a world tour that'll take the band to places flung as far as South Korea and Indonesia, Simple Plan is out to prove its power-pop-punk has staying appeal—even 12 years after we all learned the words to the angsty hit "Welcome To My Life." SP's new album, Taking One For The Team, features the guys in orange hockey jerseys, showing no matter how far they go, these Canucks don't forget home. Get tickets for the November 22 show at ticketatlantic.com.

• Hey Rosetta! is this year's headliner.
• Scott Blackburn

In just a few short months, when the humidity has broken, the fall wind will ring with the sound of rowdy concert goers: leaves will crunch beneath their Converse as they prance to the next show, revelling in the joy that is Halifax Pop Explosion.

The beloved fest just announced its second round of 2016 acts this morning—fans, hold onto your fanny packs, and get ready.

Over 50 new acts are slated to grace our stages in October, including Hey Rosetta!, Keys N Krates, Charles Bradley, Grandtheft, PUP, Basia Bulat, Holy Fuck, TUNS and Voivod.

You won’t be starved for local talent, either, with acts like Reeny Smith, Century Egg, Old and Weird, Crossed Wires, Beauts, Mo Kenny with Symphony NS and Nap Eyes lined up.

Early bird passes are on sale now for $89—get ‘em while they last. Prices will jump to $109, and eventually reach $129 over the coming months.

The festival runs from October 19-22, at various city-wide locations.