The East Coast Music Awards are now underway. From May 7-11, artists from all over Atlantic Canada will meet in St. John’s, N.L., for a weekend of workshops, performances, and of course, an awards ceremony celebrating the best and brightest in the East Coast music scene.
While this festival hasn’t been without its controversies—mainly, the sudden firing of their executive director and the outpouring of criticism from the music community, with many artists withdrawing their nominations—it’s important to still celebrate those who are choosing to go to the awards ceremony regardless of the organization’s infractions. After all, local music doesn’t belong to just one organization. It belongs to all of us.
So to recognize the amazing musicians spawning from or currently residing within the Halifax music scene, here’s a list of every nominee from our wonderful city, whether it be musicians or industry professionals.
Musicians
Ahead of the pack in nominations is Enfield rapper and producer Classified, who released his seventeenth studio album Luke’s View in 2024. He leads with a total of 10 nominations—eight for his solo work and another two as he features on Brett Matthew’s “If I Die Today”. Maggie Andrew also has a great ECMAs ahead of her with five nominations—including Album of the Year—having released DAY JOB in 2024. Competing with Classified and Maggie Andrews in the Album of the Year category is Jah’Mila, who has a total of five nominations herself. Her newest album, Woman of the Sun, also dropped last year.
Composer India Gailey also sits with five nominations, including two for her work with Blackwood. Her most prestigious might be Classical Composer of the Year for her EP Butterfly Lightning Shakes the Earth, recorded alongside Karl Hirzer and Symphony Nova Scotia. Her full-length release from last year, Problematica, is also up for Classical Release of the Year. Also up for the same award is Halifax-based composer Julia Mermelstein with her piece “Bending, breaking through”, a piece commissioned for Gailey in 2022.
Up for African Canadian Artist of the Year alongside Jah’Mila and Maggie Andrew is rapper KAYO, who released the track “Lightning in a Bottle” alongside aRENYe and NULO last year. He also features on aRENYe and NULO’s “City on Fire” alongside fellow Halifax hip-hop artist Basyl, which is nominated for R&B/Soul Release of the Year.
Two Halifax artists, indie musicians Loviet and Callum Gaudet, are both up for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. The two musicians had a great 2024, with Loviet playing shows and touring around the country, and Gaudet releasing his first full-length album Ghosts.
In the world of dance and electronic music, Halifax has several shining stars. Amongst them are Cloverdale and PINEO & LOEB, who are both up for Dance Release of the Year. In one of two nominations, Rich Aucoin is up for Electronic Release of the Year alongside a Solo Artist of the Year nomination.
Amongst the eleven nominations for Entertainer of the Year, there is one Halifax-based artist: Daniel James McFadyen, a force in folk music who has continually gained fame as a heavy hitter in the genre. It’s also worth mentioning the Halifax-adjacent Alan Syliboy & The Thundermakers in this category, who are also up for Fusion Release of the Year and Release of the Year for “The Dream Canoe” and Traditional Release of the Year for “Whale Hunting Song”.
Having released The Good, The True and The Beautiful last year, pop-duo Neon Dreams is up for two nominations: Group of the Year and Video of the Year for their single “The Art of Letting Go”. Campbell & Johnston has a nomination for Blues Release of the Year with their song “Find Your Way”.
Fall River’s DeeDee Austin is in the running for Indigenous Artist of the Year with her song “Tell Me (Why Am I So Different)”. Symphony Nova Scotia earned a nomination for “Piano Concerto in One Movement: Andantino (Live)”. Artist Sam Wilson and the Wintertides Trio is up for Jazz Release of the Year for “The Moon Song”.
Up for Pop Release of the Year is chasing luma with “is this as good as it gets?” and Mat Elliott’s “Church Street”. Elliott’s track is also up for R&B/Soul Release of the Year, as is Bakers Du’zn’s “Lesson #1”. Alongside Classified’s “Sure Enough” in the Rap/Hip-Hop Release of the Year is HARMZ’s “Family Highs”.
Two choirs are up for Vocal Release of the year: the Halifax Camerata Singers for their performance of “Yôtin (The Wind)” and the Halifax Gay Men’s Choir for “Maybe”. Last but not least, standing alongside Maggie Andrew’s Rock/Alternative Release of the Year nomination is Sluice’s “Agis comme du monde”.
Industry
Venue of the Year nominees include The Carleton and the Sanctuary Arts Centre. Also amongst the Halifax nominees are Truro’s Marigold Cultural Centre and Hubbard’s Shore Club.
AA Wallace is up for Producer of the Year for Sluice’s Archiviste alongside Ben B. Creelman, who produced Jah’Mila’s “Bad Habit”. Photographer Richard Lann is up for Content Creator of the Year alongside Classified.
Innovator of the Year nominees include two Halifax names: music teacher Chelsi Madonna and Crescendo Fest founder Micah Smith. Halifax’s Jayden Duplessis, founder of the NoLoveNorthern record label, who represents Cape Breton’s Brett Matthews, is up for Artist Management of the Year alongside Todd Mercer, management for Cloverdale and chasingluma under Vibrancy.
Finally, the 2025 Event of the Year category contains three Halifax-based festivals and four total in Nova Scotia. Halifax Jazz Fest had a great year with performances from Emmylou Harris, Killer Mike and Matt Anderson. Nova Scotia Music Week saw local talent take their talents to Wolfville, and the 2024 JUNOS were also hosted in Halifax, bringing national talent to Atlantic Canada’s biggest city.
This article appears in May 1-31, 2025.