The 2026 East Coast Music Awards have come and gone. With the annual Atlantic Canadian music conference wrapping up on Sunday, May 26, after a weekend of performances, workshops, and meetings held in Sydney, a new batch of award winners has also been crowned. Whether it be PINEO & LOEB scoring an award for Dance […]
Brendyn Creamer, Local Journalism Initiative
Brendyn is a reporter for The Coast covering news, arts and entertainment throughout Halifax.
Posted inArts & Culture
The comedy of culture clash: ‘Normal Scotia’ creator and lead actor talk season two
Finding the comedy within cultural clash. That’s the thesis statement of Normal Scotia, a show about two Indian immigrants working at a curling club in Halifax, living their lives while encountering the unique oddities of Canadian Maritime living. Created by Charles Wahl and Amarpal Dhillon, this workplace sitcom follows the lives Shiv (Ishan Sandhu) and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax is the fourth most expensive city to rent in, according to new report
A new report from real estate marketplace Zumper leaves a dire impression: the housing crisis in Halifax is far from over, but there’s a chance rents will continue to cool. Zumper’s Canadian Rent Report median rent prices in cities across the country for the month of May 2026. Out of Canada’s 23 largest cities, Halifax […]
Posted inArts + Music
Wintersleep proves the wait was worth it on new album ‘Wishing Moon’
Nova Scotia’s indie rock legends Wintersleep have been together for over 20 years. For bands that have survived as long as Wintersleep, a question often emerges: do they still have the same drive they had when they started? Are the ideas still flowing? Is the chemistry present? Do they still sound interesting? These questions often […]
Posted inArts & Culture
This former Ubisoft Halifax dev has started his own indie game studio
George Greer was one of 71 staff members laid off in the Ubisoft Halifax shutdown in early January. As he saw colleagues look for work outside of Nova Scotia, Greer took note of the opportunity in front of him: to start a video game development studio that makes games that are unequivocally Atlantic Canadian. With […]
Posted inArts + Music
It’s going to be a “Coleslaw Summer”, says Mat Hughes in new single
How do you continue writing music when the world is on fire? That’s the subtle subject matter of Mat Hughes newest single, “Coleslaw Summer”, an upbeat, bluesy piano pop song full of existential dread, all based on a joke from last year’s searing summer. “It was an inside joke about coleslaw. I hate coleslaw,” says […]
Posted inArts + Music
Experience the politics of art at the Halifax Mayworks Festival
Halifax’s biggest labour and arts festival is back for another year. The Mayworks Festival is both a celebration and a protest. It’s many artistic works present a mosaic of diverse and complex working-class issues, inspired by the May Day for which the festival gets its name. “Art is inherently political,” says assistant festival director Jake […]
Posted inArts + Music
Mat Elliott talks burnout on debut LP ‘Video Games’, out April 29
Getting lost in distractions. Feeling the pressure to keep trudging on, even though you’ve been worked to the bone for too long. Doing anything you can to cope with the stress, the burnout. Award-winning art-pop artist Mat Elliott debuts his first full-length record, Video Games, on April 29. Like his debut EP South Endings from […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Providing support through unique fashion: The story behind Outsider Insight
Like many of us, Gavin Quinn is no stranger to mental health struggles. When he had faced those problems head-on, he recognized the importance of support, whether it be from friends, family, or organizations that specialize in mental health in all of its intricacies. Impassioned, Quinn began Outsider Insight, a mental health-focused art collective that […]
Posted inArts + Music
June Body gets heavy on cryptically titled ‘7678’ EP
June Body has a new EP on the way, and lead singer/guitarist Connor James says it’s some of the heaviest music the alt-rockers have put out so far. Off the back of their 2024 full-length album Last Everythings, James and his bandmates, bassist Alexander Callaghan and drummer Matthew Schofield, decided to take a different approach […]
Posted inArts + Music
Great music for a great cause: Food for the Ears Festival taking place June 12-13
Ethan Chitty started Food for the Ears in 2023 while he was in high school. It would be an evening concert, hosted in Truro, supporting his local food bank: the Colchester Food Network. In 2026, Food for the Ears has grown significantly. It’s now held in Halifax, with all-star artists from across the province coming […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
What you need to know about The Coast’s Halifax Burger Bash 2026 presented with Garrison Brewing
For 13 years, The Coast’s Burger Bash presented with Garrison Brewing has been raising money for Feed Nova Scotia through partnerships with great restaurants across the city, donating a portion of their proceeds from their beautiful burger creations to the non-profit. This year is only a little different, in that Burger Bash 2026 is bigger […]
