With a 20-plus year career, Canadian indie rock heroes Sloan return for a hometown show at The Marquee March 7 to celebrate, Commonwealth, the band’s 11th studio album. “We’ve been around for so long we could have easily made another Sloan record where everyone contributes another one or two songs,” says Jay Ferguson. “We talked […]
Shannon Webb-Campbell
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Review: Steve Poltz at the Carleton
This time last year, heckled by a thin man in a plaid shirt and a cowboy hat with a swagger and his loudmouth Australian sidekick going through security at Halifax Stanfield Airport, I unknowingly joined the Steve Poltz circus. Just after passing through security, Poltz and his longtime friend Dean Gifford, who was then acting […]
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Mangan’s got the Meds
Arts and Crafts have assembled a tour of Canada’s finest bearded musicians. Vancouver’s Dan Mangan and Blacksmith, Calgary’s Astral Swans, and Toronto’s Hayden are scruffily heading across the country to perform at the Rebecca Cohn February 18. Multiple Juno Award winner and twice listed Polaris Music Prize listed nominee Mangan has transformed his solo moniker […]
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Review: The Good Lovelies at the Company House
Winter in Atlantic Canada is cold, and cruel. It’s late February, and we’re all at the point of questioning why we live here. The answer could be found at The Company House last night, where The Good Lovelies, who travelled from all corners of the country with major flight delays, serenaded two shows in one […]
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Review: Hey Rosetta! at the Cohn
As a Newfoundland-based seven piece, Hey Rosetta! is a small indie orchestra. After witnessing their dynamic vistas for nearly a decade, playing dive bars, campus pubs, hotel ballrooms and even going door-to-door caroling (or better known as wassailing in Newfoundland) together a few Christmases ago in St. John’s, it was an honour to experience the […]
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Review: Owen Pallett w/Dance Movie
As the festival moniker promises, In the Dead of Winter kicked off last night under a blanket of a freshly fallen snow. Dance Movie swooned at the newly relocated Seahorse Tavern, which moved from Argyle Street to the underbelly of the Marquee. With her powerful vocals, singer and guitarist (and Coast employee) Tara Thorne gave […]
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La vie on stage
Piaf Friday, January 23 at 7:30pm Rebecca Cohn, 6101 University Avenue Known as The Little Sparrow for her distinct voice, petite stature and wide eyes, songbird Edith Piaf has been transformed by Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada into a production by Igor Dobrovolskiy. “I blended classical elements of the ballet with her typical movements—arms strong, […]
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Owen Pallett’s In Conflict resolution
Owen Pallett w/Dance Movie Thursday, January 22, 8pm The Seahorse Tavern, 2037 Gottingen Street $25 Owen Pallett is one of the busiest musicians in Canada. With a solo career spanning a Polaris Prize win, multiple records—including his latest, In Conflict—he’s a recent member of international musical explosion Arcade Fire, garnered an Academy Award nomination for […]
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KEPMITE’TMNEJ (HONOUR SONG)
on the coldest day of winter at the clearing, where Long Pond froze over seashell in one hand, a fist-full of cedar and sage in the other, you pierce the snow bank with a seabird’s feather you light sage smudge under boot soles over your pants onto winter jacket and across your chest down one […]
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Review: The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a holiday classic, yet this is the first time I’ve ever experienced it. Presented by Symphony Nova Scotia, Mermaid Theatre and Halifax Dance for nearly 25 years, I hope to make it a seasonal tradition. Seated in the front row, at the lip of the orchestra, led by maestro Bernhard Gueller, I […]
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Review: Tales of A Charlie Brown Christmas
While the temperature dropped below freezing, and snowflakes danced atop Citadel Hill, a nearly sold out crowd gathered to warm their cockles at Spatz Theatre for The Halifax Jazz Festival presentation of Tales of A Charlie Brown Christmas, featuring the Jerry Granelli Trio and the Vivace Children’s Choir Sunday afternoon and evening. As the only […]
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For the love of Jenn Grant
Last night Jenn Grant outshone the moon with her constellation of songs. After a long cross-country album release tour, and her third sold-out show in a row at The Carleton, her latest, Compostela, positions Grant amongst the brightest map of stars in the night sky. Warming the hour with their sturdy Cape Breton hearts, Villages—a […]