Sitting outside a Dartmouth coffee shop, Alexander Gallant looks fairly unassuming. A sweater over what’s suspected to be a button-up shirt. Medium-length hair that sometimes flies in front of his face. Two drinks in hand. One potentially caffeinated. The other, some kind of soda. At first glance, Gallant wouldn’t strike the average Joe as royalty; […]
Arts + Music
Live theatre, art exhibits, comedy, literary, spoken word – The Coast guide to Halifax and Dartmouth, NS . The downtown, local arts scene – plays, writers, actors, artists and performers. Painting, sculpture, photography, stand-up, stage.
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Every winner at the 2026 East Coast Music Awards
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 […]
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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 […]
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Halifax creatives push back against arts cuts through community-driven media collective
There’s one belief that drives Ben MacDonald and Mitchell Hurley forward. “Art is the heartbeat of Halifax,” says MacDonald. “With the current art funding cuts, it only makes it more difficult for our industry to grow. I think it’s important to have a community that stands together and utilizes one another.” Co-founders of Halifax-based media […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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From science to storytelling: Raven Stephens uses art, culture and community to empower Indigenous youth
A single title does not easily define Raven Stephens, and that is exactly the point. A marine scientist, artist, model, author, and now a candidate for the 2026 Miss Indigenous Canada program, Stephens represents a generation that refuses to be placed in a box. Rooted in Millbrook First Nation and raised in Eskasoni First Nation […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Designers from Halifax, Toronto head to PEI Fashion Weekend
Designers from Halifax to Toronto are set to bring a mix of sustainability, global influence, and self-expression to Prince Edward Island as PEI Fashion Weekend returns May 1 and 2. Now in its fifth season, the event has grown from a pandemic-era idea into a regional platform connecting emerging and established designers from across Canada […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
