Music

Halifax pop phenom Ria Mae isn’t forgetting to include her hometown on her upcoming tour with indie-pop singer-songwriter Virginia To Vegas. The duo announced today that they’ll be playing the Light House Arts Centre on December 8 at 8pm. Mae has conquered the indie-pop world since the release of her self-titled 2016 debut, garnering three […]

Funeral and final visitation information for the late Pat Stay began circulating on social media today, posted by friends and family of the deceased. The internationally acclaimed battle rapper was fatally stabbed on Sept. 4 on Lower Water Street. Stay was 36 years old. As well as being a world-renowned MC (battle rapping is an […]

If you’re tired of waiting to plan how you’ll send off 2022, Casino Nova Scotia has your back: The waterfront staple announced today that it’ll be putting The Trews on stage for a New Year’s Eve concert. Arguably Antigonish’s most famous four-part rock band, The Trews catapulted to Can-rock fame in the early 2000s with […]

Music Nova Scotia is shaking things up this fall as Fiona Diamond temporarily takes the organization’s helm. The new interim executive director was announced today, September 6—which will also be Diamond’s first day on duty. Filling in for ED Allerga Swanson as she departs on maternity leave, Diamond brings over three decades of experience to […]

Ask a certain subsection of music-loving Haligonians and it’s all the same: Indie rock hasn’t been the same here since Thrush Hermit split up; since Plum Tree ripened into memory; since people stopped using the phrase “Seattle of the North” in either the present tense or an earnest sense. But here’s the thing that Greek-chorus […]

There’s no one more taken by surprise with the sudden success of Bartees Leon Cox (who performs under the name Bartees Strange) than the Washington, D.C.-based musician himself. Given the way his resume and bucket list collated since he landed on Stereogum’s 2020 Artists To Watch list—opening for the likes of Courtney Barnett and Lucy […]

The story of Pillow Fite is one undeniably shaped by the pandemic: Lyrics formed via text during lockdown, early band practices conducted inside the two-household bubble. But don’t let the band’s origin story (or its on-the-pulse-attitude) let you mistake the duo for a COVID-era relic. Instead, Art Ross and Aaron Green are onto something much […]

When Julie Aubé arrives at The Carleton on August 29 for her Halifax Urban Folk Festival show, she’s bringing a sonic time machine with her. A third of the acclaimed, Acadian/New Brunswick folk trio Les Hay Babies, Aubé is no stranger to building vintage-doused walls of sound (there’s a reason why she describes the band […]

It’s gonna be a heck of a party in Sydney this November as Nova Scotia Music Week celebrates its 25th spin ’round the sun. The multi-day stint of industry events and live showcases will be held from November 3-6, capped off by the annual Music Nova Scotia awards. The provincial music prizes cover everything from […]

Magnolia–the moniker of singer-songwriter Sophie Noel, a Halifax transplant by way of the Yukon—is about to be your new fave. Want proof? Her debut EP from back in the spring, Confluencer, provides ample sonic evidence, with its alt-pop-meets-new-folk sound. But before the defence rests, we have one final item for you to review: Magnolia’s newest music […]

Correction: The Coast published an earlier version of this story stating Kxng Wooz was in the running for this year’s artist-in-residence award when he was the winner of last year’s competition. We regret the error, and have corrected and updated the story below: Five of Halifax’s hottest acts are vying for the prestigious Music Nova Scotia […]

I almost didn’t go, if you want to know the truth. A full two hours after the start time of the first house party I’d been to since the pandemic began, I was swiping lipstick and changing my shoes, still deciding if I’d show up. See, by the time June 2022 rolled around, I’d been living […]