For those of us who’ve missed live music, it’s been a long pandemic. We bided our time remembering the best things of our favourite music venues, from the feeling you get while waiting in line outside the venue to the weird communal snack that was a staple of nights out on Agricola Street. But, now, […]
Music
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Posted inArts + Music
Rita’s Retreat: Cape Breton’s answer to Graceland becomes an Airbnb
No matter how many times Rita MacNeil left Cape Breton (her Wikipedia page has her bouncing back and forth from God’s Country to Toronto six times), she always came back. Maybe it’s because her songs were as dramatic and arching as the waves of the Atlantic. Maybe it’s because the people there were a constant […]
Posted inArts + Music
Catching up with Juno winner Rose Cousins
Rose Cousins is a Halifax music scene fixture, a musical MVP. Her brand of folk-pop singer-songwriter is the kind that critics adore and awards stream in for: Fresh yet familiar, honest and real, driven by melody and backed up with airy arrangements. For proof, look no further than the fact that, this weekend, Cousins won […]
Posted inArts + Music
The 2021 ECMA awards touch down online June 10
It’s been 447 days since COVID-19 arrived in Nova Scotia, changing everything in its wake. Live music was one of the first casualties, as it hit pause almost immediately (and, as some experts say, will be one of the last things to return when All This is over). But, music endured. Livestreams became lifelines. Bandcamp […]
Posted inArts + Music
EVERYSEEKER announces 2021 event lineup
If troubled times bring a chance for fresh thinking, new ideas and delicious divergences of creativity, then surely troubled times call for EVERYSEEKER, the indie festival/head-trip that gives us all something to look forward to later this month. A fully online, free version of the annual event will be taking place June 17-20, and is […]
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In memory of the Chip Bowl at Gus’ Pub
The first time I put my hand in the infamous Chip Bowl at Gus’ Pub, it’s because I was looking for something to do. Punk time meant the act I was there to see was at least a half hour away from stage readiness, and the vibe of the room was equally awkward and anticipatory. […]
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Judas Priest coming to Halifax this November
If you thought Judas Priest would skip Halifax on its 50th anniversary tour, you’ve (as it’s hit song goes) got another thing comin’. Yep, the metal band that defines early ’80s head banging is coming to the Scotiabank Centre November 2, the first newly announced big-ticket show to touch down in Halifax since COVID-19 first […]
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Here’s every Nova Scotian up for an award at this Sunday’s Junos
While the best Junos will always be the year Shania Twain invented athleisure, making a splash each time she took to the stage at the 2003 ceremony in a different ensemble that was a homage to a Canadian hockey team, this year’s show will be a close second. Why? Well, more Nova Scotians are in […]
Posted inArts + Music
Buying in with Gary Beals
The first noise that bubbles up on Gary Beals’s Bleed My Truth—the triumphant comeback album by the former Canadian Idol star from Cherry Brook—is the sound of slowly plucked strings. In the space between notes, there’s a palpable sense of expectation, a screwing up of courage for what’s coming next. By the time Beals sings […]
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Halifax Jazz Festival announced dates; plans for online event
Of all the things we were looking forward to post-vaccine, swaying in the crowd at the Salter Lot for Jazz Fest was pretty high up on the list. And while the festival announced on Twitter today that it won’t be hosting an in-person event this year, we’ll at least take solace in the fact that […]
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Gabrielle Papillon releases must-watch video “Last Deep Breath”
Gabrielle Papillon has been making art pop from the heart for almost a decade—and her new video for “Last Deep Breath” flows in the same arteries. The video is a theatrical investigation of strength and character, portraying bravery in ways we often don’t see. The personal battles. Expressing queer love, tireless practice for a big […]
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Record review: Century Egg’s Little Piece of Hair hits hard
In Century Egg’s world, fairy tales are a worldview, Tim Tam cookies are straws for milk and blending Mandarin pop with frayed-edge indie rock is a pairing so natural—so catchy—you’ll wonder why you haven’t heard it a million times before. But the thing that’ll lodge into your mind with even more tenacity than a chorus […]
