Best Music Festival

Halifax Pop Explosion 2008 will go down in history as the year Monotonix sweated and spilled into Agricola Street and up its lamposts, drawing attention from the cops. No doubt it will become a show tale like Sonic Youth in the NSCAD cafeteria---one that everyone claims they witnessed. But according to festival director Waye Mason, there were saner highlights too, like “Josh Ritter playing to 600 people in St Matt’s Church with the every light out and no one even breathing at all. Basia Bulat, Brian Borcherdt and the Western Civilization at the Molson Music Room are standouts for me, but there was so much good stuff, like the White Cowbell (Oklahoma) guy chainsawing the pumpkin, or Ron Sexsmith with the Symphony, it’s hard to keep track.”

First runner up: In the Dead of Winter
Second runner up: Evolve Festival