Music

Festivals

Open Waters music festival swims against the mainstream

Open Waters music festival swims against the mainstream

Performances feature both local artists and those from abroad
Open Waters Festival 2017 January 6-10 Sir James Dunn Theatre, The Company House $10-$25 at Dal Box Office Festival passes $55-$60

By Rebecca Dingwell Jan 5, 2017

SappyFest is a small, sweet world

SappyFest is a small, sweet world

The 11th annual weekend of "swamp magic," in Sackville, NB.
Rolling into SappyFest on Friday afternoon, my heart swelled.

By Ashley Corbett Aug 1, 2016

Six degrees of Nile Rodgers

Six degrees of Nile Rodgers

The legendary producer and Chic guitarist has had a hand in countless songs and albums; here are just a few reasons you should know his name.
1. CHIC 
Nile Rodgers and and bassist Bernard Edwards co-founded the badass, funked up disco band in the mid-‘70s, giving music-lovers timeless dance hits like Grammy hall-of-famer “Le Freak” and the oft-sampled (see: “Rapper’s Delight”) “Good Times.” Chic remains a relevant fixture, releasing its latest in 2015, and has been heralded as one of the most sampled bands in the world.

By Allison Saunders Jul 14, 2016

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld

A momentous indie instrumental duo.
Colin Stetson, saxophonist and multi-reedist, and Sarah Neufeld, violinist, are bringing their dreamy instrumental duet album, The Sun Roars Into View, to St. Matthew's Church on Saturday.

By Ashley Corbett Jul 14, 2016

The up-and-coming Keonté Beals

The up-and-coming Keonté Beals

Local, youthful R&B
Keonté Beals is a North Preston native with an angelic voice and a knack for R&B. This year, at age 19, Beals received the 2016 Rising Star Award from the African Nova Scotian Music Association.

By Ashley Corbett Jul 14, 2016

It’s the summer of Reeny Smith

It’s the summer of Reeny Smith

The local R&B sensation takes it to the next level.
Reeny Smith has a secret and she doesn't want to share.

By Morgan Mullin Jul 14, 2016

Thundercat’s bass progression

Thundercat’s bass progression

The Kendrick collaborator isn’t stuck in the rhythm section.
Stephen Bruner has had a love for the bass for as long as he can remember.

By Brennan McCracken Jul 14, 2016

Partner is aiming high

Partner is aiming high

With loud, queer rock from Sackville, NB.
Partner's core women are inspired by lesbian female icons (or dykons, as they call them), and artists who don't restrict themselves.

By Ashley Corbett Jul 7, 2016

Adam Baldwin’s rock revelation

Adam Baldwin’s rock revelation

“I don’t think that anything in 30 years has changed at all.”
On a recent Thursday night at a sold-out Seahorse Tavern, Dartmouth native Adam Baldwin began an earnest serenade to the throng of fans before him.

By Morgan Mullin Jul 7, 2016

American Football's long road to stardom

American Football's long road to stardom

Accidental fame sparks an emo reunion.
The first time Steve Lamos found out his college band, American Football, was popular was about 15 years after its album was released.

By Ashley Corbett Jul 7, 2016

Wintersleep comes home

Wintersleep comes home

Halifax’s treasured indie-rock band returns for Gridlock Festival with a hot album.
Wintersleep is back, with a new album that's proving to be its most popular release yet.

By Ashley Corbett Jul 7, 2016

James Ehnes wants to play for you

James Ehnes wants to play for you

The violin virtuoso’s 40th birthday present is a national tour.
James Ehnes' virtuosic talent feels like a force of nature.

By Brennan McCracken May 26, 2016

Welcome to OBEY Convention

“We’re interested in pushing human consciousness.”
In 2007, OBEY Convention started “as a small happening aimed at celebrating weird and sometimes subversive music,” says founder and organizer Darcy Spidle. “From day one, it caught on.” In the last eight years, intimate meetings of contemporary art and music have grown to epic proportions.

By Adria Young May 26, 2016

Check out Alienation bringing punk to the library

Check out Alienation bringing punk to the library

Dartmouth's hardcore band is focused on frustration.
Libraries are usually quiet spaces for reading, but Dartmouth hardcore band Alienation will blow the books off the shelves for an all-ages show on Friday at the Memorial North Library with their loud, fast D-beat punk. “The location is funny,” says vocalist and author Dylan Jewers.

By Adria Young May 26, 2016

Mykki Blanco, Coast cover grrl

Mykki Blanco, Coast cover grrl

The activist underground hip-hop star changes everything.
In contemporary art and culture, we are constantly striving to challenge and renegotiate accepted conventions and expectations. But Mykki Blanco, the Orange County rapper, poet, activist and actor—also queer, non-binary, HIV-positive and influenced by Riot Grrls—is the supreme being of artistic change in 2016.

By Adria Young May 26, 2016

Joshua Abrams takes jazz in all sorts of different directions

Joshua Abrams takes jazz in all sorts of different directions

The Chicago composer plays with a world of instruments.
On Saturday night, Halifax will be treated to one of Chicago’s most interesting film composers and jazz multi-instrumentalists.

By Adria Young May 26, 2016

Techno with DJ Kaz_Kandy

Techno with DJ Kaz_Kandy

Former Haligonian returns to unleash the freak.
“The music I tend to play is usually techno and acid house,” says DJ Kaz_Kandy (AKA Kelly Zwicker).

By Adria Young May 26, 2016

Brave Radar's minimalist pop

Brave Radar's minimalist pop

The four-member band is an indie fixture in Montreal.
Playing soft and intricate pop, Brave Radar began as the solo project of Sydney, Australia’s Conor Prendergast.

By Adria Young May 26, 2016

The EverySeeker Symposium debuts

The EverySeeker Symposium debuts

There’s lots to talk about at OBEY’s music lecture series.
OBEY Convention is more than just a weekend of seeing wicked, life-changing bands.

By Adria Young May 26, 2016

Marie Davidson, electro poet

Marie Davidson, electro poet

Dig bilingual spoken word set to the sounds of '80s films. 
“I find inspiration in my everyday life,” says Montreal composer, poet and synth-artist Marie Davidson.

By Adria Young May 26, 2016

Peerless avant-garde music from Zs

Peerless avant-garde music from Zs

The experimental band is trying to be clear, not outrageous.
“Zs has no peers really,” says Sam Hillmer, founder and tenor saxophonist of his Brooklyn-based experimental avant-garde ensemble (pronounced the American way, “zees”). “But there are really engaged audiences.” With Patrick Higgins and Greg Fox, Zs is a sonic experience that exceeds expectation, even though “expectation is the death of experience,” Hillmer says.

By Adria Young May 26, 2016

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