HPX is always a bittersweet time for me, I love watching bands perform, seeing friends and meeting new ones, but I dislike wearing festival bracelets and having any trace of a bar stamp on my hand the next day. Clearly, I deserve your sympathy. I met two nice pals Adria and Nicole at the Atlantica, […]
Halifax Pop Explosion
Posted inArts + Music
HPX: Your first two days
First of all, are you well-hydrated? Sufficiently rested? Do you have a good base going? Anything less than that signals peril, young HPX learner. The storied festival kicks off this Tuesday, and there’s still a lot of music-listening to be done before next Thursday’s HPX issue. Get a leg up on the pile and dive […]
Posted inArts + Music
City Natives bring their A-game
Four men and some badass beats make up City Natives, but Illfundz (Brandon Arnold), Bne (Blake Francis), Beaatz (Shelby Sappier) and Gearl Francis bring you one solid message. “The biggest message we present through our music is that if you work every day and focus hard enough you can achieve success, doesn’t matter if you’re […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Pop Explosion or bust
All of the volunteers at the Halifax Pop Explosion work hard, but likely no one puts as much effort in getting to the festival as Hugo van Dun. For the third year in a row, the Dutchman has left home in Utrecht (about 40 kilometres south of Amsterdam) to travel Canada and volunteer at HPX. […]
Posted inArts + Music
Read our daily coverage of the 2014 Halifax Pop Explosion
Keep up/live vicariously as we recap all our HPX adventures in blog and photo form from now until the end of the fest. Show suggestions welcomed at arts@thecoast.ca/tweet at us @TwitCoast. Click here for these blogs we were just discussing.
Posted inArts + Music
Mo Kenney’s dreams
“I’m super-sensitive and I always have been,” says singer-songwriter Mo Kenney. “I think people who are smart and think too much can put themselves in a dark hole because, well, thinking too much can be a bad thing. But really, for the most part, I’m an optimistic person.” After hearing Kenney’s new album, In My […]
Posted inArts + Music
Astral Swans, the hippie in the punk rock van
Asked to contrast the experience of listening to an album by Calgary’s Astral Swans versus seeing the band live, frontman/mastermind Matt Swann explains: “The recordings have more instrumentation. Live, I usually play solo, or ideally with a drummer.” And there’s nothing like the real thing, apparently: “Physically I’m quite striking,” jokes Swann. “I’ve had a […]
Posted inArts + Music
Strange Attractor sees a darkness
“I really can’t get into modern garage rock and a lot of the modern punk sounds,” says Strange Attractor’s frontman and driving force, Jeff Houle. “Can’t stand revival and I feel like most bands are doing it wrong, at least for me. I wanted to put imagination back on the plate and also a have […]
Posted inArts + Music
Teenage Kicks are hard to beat
In 1978, Belfast punk band The Undertones released the single “Teenage Kicks,” which gave voice to youthful sexual feelings through distortion, choral repetition and created a history that lives to this day. With a much more alt-rock sound and elements of punk, the Toronto-based rock duo of brothers, Pete and Jeff van Helvoort, are aware […]
Posted inArts + Music
Halifax Pop Explosion first announcement
Wow there sure was a lot of cake at this afternoon’s Halifax Pop Explosion (October 21-25) announcement (check out the new website, also). Here’s a complete list of the first announcement. More to come, if you can believe that. Quick, go, let’s hear your top three in the comments! City Natives Astral Swans Teenage Kicks […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Music Festival
Gold Winner Halifax Pop Explosion Silver Winner Evolve Bronze Winner Halifax Jazz Fest “They say if you’re going to leave, go out with a bang. My time at Halifax Pop Explosion has been incredible. The sense of community that exists within this great festival is unmatched anywhere, and I consider myself lucky to have been […]
Posted inArts + Music
Halifax Pop Explosion 2013 headliners announced!
Cutting through the muggy weather and the fog was this morning’s Halifax Pop Explosion announcement. Media bellies full of PopTarts and coffee boarded a double decker bus that drove us tantalizingly close to Bedford (represent) and past this year’s pack of venues while HPX executive director Jonny Stevens played tour guide and announced the headliners […]
