Ava Val has heard enough performative allyship since coming out as a trans woman in her thirties. “If I get one more ‘Yasss Queen!’ while I’m picking a wedgie in a park, I’m detransitioning,” the Toronto comedian jokes in So Brave, her gut-busting debut comedy special. “I love your support, but fuck! Being called brave […]
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Posted inNews + Opinion
The future of AI news is here in Halifax, it seems—and god, it sucks
A few weeks ago, I ventured down Quinpool Road and visited a company office that doesn’t exist. The building is real. And the company—at least in some notional sense—is real. But the other parts—who works at the company, how they’re connected to Halifax, what it bodes for our new digital era—I’m far less certain of. I […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax libraries budget shows city working against itself on parking
The regular season of HRM’s budget debates ended on Feb 26, with a slew of routine budget presentations from HRM’s public libraries, the municipal auditor general, the city’s corporate service business units and the fiscal services business unit. Here’s how that meeting of the city’s Budget Committee—a group whose membership is all of council—went down. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Where to buy groceries during Trump’s trade war on Canada
Update: After initial negotiations on Feb 3 led to Donald Trump delaying the imposition of tariffs for a month, the Cheeto-in-Charge announced they were back on the table earlier this week, taking effect on Tuesday, March 4. In the wild weeks since convicted felon and US president Donald Trump first threatened a sweeping 25% tax […]
Posted inArts + Music
Every big show happening in Halifax in March 2025
Spring is almost here—finally!—and with the longer days of March, Halifax is coming back to life. From film festivals celebrating homegrown talent to some of Canada’s biggest rock acts coming to town, there’s a whole lot more to look forward to this month than just the promise of warmer weather. (Although that certainly helps, too.) […]
Posted inArts + Music
“Stories to tell”: Halifax Black Film Festival shines spotlight on local filmmakers
Andre Anderson can still recall the feeling of watching Ava DuVernay’s 13th for the first time. The Preston-raised African Nova Scotian actor—and now filmmaker—had been so moved by the 2016 documentary on the US prison-industrial complex that he screened it for his classmates at Saint Mary’s University. Then again at the Marquee Ballroom. Anderson says […]
Posted inArts + Music
Meet the Halifax DJ celebrating the city’s underground dance scene
Taylor Mooney remembers the first underground dance party she attended. The Prince Edward Island-born electronic/house DJ had recently moved to Halifax from Ottawa, when she got an invite to a secret gig that a friend was hosting. Even now, a few years later, she won’t say where exactly the gig went down. (“Can’t blow up […]
Posted inArts + Music
See all the nominees for the 2025 East Coast Music Awards
The full list of nominees is here for the 2025 East Coast Music Awards, and Halifax is well-represented. Sixty-seven ECMA nominations—the annual awards celebrating the best of East Coast music—include contributions from Halifax-based artists, engineers, managers and venues this year. That includes nine ECMA shortlist nods for Enfield rapper Classified, whose album Luke’s View earned […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
What to expect in the audit on university funding
Nova Scotians can once again look forward to reading reports on how the government spends public money. On Monday, premier Tim Houston caved to criticism and reversed course on a bill, specifically the parts of it threatening the independence of the province’s top watchdog, Auditor General Kim Adair. However, Bill 1, as it’s called, still […]
Posted inArts + Music
Halifax’s Eliza Rhinelander finds her voice on debut album
“I don’t know where I’m going to,” Eliza Rhinelander sings on “Massachusetts,” the earnest and clear-voiced opener to the Halifax singer-songwriter’s debut album, The Precipice. “And I’ve never had this much to lose.” Given the 19-year-old folk singer’s trajectory this past year—from a crowdfunded EP to a sold-out show at The Carleton earlier this month—it would […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
“We are not going to get quieter,” advocates vow at march to end gender-based violence
You could hear the voices coming from two blocks away as dozens of demonstrators made their way down Barrington Street on Wednesday, Feb 19, descending on Grand Parade. Shouts of “End the silence, end the violence,” “No excuse for abuse” and “Education is prevention; systemic failures must be mentioned!” reverberated through Halifax’s downtown on the […]
Posted inArts + Music
Every big show coming to Halifax and beyond in 2025
The New Year might have just arrived, but the lineup of shows coming to Halifax in 2025 is already jam-packed. Here we keep track of the major shows—music, theatre, comedy and events—scheduled for the city and around Nova Scotia throughout the year. To help our team of event hunters, we hope you’ll let us know […]
