Halifax Pop Explosion, an unquestionable staple of the arts in Atlantic Canada, is celebrating 25 years as an annual gathering for fans of independent music. The festival has not only brought talented performers from a plethora of genres, and locations, to the east coast but has also helped to establish a yearly conference in Halifax which benefits both people new to the music industry, as well as those looking to build on their years of experience.
The first iteration of the festival originally launched in 1993, running from September 22nd to 26th. Off to an amazing start from the very beginning, the first edition featured artists like Halifax’s Leonard Conan, New Brunswick indie band turned International indie legends Eric’s Trip, Halifax indie rockers Plumtree, and Dinosaur Jr/Sebadoh/The Folk Implosion’s Lou Barlow.
This year the festival runs from October 18th to 21st. They’ve just announced their initial line-up and it has come with some very impressive names on it. As of right now, the lineup includes: Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Charlotte Day Wilson (of The Wayo), Clairmont The Second, Cloud Nothings, Japandroids, Patrick Watson, Ria Mae (with Symphony Nova Scotia), Tasha The Amazon, Weaves, and comedian Wyatt Cenac, with more acts yet to be announced.
Halifax Pop Explosion will also be home to the XPAND Music Conference as well the second annual Canadian Label Summit. XPAND will be running the length of the festival with Lido Pimienta, Malcom London, and Laina Dawes being the featured speakers; while the Canadian Label Summit will run for just two of the four days (the 19th and 20th). More information on the Conference is expected to be announced on August 16th.
Early Bird passes are on available on the festivals website for $99, with VIP Early Bird passes being $179.