Fires and locusts and plagues! Oh my! Never mind the fact that the US government slipped in some footage of UFOs and absolutely no one batted an eye. 2020 is turning out to be one heck of a year. The big news this month was, of course, that festival season has been cancelled this year. Undoubtedly, that will cause some financial hardships for touring musicians and some severe withdrawal symptoms for festival-goers, but we suspect that we’ll be seeing some bold ingenuity in the weeks to come.

Here’s hoping for some silver linings. Check out everything we covered in April, 2020.

Features

When I Get to Heaven — A John Prine Livestream Tribute
April 11, 2020 by The East

Premiere: Language Arts Releases ‘Sprout’ on How She Welcomed Home Her Rescue Dog
April 23, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music News

The Nova Scotia Kitchen Party That Took Over Facebook
April 2, 2020 by Alex Cook

Canadian Folk Music Awards Announce Winners of 2020 Awards with Online Awards Show
April 4, 2020 by The East

Menz & Mollyz Halifax Bar Announces Permanent Closure
April 13, 2020 by Sarah Hellingwerf

Larlee Creek Hullabaloo Announce Cancellation of 2020 Music Festival
April 14, 2020 by Alex Cook

The Stan Rogers Folk Festival Announce 2020 Cancellation
April 15, 2020 by Alex Cook

EVERYSEEKER Pivots 2020 Festival Into Boundary-Pushing Online Programs
April 22 by The East

Fredericton’s Harvest Jazz & Blues Postpones 30th Anniversary Festival
April 24, 2020 by Alex Cook

Future Forest Falls in Line With New Brunswick’s Pandemic Proclamations, Plans for 2021
April 25, 2020 by Alex Cook

Cavendish Beach Announces Cancellation of 2020 Music Festival
April 28, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Releases

Single: Slowcoaster Release ‘Haunt You’, Hint at Plenty of New Material
April 1, 2020 by Alex Cook

New Music: You’ll Remember The Duds’ ‘These Words I Can’t Forget’
April 1, 2020 by Charlotte Simmons

New Music: Brent Mason Counts his Blessings with ‘Fireflies’
April 1, 2020 by Maggie McLean

Single: Michael S. Ryan Heads Deep Into Melancholy on ‘Lightning’
April 1, 2020 by Alex Cook

New Music: Elephant Skeletons Bring Us to Whole New Worlds With ‘Sleep’
April 2, 2020 by Charlotte Simmons

Single: Nick Earle & The Reckless Hearts Want You to Giv’r for Whatev’r with ‘Make a Change’
April 3, 2020 by Alex Cook

New Music: Floristry’s Music Becomes Yours in ‘The Longing, Long After’
April 5, 2020 by Charlotte Simmons

Single: Electric Spoonful Release ‘Chain Gang’, Their First Single in Three Years
April 6, 2020 by Alex Cook

Single: Whitney Rose Goes From Too Much Time on the Road to Not Enough on ‘In a Rut’
April 6, 2020 by Alex Cook

New Music: Nap Eyes Practice Self-Reflection on ‘Snapshot of a Beginner’
April 7, 2020 by Maggie McLean

New Music: Christine Melanson Changes Pace with ‘Cent millions d’années’
April 7, 2020 by Micaela Cockburn

Single: Troy Alistair Returns With a Little Wisdom on ‘Cool Down’
April 8, 2020 by Alex Cook

Single: Quiet Parade’s ‘Don’t Put It On Me’ A Catchy Double-Take
April 9, 2020 by Charlotte Simmons

Single: Mike Aubé Highlights What Is Truly Important in Life With ‘Together’
April 10, 2020 by Micaela Cockburn

New Music: Soap Opera Hand Us Our New Mantra With ‘Be Fine’ EP
April 10, 2020 by Micaela Cockburn

New Music: Dillon Ryan & The Dream Romantic’s ‘So Lovely’ Is So, So Lovely
April 13, 2020 by Charlotte Simmons

Single: ‘Dans ma peau’ is Émilie Landry’s Love Letter to Herself
April 14, 2020 by Micaela Cockburn

Music Video: Catherine MacLellan and Tara MacLean Team Up For ‘This Storm’
April 15, 2020 by Alexander MacNeil

New Music: Sounds in Silence — grej’s ‘Quarantine Variations Vol. 1’
April 15, 2020 by Jeremy T Gilmer

New Music: East Coast Yeti’s Release Debut Self-Titled Album
April 15, 2020 by Sarah Hellingwerf

Single: Like A Motorcycle Sign to Cadence Music, Release New Track ‘Idols’
April 15, 2020 by Micaela Cockburn

Single: Aquakultre’s ‘Wife Tonight’ — The Jam That Almost Didn’t Make The Cut
April 16, 2020 by Alex Cook

Single: Rachel Beck Pens an Ode to Forests on ‘Stronger Than You Know’
April 17, 2020 by Alex Cook

New Music: The Strange Valentines Stand at Life’s Crossroads on ‘Forks’
April 18, 2020 by Maggie McLean

New Music: Weak Size Fish Will Carry You Away With ‘The Drift’
April 20, 2020 by Camilo Villamizar

New Music: Tachichi & Moves Are Not Slowing Down Anytime Soon With New Album ‘Pressure Posse’
April 20, 2020 by Sarah Hellingwerf

New Music: Mike McKenna Jr. Finds His Home on New Album ‘At the Edge of the World’
April 21, 2020 by Alexander MacNeil

Single: Cyrus R.O. Gives Us a Second Taste of His New Sound With ‘All My Cards Are On The Table’
April 22, 2020 by Sarah Hellingwerf

Single: Sound Drown Will Not Be Your Mario, ‘Your Princess Is In Another Castle’
April 24, 2020 by Sarah Hellingwerf

Single: Moonwake Brings New and Old Tricks to the Table in ‘Alarming Charm’
April 24, 2020 by Charlotte Simmons

New Music: ‘I’m New Here’ Zakary Miller’s Come-From-Away Album Settles in Quick
April 24, 2020 by Maggie McLean

New Music: Jon McKiel’s ‘Bobby Joe Hope’ Provides Hope for East Coast Art-Pop
April 27, 2020 by Alexander MacNeil

Single: Kylie Fox Releases Clever and Touching ‘Cool Feet’ for Friend’s Wedding Gift
April 28, 2020 by Alex Cook

Video Releases

Music Video: The Trews Release an Isolation Video for ‘God Speed Rebel’
April 3, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Video: Jon McKiel Gives Us the Star Trek Crossover We’ve Been Waiting for With ‘Object Permanence’
April 8, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Video: Dylan Menzie Releases ‘Wild’, Announces Upcoming Album
April 9, 2020 by Maggie McLean

Music Video: Prince Edward Island’s Musicians Celebrate Island Grown Potatoes with Stompin’ Tom’s ‘Bud the Spud’
April 11, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Video: Frantik Pays Tribute to His Uncle With Memorial Video ‘Cory’
April 12, 2020 by Sarah Hellingwerf

Music Video: Justin Fancy Has Been a ‘Long Time Comin” Getting Where He’s To
April 13, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Video: Jont Shares a Message of Hope Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic With ‘I Think It Could Be Possible’
April 15, 2020 by Alexander MacNeil

Music Video: Rich Aucoin Prepares for What Comes Next With ‘How It Breaks’
April 16, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Video: Justin Fancy’s ‘Think About You’ Is the Canadian Idol/Big Brother Canada Cross-Over We Weren’t Expecting
April 17, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Video: CHIPS Turn to Their Friends for ‘Mystery Love’
April 23, 2020 by Alex Cook

New Music: Joshua Van Tassel Calls for Eye-Contact With ‘Their Love Was Alive Before the Were Dead’
April 26, 2020 by Camilo Villamizar

Music Video: Adam Baxter Takes a Collaborative Approach in the Midst of Isolation with ‘All My Friends’
April 28, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Video: Wordburglar Describes the Universal Constant of ‘Your Friend’s Brother’
April 29, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Video: Rick Sparkes + The Enablers Return With a DIY Approach to ‘All the Gold in California’
April 30, 2020 by Alex Cook

Music Video: Émilie Landry Reflects on Achievements with ‘Y’ont essayé’
April 30, 2020 by Micaela Cockburn

#SorryWereClosed2020

So, 2020 has come with some complications. And then some more complications. And then wildfires, locusts, a plague and some aliens. We’re all doing our best to adjust to the new normal and working hard to put food on our families but some adjustments take a little time.

Fortunately, the good folks over at Press Time have created the #SorryWereClosed2020 campaign. They’ve created these wonderfully designed t-shirts for many small businesses as well as The East, and they are generously donating the profits towards keeping these small businesses (including us) afloat.

Also, we now get these sweet, limited edition t-shirts. We’re pretty excited about that too. Head on over to Press Time to pick up a t-shirt and support The East!

Patreon

Of course, our regular Patreon supporters deserve a big shout out. We the whole of the arts and culture industry facing some unique challenges, it’s you folks who are keeping the wheels on the bus right now. If you’d like to support our ongoing coverage of Atlantic Canadian arts and culture please visit www.patreon.com/TheEast.