Each year, thousands gather in an east coast city to celebrate many of our most talented and successful local musicians. Returning this year to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the East Coast Music Awards brought excitement and an impressive lineup of shows to the city once again. It was a genuine pleasure to see a showcase of the abundance of talent here, and it was fun to get out just to enjoy the music. Our humble little side of this country has so much to offer when it comes to musicians, and it was a privilege to get to see so much of it in one place.
Some acts over the course of the weeklong musical showcase stuck out as being particularly memorable.
There’s no bigger stage on the east coast than the ECMA’s Award Show and Neon Dreams lived up to the challenge. The energy between these three guys is unwavering in its deliverance, and their performance did not disappoint.
The night of the Awards Show also featured the highlight of a comedic performance by the Roc-Pile: J-Roc’s gang on the Trailer Park Boys. The group reunited for a short appearance and had the audience at the Scotiabank Centre roaring with laughter. J-Roc (otherwise known as ECMA host Jonathan Torrens) left the park in 2016. Though reuniting outside of the park, the gang was still right at home in the city, which has a special appreciation for them.
Two highlights from the Marquee Ballroom were performances by Charlottetown’s Sorrey and Halifax’s own Mike Bochoff Band. Sorrey’s dreamy shoegaze sound and infectious riffs are captivating, and their catchy songs were circling in the heads of attendees for days afterwards. In addition, the Mike Bochoff Band reaffirmed everything we know about them by putting on a show with so much energy that their enthusiasm for what they do radiated from the stage and charmed the audience.
In addition, Jessie Brown graced the stage for the first time in a few months. Anyone who hasn’t been acquainted with her music should stop what they’re doing right now and go listen to it. And later, the night at the Marquee Ballroom ended with an explosive show by the lovely Christina Martin.
We rounded off the week at Gus’ Pub. Spirit Of The Wildfire opened up the night, wasting no time heating up the stage. These guys put on a show like no other, and we highly recommend checking them out the next chance you get. Also, Tactus from New Brunswick treated us that night to a collection of songs from their newest album, Glass Atlas.
Most importantly, this year the East Coast Music Awards were an opportunity for some artists to perform their highest function: they shared with us a message.
First was Classified’s performance of his song “Powerless.” The song sends a strong messages about the missing and murdered indigenous women. It touched everyone in the crowd and really hit home for many. Being an important topic to discuss, we were so glad to see Classified address this problem in front of a crowd of approximately 4000 people.
Another important message was embodied in Lionsault’s performance on the Loud Stage at Gus’ Pub & Grill that closed out the night of May 5th. The Miramichi band shook the room and brought with them the powerful female presence of singer Kortni Nicols, reminding us that some of the best and most badass performers slaying the stage are women. Nicols has been spearheading a movement to bring that very fact to festival organizers. She’s recently created The Women of East Coast Music, a resource for organizers to discover and draw from in the form of a readily available list of female-identifying performers to help reach gender parity on their lineups (hint: there’s no shortage).
While the East Coast Music Awards might be the biggest party on the coast, and while we’re highlighting what we do well, it doesn’t mean that we can’t make use of the conference to also highlight how we can all be doing things a little bit better.
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