Following a very unique Valentine’s Day surprise of a cease-and-desist letter from Los Angeles-based street art and clothing brand OBEY Giant last year, Halifax’s OBEY Convention were left somewhat adrift. Nearly a year later, the genre-fluid festival have announced they’ve rebranded – with a new name, new look, and a new winter series of shows and workshops.
“There is a lot of fear associated with when you get a letter from a millionaire telling you to stop doing something,” OBEY’s creative director Andrew Patterson told us not long after receiving the cease-and-desist.
The letter came from a law firm representing street artist Shepard Fairey, known for his OBEY posters and his famous stylized stencil poster of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama adorned with the word “hope.”
The letter arrived just a couple months ahead of the 12th edition of the festival. While organizers say they were “generously” allowed to continue using the name for their 2019 iteration, it was clear that the festival was headed for a change.
“We are very excited to be ringing in 2020 with a new name and vision. For the past 12 years, we’d been operating in K’jipuktuk / Halifax as OBEY Convention, a curatorial platform that sought constant, punk-infected reinvention,” explain the festival’s organizers. “From harsh noise, deep psych, swamp rock and hardcore to free jazz, contemporary classical, hip-hop, ambient and so much more, OBEY eschewed genre-specific programming while remaining decidedly different in our offerings.
“The process of having to reimagine our identity has given us an opportunity to reflect on our past, filled to the brim with exciting, heady, inspiring, mysterious, and challenging moments. We’ve been dreaming big and planning carefully; taking stock of our successes, our shortcomings and—most crucially—how we can move forward with greater clarity, care and impact.”
Organizers explain that the new moniker, EVERYSEEKER, comes from Sheryl Haws, partner of festival founder Darcy Spidle, who coined the name as a label for their educational lectures and workshops.
“Legend has it that ‘every’ and ‘seeker’ were plucked from the beginning of a poem Haws had been reading while Spidle was trying to name this new aspect of the festival.”
Along with the announcement of their new identity, the festival has announced they’ll be launching a winter series of monthly, ticketed, pay-what-you-can performances and free public workshops.
Already on the line-up are Chicago’s hottest spiritual jazzer Angel Bat Dawid, Toronto’s incendiary club queen , Philadelphia afrofuturist punk Moor Mother and Brooklyn-based astral flute traveler Ka Baird. They’ll be supported by several local talents, including New Hermitage, NAT Chantel, Delvina Bernard, Fragment, BLKRWK, Tangent, Maximata, DJ Regalia, DJ Fancy Pants and DJ HIIGH KEE.
EVERYSEEKER, the festival proper, will see its reincarnation as a four-day summer festival, set from June 18 – 21, 2020. Line-up announcements for the festival are expected to roll-out sometime next month.