The Halifax Pop Explosion (HPX) was a

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

and conference that occurred every fall, typically two weeks after

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

, in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The term "Halifax Pop Explosion" also came to be adopted in the 1990s as the name of the Halifax

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

music scene as a whole, which at that time was dominated by

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

acts such as Sloan, Jale, The Super Friendz, and Thrush Hermit.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, (2011) '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''. (10th anniversary ed.)

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canada, Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholar ...

. . p. 457.

History

Founded in 1993, the Halifax Pop Explosion was three different events that are now remembered as one long-standing event. The original Halifax Pop Explosion, which was operated as a private business from 1993–1995, was created as a platform to celebrate Halifax's newfound fame as the "Seattle of the North" and home of Canadian

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

, as well as to promote local bands such as Sloan, The Inbreds, Jale, The Super Friendz, and Thrush Hermit. The company that organized the festival went out of business and a new organization launched the "Halifax On Music Festival", which ran successfully but not profitably for four years. The festival did not take place in 2000. In 2001, Waye Mason, a past owner of the Halifax On Music Festival, created the not-for-profit Halifax Pop Explosion Association to operate the festival for the good of the music community, regardless of long term profitability. The festival name returned to the Halifax Pop Explosion and the event doubled in size. The festival expanded its programming to support other genres within the

independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a DIY ethic, do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties aff ...

community, as well as the

for which it was best known for. By 2006, it was featuring acts from

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

, to

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

and

alt-country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

, to

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and hardcore. With 180 plus bands in 20 venues over five days, the festival exhibited considerable breadth in presenting new music. In recent years, the music festival has been plagued with funding issues and allegations of systemic racism after an incident at the show of Colombian Canadian musician

Lido Pimienta Lido Pimienta (born 1986) is a Colombian Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence after her 2016 album, '' La Papessa'', won the 2017 Polaris Music Prize.COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and since 2021, a new edition of the festival has not been held. Tanika Charles

Venues

Music venues that have hosted the Halifax Pop Explosion include: * The Seahorse Tavern * The Marquee Ballroom * Gus' Pub * CKDU Lobby * The Carleton * Rebecca Cohn Auditorium * Bus Stop Theatre *

The Khyber The Khyber Centre for the Arts (est. 1995) is a queer-led artist-run centre located in downtown Halifax NS. The centre presents non-commercial artwork, offers a self-led platform for artists and their practices, and aims to disrupt systemic caus ...

* The Pavilion Along with musical acts, the Halifax Pop Explosion had also hosted conferences annually at the Halifax Central Library. The conferences included the XPAND panel, which focused on inclusivity in music, and a Label Summit, to discuss issues within the music industry affecting labels and artists.

2017 Lido Pimienta incident

A disruption occurred during

Lido Pimienta Lido Pimienta (born 1986) is a Colombian Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence after her 2016 album, '' La Papessa'', won the 2017 Polaris Music Prize.

References

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External links

Halifax Pop Explosion
official website Music festivals in Halifax, Nova Scotia Country music festivals in Canada Rock festivals in Canada Folk festivals in Canada Music conferences Music festivals established in 1993 Pop music festivals in Canada Conferences in Canada

History

Venues

2017 Lido Pimienta incident

Related events

See also

References

External links