Ten women and non-binary acts from Halifax, Dartmouth, Toronto and the UK play the Seahorse Tavern on Saturday, October 24. Last year’s first Halifax fest sold out, so grab your ticket early.
Doors 5pm · 19+ · 2037 Gottingen St
Cassie started it partly so she wouldn’t be the only woman at the gigs she played with her bandmates. The first show was a sold-out night at the Silver Bullet in North London, and it was Dream Nails’ debut.
“What if we put on gigs where women, trans and non-binary artists were the scene, not the diversity hire?”
Cassie Fox, to Joyzine
LOUD WOMEN now runs fests in London, Bristol, Newport, Berlin, Hamburg, New York, Toronto, Colorado, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Halifax. Every show is not-for-profit and the money goes to the artists. Cassie told Kerrang! she has about 650 people on the volunteer list worldwide. Halifax got its fest right after Australia and New York.
Cassie plays bass in I, Doris, a band she calls “menopausecore kitchenpunks”, and she’s back in Nova Scotia in November as an international delegate at Nova Scotia Music Week. Here at home, Heather Harris of Kilmore helps make the Halifax fest happen.
Burry has been a LOUD WOMEN regular for years, playing the fest in London and Canterbury and on last year’s first Halifax bill. Their high-energy queer pop earned an East Coast Music Award nomination, and their newest single, “The Devil”, came out October 2. Start with “No Hard Feelings”.
Play “No Hard Feelings”
Alanna Matty is a singer-songwriter and producer who builds big alt-folk and indie-pop songs live with a looper. Her album Epilogue came out in August, and “Bottle Up” is the song from it getting the most plays on Spotify.
Play “Bottle Up”
Warlet is a singer, rapper and beatboxer from São Paulo who moves between emo rap, hip hop, trap, urban Latin and R&B. She was the 2021 Female Latin American Champion in beatboxing, and her Halloween EP DEAD7Y, seven tracks built around the seven deadly sins, comes out Friday, the day before the fest.
This Toronto trio calls its gritty, punchy indie rock “Happy Alternative”, and the band has roots in Nova Scotia.
A queer femme and enby punk trio that pulls hardcore, ska, pop-punk and folk into the same songs. Their bassist produces, mixes and masters their recordings.
Freya writes direct folk and indie rock songs about queer love, longing and joy. She played HUFF’s songwriters’ circle at the Carleton with Skye Wallace and Mick Davis in September.
Penny & The Pits mix surf, punk, garage and experimental noise. Their debut album, Liquid Compactor, came out in June 2025.
This duo writes songs of queer and trans joy and fury across punk, alternative, electronic and pop. If you’ve heard the fest’s ad on CKDU, that’s their song “Serrated Little Teeth”.
Four women who started making music together in a basement and now write catchy, synth-driven songs out of punk, indie rock and feminism.
We, Cassie are the one act on Saturday’s bill from outside Canada, coming over from the UK.
Doors are at 5pm at the Seahorse Tavern, 2037 Gottingen Street, and the music runs until 11:30pm. It’s 19+. LOUD WOMEN hasn’t posted set times yet, so we’ll add them here when they do.
There’s a raffle at the merch table all night, with prizes from Taz Records, Bookmark Booksellers, Venus Envy and the bands themselves. The fest T-shirt is only sold at the show, so pick one up while you’re there.
