🥍 Thunderbirds Cinderella Season + new music & this weeks events
Hey Halifax!
Our Halifax Thunderbirds are on an insane run to cap off a truly Cinderella season, Joel Plaskett and Mat Hughes have brand new music, the Ha!ifax Comedy Fest is in full swing, and we’ve got tons of great events as per usual.
Plus, check out local rap legend Quake Matthews on the 30 Minutes on High pod talking about hanging out with Ice Cube, working with B-Real, and how much fame he actually wants.
Let's dig in 👇
Last Week of CanQuest: Enter to win $5k
We’re into the final days of Burnside Brewing’s CanQuest. We hid 99 purple cans in cases of Toller and Toller Gold across the province, and there are still ~50 unclaimed cans. Find one and you instantly win a $50 Burnside Brewing giftcard and 3 months of free internet from Purple Cow when you switch from your current provider.
Every entry guarantees your first month free and an entry into the $5k grand prize draw.
Grab a specially marked case of Toller or enter for free online.
🥍 Thunderbirds: One win from the Cup Final
A month or so ago it looked like the Halifax Thunderbirds basically had to win 4 of their last 5 games in order to have a shot at clinching a playoff spot. After clinching with a 12-6 win over Ottawa in their final regular season game and coming from behind with nine unanswered second-half goals to beat the #1 seed Vancouver Warriors in the quarterfinals on the road, the Thunderbirds find themselves up 1-0 in a best of 3 series against the #2 seed Georgia Swarm.
Game 2 goes Saturday in Halifax at Scotiabank Centre. Game 3, if needed, will also be in Halifax. Buy tickets.
And to make this even more of a Cinderella season…
The Wilson Brothers
The Thunderbirds acquired Casey Wilson on March 9 in a trade with the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, reuniting the 4th-overall pick in the 2025 NLL Draft with his older brother Max, a Thunderbird since 2021. The Wilsons grew up in Victoria, BC, but their dad moved to Halifax for work about a year before Max was drafted — and the family's roots run back to a potato farm in PEI. It's the third time the brothers have been on the same team, and in Game 1 against Georgia, Casey put up a goal and three assists. Read more on CTV.
Quick Hits
🎤 Ha!lifax Comedy Fest is in town May 6–10. The CBC-recorded gala already kicked it off Tuesday at the Lighthouse Arts Centre. The All-Star Show is tonight (Lighthouse, 7:30 PM); the Friday + Saturday Galas of Laughs are at the Spatz Theatre; Laugh at Lunch is free at the Central Library Friday at noon; the AMI All Access show closes things Sunday at Spatz. Full lineup: halifaxcomedyfest.ca.
🎸 Wintersleep is back at the Marquee. May 16 is sold out, May 15 still has tickets. Don’t miss this one. Get tickets.
🎬 Mat Elliott's debut LP Video Games is out. The Halifax songwriter talked to The Coast last week about burnout and writing a record about distractions. The Coast
🥅 The Mooseheads are putting $3M into Dartmouth. The team's expanding its RBC Centre training facility — $1.6M on construction, another ~$1.3M on equipment and interiors. New gym, sauna, cold plunge, bigger social space, and a public-access washroom. They're paying for it; HRM gets a market-rate lease. CBC
⚽️ The Tides tied Toronto on the road. A 0–0 draw at BMO Field on Sunday. Rylee Foster faced 13 shots and didn't blink. Halifax sits second in the NSL through two games — 1-0-1, four points, +2 goal differential. CBC
🎭 Mayworks final weekend is loaded. On The Line, Found in Translation, and Am I Ovary-Acting? all run at the Bus Stop on Sunday May 10. Most are PWYC or $10–$15.
🎤 Laura Roy's Late Bloomer Season album release show. Grammy nominated, Sabrina Carpenter & Dua Lipa-approved, and one of the UK’s most in demand backup vocalists. Do not miss this show. Saturday, May 31, 8 PM, The Sanctuary Arts Centre, $30. Buy tickets.
🍴 Food for the Ears Festival is back, this summer at Alderney Landing. 20 year old Ethan Chitty's annual two-day music festival and Feed NS fundraiser locks in for June 12-13 with a stacked lineup including Rankin MacInnis & The Broken Reeds, Morgan Toney, The Public Service, Elyse Aeryn, and Good Dear Good. More from us on this one soon. Buy tickets.
Featured East Coast Pod |
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30 Minutes On High · Episode 69 Quake Matthews on a Run-Off Steak from Crosby Quake's second time on the pod, fresh off Deuces — his new two-pack — and an Ice Cube hangout in Detroit (he picked the smaller market on purpose, figuring Cube would have fewer people to see). Plus the B-Real DM that became a free Cypress Hill remix, the CTV hot tub interview the internet thought he orchestrated, and the perfect level of fame: enough to catch a runoff steak from Sidney Crosby. Watch on YouTube |
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Mat Hughes “Coleslaw Summer” First single off Mat’s debut LP (out October 9). Origin per Mat: a sunburned day at Carter’s Beach with no food or water, then a stop at Dixie Lee in Liverpool where he got hungry enough to eat the soupy coleslaw that comes in the little plastic dish — a garnish he’d always treated as inedible, on par with tiki umbrellas. The song he wrote out of that joke wrestles with making art in 2025. Recorded at Joel Plaskett’s Fang Recording in Dartmouth. Listen on Spotify | ||
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Joel Plaskett Emergency “Fill in the Blanks” First new Emergency music since 2021’s Twenty Years Gone revisit of Down at the Khyber. Plaskett wrote it in 2024 as an assignment for an online course on Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media, of all things. His own framing: “April Wine jamming with Steve Miller but then Dave [Marsh] and Chris [Pennell] took it to Portland Street like they always do.” Limited 7” on turtlemusik / ADA / Warner — A-side streaming now, the original cassette demo on the B-side hits streaming May 29. Listen on Spotify | ||
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🎭 Mayworks closes this weekend
🩰 everything i wanted to tell you (but couldn't, so here it is now)
Breaking Circus — winner of three Dora Mavor Moore Awards. Two dancers locked in a liminal space of shared memories and the difficult things left unsaid, navigating change without letting go.
Thu May 7 + Fri May 8 · 7:30 PM · Bus Stop Theatre · $10 advance / $15 door
👉 Get tickets
🎹 Music of Liberation — John Kameel Farah
Palestinian-Canadian pianist and composer playing what he calls "Arabic-Baroque-Cyberpunk" — paired with projections of his own ink drawings. All proceeds to The Sameer Project for relief in Palestine.
Sat May 9 · 7:00 PM · Joseph Strug Concert Hall · $10 advance / $15 door
👉 Get tickets
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Thursday, 5/7
Halifax Comedy Festival: All Star Show @ Light House Arts Centre - 6:30 PM
Better Times Comedy at Good Robot @ Good Robot Brewing - Robie St. Taproom, Store & Beer Garden - 7:00 PM
Is Funny at The Seahorse @ Seahorse Tavern - 7:00 PM
8 TIX LEFT! J.P. Cormier & Jake Lauzon @ The Carleton - 7:30 PM
ALT CTRL – Supergroup Therapy Class @ Marquee Ballroom - 8:00 PM
Dave Sampson: One Night Only @ Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs - 9:00 PM
Friday, 5/8
Karv Dance Challenge @ Light House Arts Centre - 11:30 AM
Laugh at Lunch @ Halifax Central Library - 12:00 PM
Big Easy Fridays with Mike Cowie & John Alphonse @ Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs - 5:30 PM
Three Days Grace - Alienation Tour @ Scotiabank Centre - 7:00 PM
Neon Dreams @ Rebecca Cohn Auditorium - 7:30 PM
2b presents Your Show Here @ The Bus Stop Theatre - 7:30 PM
Friday Gala of Laughs @ Spatz Theatre - 7:30 PM
Light & Shade @ The Carleton - 8:00 PM
Kyle Hickey at Yuk Yuk's Halifax @ Yuk Yuk's Halifax Comedy Club - 8:00 PM
Old Man Luedecke in Dartmouth @ The Sanctuary Arts Centre - 8:00 PM
Comedy Power Hour @ Monte's Showbar Grill - 8:00 PM
Not Made for TV @ Atlantica Hotel Halifax - 9:00 PM
IDialedYourNumber, Earth moon transit, fishmonger, Fencing @ Woodside Beverage Room and Grill - 9:00 PM
Nicholas Campbell Band @ Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs - 9:30 PM
Oblivion – Presented by Gentle Jane @ Seahorse Tavern - 10:00 PM
Egyptian Lover in Halifax, w. CPR b2b Swee, Sir Real b2b Mìlu – Big Speaker Freakout XII @ Marquee Ballroom - 10:00 PM
Saturday, 5/9
Pub Comedy at the Lower Deck (1pm) @ The Lower Deck - 1:00 PM
Broadway Brunch - Mother's Day Edition - Saturday @ The Carleton - 1:00 PM
Pub Comedy at the Lower Deck (3pm) @ The Lower Deck - 3:00 PM
HEIST: The Princess Show: Halifax matinee @ Marquee Ballroom - 3:30 PM
Dram-a-Draw (New Brunswick) @ Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs - 4:00 PM
2026 Thunderbirds Playoffs v. Georgia Swarm @ Scotiabank Centre - 7:00 PM
The Halifax Beltane Ball 2026 @ The Sanctuary Arts Centre - 7:00 PM
Kyle Hickey at Yuk Yuk's Halifax @ Yuk Yuk's Halifax Comedy Club - 8:00 PM
Party With The Lounge Flys @ Monte's Showbar Grill - 8:00 PM
HEIST: The Princess Show: 10th Anniversary Tour – Halifax @ Marquee Ballroom - 8:30 PM
3 STANDING TIX ONLY! Rasta Gumbo @ The Carleton - 9:00 PM
LABYRINTH @ Seahorse Tavern - 9:00 PM
Not Made for TV @ Atlantica Hotel Halifax - 9:00 PM
The Wharf Rats: A Grateful Dead Tribute @ Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs - 9:30 PM
Sunday, 5/10
Broadway Brunch - Mother's Day Edition - Sunday @ The Carleton - 1:00 PM
AMI All Access Comedy Show @ Spatz Theatre - 3:00 PM
Sloecooker Mountain Music @ Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs - 3:30 PM
Mayworks presents On The Line @ The Bus Stop Theatre - 4:00 PM
Mayworks presents Found in Translation/Trouvé dans la traduction @ The Bus Stop Theatre - 4:00 PM
(IF NEEDED) 2026 Thunderbirds Playoffs v. Georgia Swarm @ Scotiabank Centre - 7:00 PM
Halifax Urban Folk Festival Presents: Shaun Kirk (Australia) @ The Carleton - 7:00 PM
Mayworks presents Am I Ovary-Acting? @ The Bus Stop Theatre - 7:00 PM
Monday, 5/11
Bearly-a-Trivia @ Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs - 6:00 PM
Goodwill Trivia Mondays (Click For Reservations) @ Good Robot Brewing - Robie St. Taproom, Store & Beer Garden - 7:00 PM
Open Song Circle with Noah Tye! 8pm @ Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs - 8:00 PM
Tuesday, 5/12
Garrett Mason @ Bearly's House of Blues & Ribs - 8:30 PM
Wednesday, 5/13
Bad Banana presents Small Crimes: An Evening of Stand-up & Improv @ The Bus Stop Theatre - 7:30 PM
That’s it for this week!
Got an event we should know about? Hit reply and let us know!
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