CHMA’s annual fundraiser features both local and out-of-town acts.
With the winter semester just beginning, Sackville’s longest running music festival is getting ready to continue the trend of stealing the student populace away from their studies before they even have a chance to begin them. Stereophonic takes place from Jan. 15 to 18, with twenty-six performances across the four days. The eleventh rendition of the festival is set to feature a balanced mix of both local and out-of-town acts.
The first night kicks off at the Legion. Lucas Hicks will start the festival with his signature lo-fi indie standing alongside another Sackville regular, B.A. Johnston, who manages to get his Hamilton-based act into town about once or twice a year. To end the night, Max Grizzly and the Entertainment will play their fully fleshed out folk. Johnston’s performance promises to put his signature wackiness on display, which will provide an interesting counterbalance to the night’s folk and indie elements.
Thursday will begin on a slightly more laid back note. The melodic folk of Michael Duguay will strike the first chord at 7:30 pm at the University Chapel. The tone promises to persist through the second half of the set with Nick Ferrio’s vocally-driven country songs. Afterward, however, the night will take on a heavier tone. Windsor, Ontario-based duo, Good Things, is playing in the Pond after a successful Indiegogo campaign allowed for the band’s reunion in the Maritimes. Their speedy pop punk songs will be played along the loud and rumbling hardcore punk of Grease Beast, who are quickly making a name for themselves as one of Sackville’s heaviest bands. Halifax’s Walrus will provide a much needed break from the intensity, rounding out the second night of the festival with their laid back psychedelic pop.
Friday will begin with a show in the Vogue that will feature a trio of projects. Pat LePoidevin will be back in town having completed his nation-spanning album release tour for American Fiction. Baby Eagle will be playing in the absence of the Proud Mothers but will be joined by the Nova Scotian-pop-folk of Jennah Barry. The festival will then take up residence on the far side of town at George’s Roadhouse with a five band set showcasing both Sackville and Nova Scotia punk and general heaviness with The Grubbies, the elusive Weird Lines, Construction & Destruction, and the Mouthbreathers. The evening’s final set will be topped off by Julie Doiron and the Wrong Guys, the lynchpin of Sackville music.
A live music showcase of the Radio Girls Rock Camp will begin the last day of the festival at 2 pm in the Vogue. The week-long program, which aims to positively encourage girls through music, will provide an opener for Dark for Dark’s light-hearted folk. Afterward, Struts will play host to a trio of rock acts—Boxers, Wooden Wives, and Jerk Damaged—that will feature aspects of punk and garage throughout. To cap off the weekend, a final show at George’s will feature the punk as always Kappa Chow, the alt-folk and country of Nap Eyes and Fiver, and Baby Eagle and the Proud Mothers playing a blend of folk, country, and garage rock.
Passes can be purchased for $45 at the Stereophonic headquarters on Bridge Street. Individual shows have cover prices ranging from five to twenty dollars.
