Good morning!

As I was tuned into the East Coast Music Awards nomination live stream yesterday, I saw one name scroll by on the screen that I wasn’t surprised to see, necessarily, but delighted nonetheless.

I have to give a big shout out to my favourite venue in the entire universe: the Marigold Cultural Centre in scenic Truro, Nova Scotia.

Yes, my fiancee works there. Yes, I am extremely biased. Yes, I tagged along with them to Nova Scotia Music Week, and yes, I’m going to write about them anyway because they deserve it.

The Marigold is a special place within Truro. As you could imagine, it’s a town sparse for venues—or at least, when they pop up, they tend to close down some time later. The Commune is a great spot, and the Public House 1875 is coming along, but the Marigold is an institution. Local, national and international talent have graced that stage. It’s given small up-and-comers from Truro and beyond a place to play, and music fans like myself a place to listen.

They’re up for the ECMA’s Innovator of the Year award, and it is very well deserved indeed. When I was a reporter in Truro, I had several conversations with musicians about the state of its music scene, in which I was often told that it was long gone—an unfortunate consequence of the pandemic and aforementioned business closures.

Of course, the Marigold staff couldn’t sit and let this go on. My good pal Marshall Feit, former executive director of the Marigold, started the SUBVert concert series alongside promoter James Boyle. While the Marigold caters to many genres, SUBVert focused on the “weird”: psychedelic rock, hardcore, punk, even some stranger folk acts. It was all held in the Marigold lobby, not on the main stage, making it an intimate concert experience with the audience just a foot away from whoever was playing.

Truro needed SUBVert desperately. I’ve seen DJ mixes, hip-hop sets, emo bands and much more play in that lobby over the last year and a bit. It has expanded my breadth of knowledge of the local music scene through exposure alone, and judging from what I hear around town, those who felt the scene was dead are feeling it be revitalized.

SUBVert is still ongoing under the leadership of multi-talented wrestler man André Myette, another lovely person who cares deeply about the local arts scene. The lobby shows are happening monthly, with the next one scheduled for March 6th featuring the excellent Braden Lam and folk act Schoolhouse.

If you have the ability to make it to Truro for a show, give the Marigold a chance. They were nominated as innovators for a reason!

Best,

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

Today: 🌤️ -7°

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Next Day: ☁ -5°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

The East Coast Music Association has announced its nominees for the 38th annual East Coast Music Awards. Nova Scotia is heavily represented with 46 nominations in total.

Leading the pack in nominations is Cape Breton’s own Goldie Boutlier with seven nominations. Boutlier released her third album Goldie Boutlier Presents… Goldie Montana in September 2025 and is also nominated for a 2026 Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year. 

Right behind Boutlier is Daniel James McFadyen, a singer-songwriter based in Halifax who has been dominating Nova Scotia’s folk scene, with six nominations. The Nova Scotian sibling folk duo Cassie and Maggie are trailing McFadyen with five award nominations, tied with alt-country star Mallory Johnson, who recently released her latest album Over the Party.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer goes over all of the ECMA nominations announced at their press conference yesterday.

💙 A federal workplace incident report filed in wake of the death of RCMP officer Const. Heidi Stevenson and the wounding of one other officer during the April 2020 mass shooting has been released—while much of the information matches what came from the public inquiry, the report focuses on the response of the RCMP.

🚲 Mayor Andy Fillmore is once again looking at cuts to the city’s bike network, saying that a AAA-standard network is not necessary given the city’s financial situation—council has directed staff to redesign the segments on Novalea and Welsford Street to cut $1.8 million from the $85 million total project cost.

🪧 Staff from the former Ubisoft studio in Halifax will be taking to the Grand Parade on Thursday morning in a call for action rally on their recent closure—the video game publisher shut down the studio just weeks after 61 workers unionized, though it says the decision was made for financial reasons.

🍜 Dine Around is back. Eat out this February. Or order in. With specially-priced menus from great Halifax restaurants, there’s no reason to cook!*

🛋️ Your Counselling offers free therapy consultations to help you find the right therapist, ask questions, and begin counselling with confidence. Start your conversation today.*

*Sponsored Post

Thank you to everyone who continues to love White Point Beach Resort! Earning Gold in the Best of Halifax Awards means the world, because it reflects what we’ve always believed — that White Point is someplace truly special. This honour belongs to our incredible team, whose passion and care shape every guest experience, and to you – our loyal visitors who return year after year.

We’re proud to be a place where families connect, memories are made, and Nova Scotia shines. From vacation rentals, snug cottages, glomes, and treehouses to great food and the wild Atlantic at our doorstep, there’s a spot here for everyone... including the dog! Thank you for being part of our story and for helping make White Point the heart of Nova Scotia.

Stay today, call 1-800-565-5058 ext. 1 or online.

⚖️ Halifax police have charged a 69-year-old man for possession, making and distributing child sexual exploitation material, alleging he had done so using AI—police say evidence doesn’t suggest real children were harmed in the creation of the materials.

🎖️ Despite the Mass Casualty Commission’s inquiry into the April 2020 mass shooting finding widespread failures in the RCMPs response, the police are awarding 32 officers and staff for their involvement during the event—redacted filed do not list the award recipients.

⚡ More batteries for the power grid are being suggested by Nova Scotia’s Independent Energy System Operator as the province moves towards renewable energy sources—Nova Scotia Power are currently working on a third grid-scale battery storage.

Thank you for supporting Hope Blooms and voting us the Gold Winner for Best Community Project. This recognition belongs to our community and celebrates the impact of our work in education, food security and empowerment. To all the community organizations doing inspiring work—it truly takes a village.

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 ANSMA Town Hall - Songwriting Session with Yohvn Black: The African Nova Scotian Music Association is partnering up with hip-hop artist Yohvn Black for a special songwriting workshop to create, connect and inspire. | Jan. 29 | 6:30PM |

🗓 Matt Billon Day: An evening of laughter and joy, celebrating the life and legacy of late Canadian comedian Matt Billon. All proceeds go to the Billon Foundation’s support of those in need of mental health or addiction services. Held at The Basement. | Jan. 29 | 7:30PM | $20 |

Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].

🚢 The Algoscotia tanker arrived in Halifax from Corner Brook at 2:45am.

🚢➡️ The One Falcon container ship arrived in Halifax from Singapore at 4:45am and departs for New York at 11pm.

➡️ The Few BPS tanker departs Halifax for the United States at 8am.

🚢➡️ The Bakkafoss container ship arrives in Halifax from Portland (Maine) at 8:15am and departs for Argentia at 6pm.

🚢 The Sloman Discharger arrives in Halifax from Charleston at 8:30am.

➡️ The Ocean Seeker research vessel departs Halifax at 9am.

Gold winners in the 2026 Best of Halifax Awards Poll. Signal Hill concerts are a blend of original, traditional Newfoundland, Irish and Cape Breton music, along with often unexpected pop and rock covers like Bohemian Rhapsody. Recognized again this year for Best Cover Band in Halifax. "Thank You, Coast Readers!"

🍖The Parkside Pub & Smokehouse as a two-person platter any meat lover would love. The three-course meal features brisket sliders or esquites, a full smokehouse platter and a house dessert for $60. On all throughout February!

🥪 Another week, another delicious sandwich from Larry’s Sandwiches & Sides. They’re featuring a Beef Short-rib Philly Cheesesteak with braised beef short-rib, Amber Horizons cheese sauce from 2 Crows Brewing, sautéed onions and peppers, house pickled jalapeños and crispy onions all on a house made sourdough bun.

✖️ There was an opportunity these past few weeks, amid a timeline of farcical peace prizes, political pandering and American expansionism, for Canada to stand with its allies and hold at least one corrupt billionaire accountable. Britain and Australia were debating banning X, said reports, and Canada was also weighing its options. Instead, Evan Solomon, Canada’s minister for artificial intelligence and digital innovation, took to X himself to set the record straight: the government was not considering a ban. X’s owner, Elon Musk, immediately praised Solomon’s statement as a win for “free speech.” Make no mistake: Musk is no friend of Canada and his endorsement of Solomon confirms that the Canadian government is making a mistake in not discussing a ban of  X. The fact that our politicians continue to freely use a platform owned by a billionaire who discredits Canadian sovereignty while filling feeds with violent, sexual AI-generated images of women and children is a moral and political failure. Our elected officials must do better. Journalist Josh Healey writes about the need for the feds to ditch X, just as HRM did.

👩‍⚕️ Auditor general Kim Adair voiced the need for more transparency in the performance of Nova Scotia’s healthcare system—in a report, she says it’s difficult for taxpayers to see where their dollars are going without proper data to paint a picture.

🚗 Halifax regional council has rejected a bylaw change that would have seen more oversight for drivers working with ride-hailing companies—Uber Canada specifically opposed the changes, which would have seen oversight requirements better match those for taxi and limousine drivers.

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