Halifax’s Wildfire Recovery Concert was a success, raising $330,000 for United Way
On Friday, June 9th, the Nova Scotia music industry came together within 7 days to present a nearly sold-out Wildfire Recovery Concert in Halifax. Local musicians and other talents all donated their time to make it happen, and through the profits of tickets, concession sales, and parking – $330,000 was raised for the United Way to distribute to those affected by the wildfires in communities such as Tantallon and Hammonds Plains area, as well as Shelburne County. It was an unforgettable night of music in support of a great cause.
The night kicked off at 7 pm with Cape Breton’s Rankin MacInnis and The Broken Reeds, joined on stage by reggae musician Jah’Mila. With MacInnis on bagpipes for the first song, it really set the tone for the largest Kitchen Party!
The next performer – Joe H. Henry – wrote a new song called “All Hands” as an ode and dedication for all of the people affected by the wildfires, first responders, and all of those helping out behind the scenes.
Dave Sampson is a singer-songwriter from Sydney and is now based in Halifax, and performed a few songs including his hit “Trouble” which had those on the floor out of their seats. As he left the stage he received a standing ovation.
Rock musician Joel Plaskett was joined on stage by his band the Emergency and performed a few songs including some classics like “I Love This Town” and “Nowhere With You,” as well as a newer song “Brand New & Brokenhearted.” I Love This Town seemed especially fitting for the night with the line “there’ll be drinks on the house if your house burns down.”
Halifax alt-pop duo Neon Dreams (Frank Kadillac and Adrian Morris) were next and performed a handful of songs including “High School Dropout” and “Little Dance.”
DeeDee Austin – a pop singer-songwriter from Fall River – was the youngest performer of the night at 17 years old, but that didn’t stop her from owning the stage! She performed some of her songs like “Natural, Born Original” and also a cover of Canadian Tate McRae’s “she’s all i wanna be.”
Dartmouth indie rock singer-songwriter Adam Baldwin and his band the Jenny Wren were next, which saw Baldwin on the piano for most of the set and rocking his shirt from Halifax pub the Midtown Tavern – a place he applied to work at years ago and didn’t quite make it, but at least he finally got the shirt!
Halifax folk pop singer-songwriter Jenn Grant shared the stage with fellow artist Kim Harris. They complemented each other perfectly, creating some incredible musical harmonies that blew the audience away. Grant even stopped for a short impromptu interview on her way off stage, showing off her gold fringe tassels from Etsy.
Enfield rapper and hip-hop artist Classified had the whole crowd standing when he hit the stage! I’ve seen Classified over 10 times and he’s always a good time. He performed his songs, “Inner Ninja,” “3 Foot Tall,” “Higher” and “Good News” with Owen ‘O’Sound’ Lee.
To end the night, Dartmouth indie rocker Matt Mays was joined by his band–including Adam Baldwin and singer Christina Martin. They performed hits such as “Cocaine Cowgirl” and “Take it on Faith,” as well as many others. Jenn Grant came out to join Mays for “Chase the Light,” which featured Toronto’s July Talk’s sparkle light umbrella and a crowd of phone flashlights.
For the special encore, Matt Mays and the band returned to the stage along with all the other performers of the night to perform “Lost Together” by Blue Rodeo. Mi’kmaq artist Alan Syliboy was also featured throughout the night as he painted a drum head on stage to be auctioned off for more fire recovery profits. This drum head was held up during the encore and the winning bid was $6,100! The drum head shows the regrowth and rebuilding after the wildfire disaster.
