Halifax Pop Explosion

{{Infobox music festival

| music_festival_name = Halifax Pop Explosion

| image = Halifax_Pop_Explosion_Music_Festival_&_Conference.png

| caption =

| location = Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

| years_active = 1993–1999
2001–2021

| dates = Mid-October

| genre = Indie rock, hip hop, punk rock, country, folk, experimental

| website = https://halifaxpopexplosion.com{{Dead link|url=https://halifaxpopexplosion.com/|date=January 2021}}

}}

The Halifax Pop Explosion (HPX) was a music festival and conference that occurred every fall, typically two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The term "Halifax Pop Explosion" also came to be adopted in the 1990s as the name of the Halifax alternative rock music scene as a whole, which at that time was dominated by power pop acts such as Sloan, Jale, The Super Friendz, and Thrush Hermit.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, (2011) Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995. (10th anniversary ed.) ECW Press. {{ISBN|978-1-55022-992-9}}. p. 457.

History

File:The Bicycles in Halifax, Oct 2012.jpgFounded in 1993, the Halifax Pop Explosion was three different events that are now remembered as one long-standing event.[http://thescenemagazine.ca/category/halifax-top-news/page/20/ "Halifax Pop Editor’s Picks"]. The Scene Oct 17, 2012 The original Halifax Pop Explosion, which was operated as a private business from 1993–1995, was created as a platform to celebrate Halifax's newfound fame as the "Seattle of the North" and home of Canadian grunge, as well as to promote local bands such as Sloan, The Inbreds, Jale, The Super Friendz, and Thrush Hermit.{{Cite web |title=The Halifax Music Scene Explodes |url=https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/the-halifax-music-scene-explodes}}

The company that organized the festival went out of business and a new organization launched the "Halifax On Music Festival", which ran successfully but not profitably for four years. The festival did not take place in 2000. In 2001, Waye Mason, a past owner of the Halifax On Music Festival, created the not-for-profit Halifax Pop Explosion Association to operate the festival for the good of the music community, regardless of long term profitability.{{Cite web |last=Thomson |first=Aly |date=2017-04-23 |title='We have a really important conjunction': Awards reveal Halifax's new pop chops |url=https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/we-have-a-really-important-conjunction-awards-reveal-halifax-s-new-pop-chops-1.3381188 |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=CTV News Atlantic |language=en}} The festival name returned to the Halifax Pop Explosion and the event doubled in size. The festival expanded its programming to support other genres within the independent music community, as well as the power pop for which it was best known for. By 2006, it was featuring acts from hip hop and electronica, to folk rock and alt-country, to punk and hardcore.[http://exclaim.ca/music/article/halifax_pop_explosion-october_30_to_november_1_-_halifax "Halifax Pop Explosion October 30 to November 1 - Halifax, NS"]. Exclaim!, Jan 01, 2006 by Matt Charlton, Susana Ferreira and Tara Thorne With 180 plus bands in 20 venues over five days, the festival exhibited considerable breadth in presenting new music.

In recent years, the music festival has been plagued with funding issues and allegations of systemic racism after an incident at the show of Colombian Canadian musician Lido Pimienta in 2017.{{Cite web |last=Mullin |first=Morgan |title=What is happening with the Halifax Pop Explosion? |url=https://www.thecoast.ca/arts-music/halifax-pop-explosion-cancelled-24338925 |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=The Coast Halifax |language=}} The 2020 Halifax Pop Explosion resulted in a deficit amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and since 2021, a new edition of the festival has not been held.{{as of?|date=August 2024}}

File:Tanika Charles.jpg

Venues

File:AIN'T NO LOVE-HPX-by-CHR!S-SM!TH-65.jpgMusic venues that have hosted the Halifax Pop Explosion include:{{Cite news |last=Cooke |first=Stephen |date=2019-10-24 |title=Walrus migrates home for HPX |pages=D1 |work=The Chronicle Herald}}{{Cite news |last=Cooke |first=Stephen |date=2014-10-22 |title=Halifax Pop Explosion: Against Me!'s punk digs under the skin |pages=Arts & Life |work=The Chronicle Herald}}{{Cite web |last=McCracken |first=Brennan |date=2014-08-21 |title=All-ages stages |url=https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/all-ages-stages-4398869 |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=The Coast Halifax |language=}}

The Seahorse Tavern
The Marquee Ballroom
Gus' Pub
CKDU Lobby
The Carleton
Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
Bus Stop Theatre
The Khyber
The Pavilion

Along with musical acts, the Halifax Pop Explosion had also hosted conferences annually at the Halifax Central Library. The conferences included the XPAND panel, which focused on inclusivity in music, and a Label Summit, to discuss issues within the music industry affecting labels and artists.{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Sarah |date=2016-09-06 |title=Halifax Pop Explosion Adds Daniel Caesar, the Luyas, She-Devils to 2016 Lineup |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/halifax_pop_explosion_adds_daniel_caesar_the_luyas_she-devils_to_2016_lineup |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=Exclaim!}}

2017 Lido Pimienta incident

A disruption occurred during Lido Pimienta's concert at the festival on October 19, 2017. According to a statement that was released by the festival, the incident involved a white volunteer photographer and several white audience members who reacted negatively when Pimienta invited "brown girls to the front" during her show. When the festival-sanctioned volunteer photographer, who was documenting the performance, refused to move after ten separate requests, Pimienta said, "You're cutting into my set time and you're disrespecting these women, and I don't have time for this."{{cite news |last1=Friend |first1=David |date=October 27, 2017 |title=Halifax music fest apologizes for 'overt racism' at Lido Pimienta concert |work=The Globe and Mail |agency=The Canadian Press |url=https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/halifax-music-fest-apologizes-for-overt-racism-at-lido-pimienta-concert/article36748656/ |accessdate=October 27, 2017}} The volunteer was no longer allowed to volunteer with the festival.{{Cite magazine |last=Bliss |first=Karen |date=2017-10-31 |title=Lido Pimienta Speaks Out After Racism Controversy at Halifax Pop Explosion Festival |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/lido-pimienta-speaks-halifax-pop-explosion-racism-controversy/ |access-date=2023-11-24 |magazine=Billboard |language=}} The organizers later apologized to Pimienta, and executive director James Boyle resigned over the incident.{{Cite web |last=Mullin |first=Morgan |date=2021-03-11 |title=What will it take to fix the Halifax Pop Explosion? |url=https://www.thecoast.ca/arts-music/what-will-it-take-to-fix-the-halifax-pop-explosion-26003149 |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=The Coast Halifax |language=}}

Related events

In addition to the music, the Halifax Pop Explosion supported a variety of independent arts and pop culture events every October. The Indie Zine and Label Fair, which had been growing since 1996, was replaced by more discrete events in recent years; for example, the Halifax Zine Fair, has been held annually since 1999 and occur concurrently with HPX in October.{{Cite web |last=MacLean |first=Alexa |date=2018-10-20 |title=Zine lovers from across Canada gather in Halifax for annual fair |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4576741/zine-fair-halifax/ |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=Global News |language=}} There is also a series of art gallery exhibitions staged around town.{{Cite news |last=Kirkman |first=Jen |date=2014-10-23 |title=Halifax Pop Explosion |pages=D2 |work=The Chronicle Herald |url= |access-date=}}