LOUD WOMEN Fest Halifax: October is here, meet the full lineup

October is here, which means we are properly counting down to our return to Halifax.

On Saturday 24 October, LOUD WOMEN Fest takes over The Seahorse Tavern for the second year running, bringing together ten brilliant artists from Nova Scotia, Toronto and the UK.

Last year’s first Halifax Fest sold out and became one of our absolute favourite LOUD WOMEN adventures. So obviously we had to come back.

This year’s lineup is:

Alanna Matty + Altered by Mom + Amygdala Hijack + Burry + Freya Milliken + Penny & The Pits + SALTLAMP + Shoulder Season + Warlet + We, Cassie

It is a lineup that happily refuses to stay in one musical lane. Punk, indie, pop, folk, hip hop, synths, hardcore, garage, surf, queer joy, feminist fury and a lot of very good noise.

Meet the lineup

Alanna Matty is a Halifax singer-songwriter, producer and live looper making beautifully big-feeling alt-folk and indie-pop, with years spent building an international audience through live performance and streaming.

Toronto trio Altered by Mom describe what they do as “Happy Alternative”: gritty guitars, sharp melodies and punchy indie rock with roots stretching back to Nova Scotia.

Halifax queer femme/enby punk trio Amygdala Hijack pull hardcore, ska, pop-punk and folk into songs packed with heavy riffs and heavy feelings. They are properly DIY too, with their own bassist producing, mixing and mastering their recordings.

Long-time LOUD WOMEN pal Burry brings high-energy queer pop from Halifax. They’ve already joined us in London, Canterbury and Halifax, as well as playing across Canada and picking up an East Coast Music Award nomination along the way.

Freya Milliken blends folk and indie rock with beautifully direct songwriting, a rich voice and songs exploring queer love, longing and joy.

Split between Halifax and New Brunswick, Penny & The Pits bring surf, punk, garage and experimental noise. Their debut album Liquid Compactor turns feminist rage, revenge and joy into one gloriously gnarly package.

Halifax duo SALTLAMP make songs of queer and trans joy and fury, mixing punk, alternative, electronic and pop. You may already have heard their ‘Serrated Little Teeth’ soundtracking our LOUD WOMEN Fest Halifax advert on CKDU.

Dartmouth’s Shoulder Season formed when four women started making music together in a basement, building catchy synth-driven songs out of punk, indie rock, feminism and DIY community.

Brazilian-born Halifax artist Warlet is a singer, rapper and beatboxer moving between emo rap, hip hop, trap, urban Latin and R&B. She also holds the excellent distinction of having been a Female Latin American Champion in beatboxing.

And We, Cassie complete a bill deliberately built to jump between sounds, scenes and styles.

That breadth is exactly what LOUD WOMEN Fest is supposed to look like.