Music Festivals

Music Festivals
When you visit Nova Scotia, you'll discover there’s so much on the musical menu - from the fiddles and reels of our world famous roots music to the greatest rock n’ roll bands on earth, indie sensations getting their start at a small town festival, international jazz stars jamming on the waterfront and a symphony serving up beer and Beethoven. Nova Scotia is where great music is made to be heard.
Celtic Colours
Amidst the vivid fall colours of the Cabot Trail, the sounds of fiddles, pipes, and song echo across Cape Breton for nine days every October. Celtic Colours International Festival brings over 250 musicians, dancers, singers, and storytellers to community venues around the island, to the delight of enthusiastic audiences. Winner of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s 2011 Cultural Tourism Award and a member of the Canadian Tourism Commission’s Signature Experiences Collection.
Music Festivals in the City
As a music-loving city that loves to celebrate, Halifax is home to a lot of great music festivals. The TD Halifax Jazz Festival hosts live jazz, blues, roots, and world music from more than 500 performers over eight sizzling summer days and nights with the main stage situated on the beautiful waterfront. In the fall, the city is vibrating with the sounds of the Halifax Pop Explosion, an international music festival and conference that presents 150 bands in 20 venues over five days.
Folk Music
Folk music lives in the hearts of many Nova Scotians and two of our favourite festivals are the Stan Rogers Folk Festival and the Deep Roots Music Festival. Every July over 12,000 music fans descend on the beautiful seaside community of Canso. It’s a whirlwind weekend of folk, country, jazz, blues, rock and bluegrass on seven outdoor stages in honour of music legend, Stan Rogers. In September, Wolfville plays host to local, national, and international singer-songwriters for a weekend celebrating all things folk music – singing, dancing, & drumming.