Submissions now closed. Thanks to all the bands.
What is HPX?
“Finding out you were selected to play HPX is like wining a prize. It is a gift to the band every time we get to play.” - Brian Borcherdt, Holy Fuck
The Halifax Pop Explosion (HPX) is a music, culture and media festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. HPX is a five day festival taking place in bars, small theatres and some larger multi-use venues (arenas, banquet halls) and is composed of 30-50 shows staged in venues as small as 90 seats and as large as 3500 capacity. The festival is not a corporate owned event. While we have sponsorship, we are a not-for-profit in a smallish city just to the east of nowhere. We do the festival for the love of the music and to bring bands to town that would normally never make the trip out here. Why Play HPX?
“We had a great experience playing Halifax Pop Explosion in 2008. I think it’s a great chance for many bands to play an amazing first show in an interesting city like Halifax. It’s the kind of festival that’s big enough for bands to have crowded shows, but small enough for you to feel that the people organizing it are doing it only out of love of music and live shows.” -Yonatan Gat, Monotonix
The festival is an artist and fan focused festival. Every show is programmed by festival organizers with the performers and fans in mind, with the goal of filling an appropriate sized room with happy fans listening to good bands through a good PA. There are no shows thrown together to up our numbers and be able to brag about how “700 bands play ever year”, rather, each band is selected for the fit with a show and the festival. All artists, big and small, can expect to have one of their most enjoyable times ever. Bands who played before and then returned to HPX usually book a couple days off to hang out and enjoy the festival. Bigger bands can expect to get more than they would get on a routed date, though circumstances of where we are and what we do means that we just don’t have the bucks pay crazy US style festival money. That said, flight costs and a great payday can be yours, as well as one of the best shows of your life. How do you decide who plays HPX?
“There is no other festival in Atlantic Canada with the profile of the Pop Explosion. I know I can rely on HPX to treat my artists well. The artists always want to go back and play again.” – Steven Himmelfarb, Agent, The Billions Corporation
We have headliners and showcasing acts. Showcasers have to apply, either through Sonicbids, or via the mail using our application form. Make sure you review our application policy on the application form PDF, no matter which way you apply. Every application is listened to by our Showcase Committee. Our belief is every band should have a fair chance. That being said, we get a tonne of applications and we have limited space, so hard choices are made. Headliners, their management, or their agents, should approach our Talent Director as early as possible. Halifax is pretty out of the way, and most “national” tours of Canada never get here for medium and large size acts. HPX is a great opportunity to get your artist into a market of 2 million people you might normally never play. Email talent (at) halifaxpopexplosion (dot) com.
Key Deadlines for Agents, Managers and Artists
Thursday, June 24, 2010 Showcase and Performance Application deadline, end of business today.
Monday, July 26, 2010 All performances must be confirmed and bio and photo received by this day.
Friday, September 3, 2010 Last day to buy an ad in our Program Guide.
Monday, September 20, 2010 Program guide on the street.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Festival starts, passes available.
Dates of Future Festivals
- Oct 18-22, 2011
- Oct 16-20, 2012
- Oct 22-26, 2013