Our 13th annual festival is coming up June 18th – 21st 2020 and we’re looking for people to help us build and shape our programme. 

For many years, we’ve been mindful of bringing people together in ways that challenge the music industry standards in Nova Scotia. In efforts to decentralize the ways that our programme is curated, we are inviting members in our local community to help us explore new corners, listen to new ideas, and amplify other voices. Compensation for committee members includes: an honorarium, access to all OBEY events and delicious snacks. Full details and application guidelines after the jump!

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Interested in taking part in our 2020 festival? Our dates are set for June 18 – 21st in beautiful K’jipuktuk / Halifax, NS. Four days of free ideas in sound and music featuring local, national and international artists. Nothing overlaps, no industry trash. Deadline to apply is December 10th. APPLY HERE.

  As we transition away from our former name and branding as OBEY Convention, we’re looking for a designer to help us realize a new visual identity for our organization. We’ve been undergoing an internal revisioning process and have identified ideas, adjectives, references and astrology-related themes from which to work. We’re now seeking someone to bring them to life!

Details after the jump…

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It’s been an entire season since you’ve heard from us. In the spring, along with hosting our 12th annual festival, two major things happened with OBEY: we issued an apology in light of an event we hosted that caused harm to our community and made it known that, due to a cease and desist, we need to change our name. We’re offering updates here on what we’ve been up to since and how you can get involved.  Details after the jump!

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A long overdue and massive ~THANKS~ to all the artists this year who shared their work with us, to the audiences who offered their attention, to the volunteers who gave their time and energy, to the venues who opened their doors to us, to the sponsors who made it possible, to our incredible board and staff. The last(?) OBEY was a deep and wild ride. Here’s to the futurity and endlessness of curious listening!

On Sunday, June 2nd, 2019, as part of our 12th annual festival, we hosted an event called Gay Guerilla: Julius Eastman, featuring the work of the late artist Julius Eastman, a queer, black composer based primarily in downtown New York City until his passing in 1991. This event was lead by Mary Jane Leach, a composer, researcher and friend of Julius Eastman and was facilitated by Nivie from We Are Missing, a collaborative community project that aims to create QTBIPOC programming in K’jipuktuk.

This event caused direct harm to those involved, those in attendance and to the broader communities surrounding our organization, particularly QTBIPOC folks. We recognize and name this as an instance of anti-black racism. We accept full responsibility for this harm and intend to take measures of accountability and transparency moving forward, in hopes of honoring those who experienced violence as a result of our negligence. We sincerely apologize to all those who faced harm/violence as a result of OBEY’s choices in programming this event. We recognize that an apology without direct action and change is meaningless, and plan to move forward by naming the harm caused, working to offer support / healing and implementing structural changes to how we program in hopes of reducing further possibilities of harm.

Three sections follow: a summary of the event and harmful behavior as we currently understand it, statements around background and internal processes, admissions and failures, and finally our intentions / action plan moving forward.

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The portal is about to open! Our 12th annual festival of music and sound kicks off this Thursday. Most things you need to know are on this website, any changes / updates going forward will be communicated through social media. Here are some quick pointers for ya just in case:

• Visit our online box office for advance tickets + passes
• Physical tickets and passes available at Lost & Found (2383 Agricola St.)
• Tickets at the door are CASH ONLY
• All ticketed shows are PAY WHAT YOU CAN. No one is turned away for lack of funds.
• Most of our events are FREE / All Ages
• If you’re curious and not sure where to start, click around our artist pages or send us a message!
• Detailed access notes to all venues are printed in our programme guide and in each FB event
• We have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for any form of discrimination / violence / hate of any kind, including but not limited to: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia, fatphobia, Islamophobia, ableism, ageism, sexual harassment and bullying. It is our intention to make events at our festival welcoming to all, including audience, staff, performers and volunteers. If at anytime you are made to feel unsafe, please let an employee or volunteer know. OBEY staff can be reached directly at 902-789-6239 (Andrew) or 514-554-6258 (Kat), or via e-mail at [email protected]. You will be heard and taken with the utmost seriousness!

See you in the fold / void!

— TEAM OBEY

Spring is peeking through the clouds on the Atlantic coast. Today we unveil the full schedule for OBEY XII, four days of new sounds and radical ideas. Head to our schedule page for an overview of the weekend. Everything before 6pm is FREE and open to ALL AGES. Evening and late night shows are ticketed on a PWYC basis at the door (cash only). Advance tickets for all events are live now, head to our online box office to scoop up a ticket and ensure entry. Or go all in and get a festival pass; nothing overlaps so with a pass, you can catch every single happening. See you this spring, at the edges of everything!

After a long winter of work, we’re psyched to unveil the full line-up and poster for OBEY Convention XII: May 30 – June 2nd. So many incredible artists will be lending their unique voices to this four day celebration of new ideas and radical sounding. Head to our Artists Page for a deeper dive and get to know the folks who’ll be touching in to turn heads and blow minds. The full schedule and individual tickets are coming up April 18th. In the meantime, a limited number of Festival Passes are still available (passes guarantee you access to every single moment of the fest). And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date. Join us this spring at the edges of everything!

We’re excited to announce this most special project as part of this year’s EverySeeker Symposium. Nikki A Basset and Elyse Moir, a duo of Halifax-based educators, organizers and music lovers, are facilitating a collaborative zine project to be launched May 31st as part of OBEY XII. The intention behind Resilience Resonates, the zine in question, is to advocate for and offer a platform to femme, trans, gender non-conforming, and two-spirit people within, throughout and around music communities. The duo are currently seeking contributions from folks all across the globe who identify as such.

If you’re interested in submitting something, we’ve got info on content, dimensions, guidelines and compensation after the jump!

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