With the 2025 edition of the 2025 TD Halifax Jazzfest, organizers kicked off the festival with Adam Baldwin and the Jenny Wren headlining, with the wildly talented artist Aquakultre providing support.   The script was flipped a bit in 2025, as the free show of the festival has typically fallen towards the back half of the week, but rarely kicks the festival off.  In recent years, those free shows have featured Halifax’s Last Waltz Tribute, and Rankin MacInnis & The Broken Reeds, always a local fan favourite, and this year was no different, with the pairing of Aquakultre and Adam Baldwin, both of whom are beloved by many in the region.  

The great thing about the free Jazzfest performances is that the gates are flung open wide, welcoming in patrons of all ages.  On this night, you could look around and see plenty of younger faces in the crowd, some of whom were taking in their first big concert, or others who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to see someone like Adam Baldwin (or Aquakultre).   During the headlining set, Adam Baldwin split his time between his trusted keyboard and standing centre stage behind the mic.   Many of us in attendance are hungrily awaiting the new Adam Baldwin record, that he has been workshopping for the past year, slowly peppering in new songs to his setlists (“Western Star” and “Kings Pier Soiree”) alongside his gems “Dark Beside the Dawn”, “Causeway Road” and the obligatory closer “Love You With My Eyes Closed”.  

It was clear, by the number of attendees on the opening night of the Jazzfest mainstage, that this was an absolute success, as the festival grounds were crammed full of folks looking for a healthy dose of local live music.   Both Adam and Aquakultre set the bar high for the week that was to follow. 

Adam Baldwin

Aquakultre