A lot has happened in the 11 years since Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) last performed in Halifax as part of the TD Halifax Jazz Festival.   The enigmatic indie-rocker released a trio of records (Masseducation, Daddy’s Home, and the 2024 release All Born Screaming), the world endured a global pandemic, and Donald Trump was elected President of the US twice.     Halifax has grown considerably as a whole over that time, including the dramatic transformation of its waterfront.

On her first visit to the city, St. Vincent was touring in support of her 4th full-length studio album.  For that eponymous effort, St. Vincent brought a tightly choreographed performance to the mainstage tent as part of the Halifax Jazz Festival.  That set was electric and innovative, but at the same time, it was cold and distant, which might have been the point.  That night, we had the opportunity to see St. Vincent fully embrace her talent and demonstrate why she is considered to be one of the greatest guitar players ever to wield an axe.

Then, on the final night of the 2025 TD Halifax Jazz Festival, St. Vincent made her highly anticipated return to the region, with a more traditional (but no less theatrical) performance.  Immediately, it was clear that St. Vincent looked genuinely plugged in and happy to be performing in Halifax; there was no longer this distance between her and her adoring fans.

Annie Clark was a great choice to headline the final night of the festival, as this was a more raucous affair than the previous 4 nights, as this was a proper rock show complete with St. Vincent crowd surfing during her performance of “New York”.    It was great to see that over the course of the last three album cycles, St. Vincent has developed a comfort and ease on stage, where she was loose, jovial and joking with the crowd throughout the performance.

Leanne Hoffman

Another brilliant choice on this evening was tapping talented Leanne Hoffman to open the night with her sultry, ethereal electro-pop tunes.   Hoffman was joined on stage by nearly all members of The Brood, which further elevated the music, along with the multimedia display that provided the backdrop.  For such a prestigious slot on the festival lineup, Leanne and her band absolutely crushed it, and definitely earned some new fans.

All in all, both St. Vincent and Halifax have undergone evolutions over the past 11 or so years.   Here’s hoping that we won’t have to wait another 11 years before Annie Clark returns to the region with new material.   With that, the 2025 TD Halifax Jazz Fest is in the books, and we look ahead to 2026 and the 40th Anniversary of the Festival.

St. Vincent

Leanne Hoffman