Ask a Local: The Places in Halifax That Helped Me Find My Sound

This is my favourite trail in Halifax. Its tall, towering trees create a cool atmosphere that makes it perfect for retrospection, conversations, or even listening to your favourite album (rollercoasteR, perhaps).

The trail feels endless, with different paths connecting to different neighbourhoods. There are benches along the way where you can take a break, and the landscape changes beautifully with the seasons.

Walking here gives me space to think. I did it a lot while working on my newest album, and it continues to be one of my favourite places to step away from everything for a while.

A gem tucked into Halifax’s North End.

My suggestion is to enter from the Hydrostone area. It’s a great contrast. One minute you’re surrounded by the shops, restaurants, and activity of the Hydrostone, and then you find yourself somewhere much quieter.

While creating this album, my emotions were highly involved. One day when I was feeling overwhelmed, a good friend took me on a walk to Fort Needham. As we entered, it felt like a heavenly garden. The atmosphere was peaceful, and the farther we walked, the more greenery appeared around the park’s hills.

It’s not where I go for the longest walks. It’s where I go when I want to chill, reset, and step away from life for a little while.

The creation of music is sedimentary. We build it by putting together feelings and meaningful sounds we’ve heard over the years. If you’re a music lover, you probably understand this too. We fall in love with something because it reminds us of a feeling we’ve felt before.

The TD Halifax Jazz Festival has given me the chance to experience that from both sides. I’ve performed at the festival, but I also love being able to show up as a music fan and simply take it all in.

For its 40th anniversary in 2026, I decided there would be no performing for me. I just wanted to soak in the music and be a music lover again. Two of my favourite acts were Billianne from Milton, Ontario, and Halifax artist Alvaro Thomas.

If you’re looking for diverse music surrounded by a community of people who genuinely love it, the Halifax Jazz Festival is up there for me.

One of my favourite things to do is walk, and anytime my route takes me to Agricola Street, I’m excited.

Agricola has a beauty that feels removed from the busier parts of downtown. It almost feels like it has a metallic, relaxed-cool-evening filter over it. There’s interesting architecture, restaurant patios filled with people drinking and dining, runners, walkers, and independent businesses. It just feels like downtown’s cool alternative sibling.

Two of my favourite niche businesses here are Otti Studio and Agricola Street Books. I’m drawn to creative spaces and interesting design, and both inspire me when I’m in the neighbourhood.

Personally, I hope to open a store for creatives on Agricola Street someday. I think it’s the perfect place for niche businesses and people making something a little different.

Football was everything to me growing up. Inspired by the great Cristiano Ronaldo, I wanted a football career, but eventually music took over.

A key theme in rollercoasteR is retrospection. Finishing the album made me think about my life experiences, the lessons I’ve learned, my successes, and the things that have brought me happiness. Somehow, that brought me back to football.

I found myself a rare pair of size 13 cleats and started playing again, including pickup games at the Halifax Common.

The Common is one of those places where you can see Halifax at play. Depending on the day, you might find people playing soccer or other sports, running, skating, hanging out, or just enjoying some space in the middle of the city. For me, it also gave me the chance to reconnect with something I loved long before music became my career.

If you believe in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, or are simply looking for a place filled with love, uplifting music, and a strong sense of family, Restoration Chapel has become that place for me.

At RCCG Restoration Chapel, I constantly feel love and leave recharged through the word of Christ. Those have been necessary ingredients in my journey and helped me through the process of finishing this album.

This year especially, I loved seeing how involved the children were in the community, from theatre and public speaking to yard sales and summer camps. Watching them reminded me of myself as a child and made me think about how I can support the next generation. Some of them look up to me, which inspires me to keep going too.

For me, Restoration Chapel is as much about community and family as it is about faith.

The Halifax Central Library is a wonder of architecture. Its glass lets in an incredible amount of light, making it feel like much more than a home for books.

When I transitioned from the corporate world to focus on my artistic career, this library became my temple. Many of the creative ideas I’m executing today were first penned on the fifth floor.

Explore the other floors and you’ll find lounges, quiet rooms, meeting spaces, and even a recording studio. It’s a place where you can spend hours reading, working, creating, or just taking in the city around you.

The library also hosts one of my favourite performance spaces, Paul O’Regan Hall. Performing there was a long-held dream of mine, and I’m profoundly grateful to have had the privilege of taking that stage twice.

Finally, let’s end this trip with food.

Efty Dishes brought me back to Nigeria through some of my favourite dishes: Ewa Agoyin with Dodo and Fish, Yam Porridge with Fish and Dodo, Efo-Riro, or even breakfast like Yam and Egg or Akara and Pap.

African food is appetizing, diverse, colourful, and inviting. For Nigeria specifically, Jollof Rice seems to be the world’s favourite. But after twelve years away from home, I began craving something deeper: the meals my mum made when I was a child.

They weren’t meals from advertisements or dishes tied to celebrating Christmas. They were just everyday love, plated.

Every plate at Efty Dishes brings back a memory. For an Afrobeats writer, that connection to home is fundamental.

If you want to explore Nigerian food while you’re in Halifax, Efty Dishes is my recommendation. Come hungry.