This week on Halifax stages: 3-9 November 2025

Neptune Theatre presents The Wizard of Oz on its Fountain Hall Stage from November 4, 2025 – January 4, 2026.

When a tornado sweeps young Dorothy Gale over the rainbow, she lands in the magical land of Oz. Joined by a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Cowardly Lion – Dorothy must follow the Yellow Brick Road to find the Wizard of Oz who can send her back home to Kansas. On the way she must avoid the Wicked Witch of the West, and while discovering that in the end, there really is no place like home.

Featuring all your favourite songs from the movie, this family-friendly musical is guaranteed to be a wickedly good time.

Grammy and Juno award-winning artist Sarah McLachlan returns to the Scotiabank Centre on November 4, 2025, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her legendary album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.

Get ready for a night of emotion, nostalgia, and unforgettable music — featuring the full album performed live, along with timeless favourites. Her music has shaped generations, and now, she’s bringing it home.

Sara Davis Buechner is a multi-award-winning, internationally beloved pianist. And Beethoven’s Piano Concertos are a dizzying feat, a cultural touchstone, and a sweeping journey from cheerful charm to roaring, revolutionary power. Now, this superstar pianist returns to perform one of the greatest works in the entire piano repertoire – the beautiful, thrilling “Emperor” Concerto.

Experience her jaw-dropping skill live in Symphony Nova Scotia’s performance of the pinnacle of Beethoven’s works for piano.

Franco-Algerian saxophonist Illyes Ferfera leads his quartet in a bold exploration of global jazz. Drawing from North African roots, he fuses Algerian Diwane and Moroccan Gnawa with American jazz, Latin rhythms, and French influences. The result is a rich, layered sound that bridges tradition and innovation. The group performs original works from their album “Tawazun,” meaning “balance” in Arabic.

This free concert, co-presented with Alliance Française Halifax and Halifax Public Libraries, invites audiences to experience music that celebrates movement, connection, and cultural harmony.

Celebrating the release of his innovative and instrumental new solo acoustic album Autonomy (set for release on Friday, November 7), Halifax-based guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and film music producer and composer, Asif Illyas will perform two shows on November 7 at The Dome Planetarium at the Discovery Centre in Halifax.

“After twenty years of scoring for films and television – where AI is creeping in by providing much more economical and quick solutions for filmmakers, I’m pivoting back to my classical guitar and songwriting roots with Autonomy”, says Illyas. “It’s all live performance, one-take, acoustic fingerstyle guitar with no edits – just raw human touch- on my custom Greenfield “Galadriel” acoustic guitar. This album lets me explore my original music that I love creating; staying ahead of new and emerging tech by doing what AI can’t, yet, do …to infuse real and raw performance into every note. My initials are “AI”, so I thought it fitting to try and stay ahead of the tidal forces of the other AI.”

Alt-country rockers Blue Rodeo announced they’ll be hitting the road for a brand-new Canadian tour, celebrating an incredible 40 years of music. The tour includes a stop in Halifax at the Scotiabank Centre on November 8, 2025.

From their roots in the Toronto club scene to becoming national icons, Blue Rodeo has spent four decades creating the soundtrack to countless Canadian lives — and they’re not done yet.

Joining them on all dates is singer/songwriter Adam Baldwin, bringing his powerful live energy and East Coast spirit to the stage.

General ticket sales begin on June 6, 2025, at 10 a.m.

On November 9, Capella Regalis Choirs will present Haydn’s great masterpiece, Missa in angustiis (“Mass for troubled times”), in a free performance bringing together top professional singers and instrumentalists in Halifax, the young choristers of Capella Regalis Boys and Girls Choir, and four vocal soloists from across Canada.

The featured piece of this year’s concert was written by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn in a time of political and financial instability in Europe caused by the Napoleonic Wars. The music resonates across the centuries, with parallels to political, economic, and social uncertainties in our time.

“My earliest recollections of hearing and being thrilled by ‘classical’ music feature Haydn most prominently,” says Capella Regalis Founder and Artistic Director, Nick Halley. “Missa in angustiis is arguably the most clear and forceful demonstration of his giftedness. He wrote a lot of superb sacred music, but I would be inclined to agree with the aficionados: this is his most powerful work.”

In addition to Haydn, the program will include works for Remembrancetide by Tomás Luis de Victoria (16th century) and Arvo Pärt (20th century).