Our Lady Peace, Finger 11, Sloan and supergroup Chickenfoot are part of the lineup for this summer’s inaugural Canadian Forces Halifax Rock Fest.

The day-long event, which is scheduled to take place on Citadel Hill on Aug. 2, will be broadcast to Canadian troops around the world through Canadian Forces Television.

“This concert is about connecting people,” Frank Cleysen, Canadian Forces Halifax personnel support programs manager and general manager for the event, said in a statement.

“We’re connecting family, friends, neighbours and musicians in an evening of unbelievable entertainment. By including the deployed troops in this community celebration through the Canadian Forces Television we hope to send a clear message of support to our servicemen and women while they are away from home.”

Early bird tickets are on sale now for $65 at all Ticket Pro locations. After May 31, tickets will go up to $75. Check out the festival’s website here for more details.

Chickenfoot’s appearance at the event marks one of the few outdoor dates on the band’s first Canadian tour. The group features Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, guitarist Joe Satriani, and ex-Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony.

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Nearly 60 music acts will descend on Halifax over five days when the In the Dead of Winter Music Festival returns to the city in January.

The lineup for the event’s fourth year includes Buck 65, Justin Rutledge, In-Flight Safety’s Daniel Ledwell, Jolie Holland, Peter Katz and Heavy Meadows, among many others.

The festival will take place from Jan. 27 to 31 at half a dozen Halifax venues. Tickets go on sale Dec. 1.

The acoustic-based festival is held annually and aims to showcase a diverse group of musicians from the Atlantic Region, Canada, and the United States.

Past performers include Joel Plaskett, Matt Mays, Great Lake Swimmers, Hayden and Jenny Omnichord.

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Celine Dion has cancelled her upcoming concert in Halifax because of negative comments made about her in the Halifax Daily News.

Columnist David Rodenhiser called Dion’s show a “letdown,” but also made positive comments on her impressive career. Negative responses from the public on the newspaper’s web site may have been the last straw for thin-skinned Dion and her husband/manager, Rene Angélil.

The official reason for the cancellation is that the Halifax Common was not an appropriate venue for Dion’s extravagant stage show. But in a radio interview, Angélil said that he and Celine felt that the public didn’t want them there.

“Don’t try to find any reasons for cancelling the concert. There’s only one reason and you know what it is. I’m not saying that all people in Halifax are negative, but … this is a question of feeling. We’re humans. If you would go to a city and you read day after day … ‘This is not the place for you, you shouldn’t have come, I expected someone else,’ I don’t know how you would feel about going there.”

The concert was scheduled for August, so there’s lots of time for Dion and Angélil to change their minds.

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Vancouver-based band Hedley performed yesterday at the University of British Columbia.

Their home turf concert is part of the MTV The Leak Live tour, a series of free concerts across Canada promoting Hedley’s upcoming album, “Famous Last Words,” which will be released October 30. For those unable to attend, their first single, “She’s So Sorry,” can be heard on Hedley’s official MySpace page.

“Famous Last Words” is Hedley’s sophomore offering, following their 2005 self-titled album which earned the band platinum status, five hit singles, two Juno nominations, and the Much Music Video Award for Best Pop Video.

Charismatic and nudity-prone frontman Jacob Hoggard is confident about the new album, which was produced by former Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori. As Hoggard told MTV, “The main difference between this album and the last, was the amount of blood, sweat and tears that we put into this recording.”

Check out the rest of Hedley’s free tour at these locations:

Tomorrow: The SAIT Hangar in Calgary, AB at 12 p.m.
Friday: The UWO Talbot Bowl in London, ON at 7:30 p.m.
October 2: The Dalhousie Quad in Halifax, NS at 7 p.m.
October 4: The Concordia Loyola Downtown Campus in Montreal, QC at 5 p.m.
October 11: The Masonic Temple in Toronto, ON at 5 p.m.

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