Lineup 2011

Writer’s Strike

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Writers’ Strike (formerly The First Aid Kit) are a band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Matt Davidson, Darryl Smith and Conor Hancey grew up across North America, from North Bay to Los Angeles to Halifax. They all met at a summer camp in Northern Ontario. After failed experiments in high school punk bands, bedroom projects, and ambitious relocations to Glasgow, Conor, Matt and Darryl decided, in the Fall of 2006, to move to Halifax, settle in and start a band for real. They quickly recruited Craig Koziar on drums and Amy Bollivar on synths and began recording the Rocket Summer EP.

The recording was a tense affair, as the diverse musical influences of songwriters Matt and Darryl were tethered together. What emerged was some sort of indie-Clash; The First Aid Kit pull influences from the last fifty years on both sides of the Atlantic and squeeze them all into tight pop songs full of aplomb and immediacy. After recording through the roughest of winters, the summer came, the record came out, and the band found themselves with a following and a reputation for raucous live shows.

They followed up the Rocket Summer EP with a second EP, entitled Still Standing, in January of 2009. They have been steadily touring the Maritimes and Ontario since its release, building a considerable fanbase across Eastern Canada. To date, they have played the Halifax Pop Explosion for three years running and have played shows with The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Most Serene Republic, The Golden Dogs, Rich Aucoin and Ruby Jean and The Thoughtful Bees.