Exclaim Reviews “Nowhere With You: The East Coast Anthems of Joel Plaskett, the Emergency and Thrush Hermit”

By Matthew Ritchie, Exclaim!

Forget what the real stats say: Nova Scotia’s biggest export is its people. For centuries, underemployed Maritimers have headed west in search of work. But not Joel Plaskett.

The unofficial mayor of Halifax (even though he lives across the harbour, in nearby Dartmouth), the scrawny Thrush Hermit star-turned-solo singer-songwriter has been a champion of regionalism when most of his friends, as he sang in “Work Out Fine,” were moving away to Montreal or Toronto. For nearly three decades, Plaskett has been a beacon of hope for musicians on the East coast, a shining example of how to make it on your own terms. He’s also a reminder of home for the thousands of expats who fill his shows across the country. [READ MORE]