"Everyone come to my room, we'll have a chicken party in the room."
On March 16, famed and acclaimed Newfoundland musician and songwriter Alan Doyle brought his Welcome Home Tour to Halifax, a mid-stop between more than 20 Canadian dates and a wallop of American shows through May. Backed by his Beautiful Beautiful Band, with Halifax rock troubadour Adam Baldwin & The Jenny Wren, Alan brought "the greatest kitchen party in the history of Nova Scotia" to Scotiabank Centre. Playing from his 2024 album, Welcome Home, along with familiar favourites, we were thrilled to see Alan again. The local legend has been a frequent performer since his first 1998 concert at Scotiabank Centre with Great Big Sea. To welcome Alan home, and to honour Alan and Adam's newfound friendship on the road, the duo interviewed each other, talking all things Halifax, music, chicken, and wrestling.
Watch Alan and Adam's exclusive interview now.
The evening at Scotiabank Centre was "the best one," Alan says. He and his band lifted all of Scotiabank Centre's crowd to their feet: clapping, stomping, and singing along. Over the last thirty years, Alan has defined Canadian traditional rock music, first with Great Big Sea, one of the greatest selling Canadian bands of all time, and through his solo career since his 2012 album Boy on the Bridge. This year's Welcome Home is a vibrant, heartfelt offering that reminisces lost moments while celebrating life. "'Welcome Home,' the title song, is the most fun to play," he says. "Because it's got that burner solo section in the middle. It's also nice to do the ballads, like 'How Did We Get from Saying I Love You,' with Kendall (Carson) singing, that's really fun, too, for me. It's a duet almost." Adam agrees: "It's a sweet moment."
Adam & The Jenny Wren played from 2022 album, Concertos & Serenades, an achievement in folk storytelling and composition. The sonic heartbreaker, "Lighthouse in Little Lorraine," won him the 2023 East Coast Music Award for Song of the Year. "Yeah, I love the smuggling one, the caskets filled with cocaine," agrees Alan. Representing the best in east coast music while reaching across North America, Alan and Adam brought a night for the books to Scotiabank Centre.
While music unites them, Alan and Adam also share many interests, including in professional wrestling. "Who's your favourite wrestler?" Adam asks Alan. Without a beat, "Sailor White," Alan replies. Who is Sailor White? Even major wrestling fans might not know. "Well, I'll tell ya," Alan says: "Sailor White was from Shae Heights, the Brow of Newfoundland, and he went everywhere. He was one of the two guys in the Moon Dogs, their manager was the Iron Sheik. He had a few personas but his main one was Sailor White, and his autobiography is incredible. He actually left Shae Heights and went everywhere in the late '70s and early '80s when wrestling was the biggest thing in the world. Mark Critch actually interviewed him, you'd be fascinated." We can't wait to welcome them back to Scotiabank Centre.