North by Northeast | |
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Location(s) | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Years active | 1995–2019, 2021– |
Website | http://www.nxne.com |
North by Northeast (or NXNE) is an annual music and arts festival held each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival's main focus is live music, particularly emerging talent. Acts that have had break out appearances at NXNE at small venues early in their careers include Lizzo, Daniel Caesar, Run the Jewels, The Lumineers, Grimes, Gary Clark Jr., The Arkells, Feist, and Billy Talent. In its return post-COVID, the festival embraced its roots as a discovery event, programming exclusively in Toronto's live music venues.
Previously, the festival has also featured an eSports gaming tournament, comedy, a conversations series, a flea market and more.
NXNE began in 1995, patterned on the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. It was co-founded by Andy McLean, Now magazine editor Michael Hollett, Now executive editor Alice Klein, music programmer Derek Andrews and music promoter Yvonne Matsell. [1] The SXSW organization is a minority ownership partner in NXNE. [2] At that time it was a three-day festival with about 300 bands, [3] mainly local, unsigned, independent artists. Over the years the festival expanded its attendance and began to feature well-known performers. The festival events took place in a number of venues, and participants purchased wristbands for entry into the events. In 2003, NXNE became the first promoters to produce live music in Toronto's Yonge Dundas Square. Gord Downie headlined NXNE's first Yonge Dundas Square show performing from new solo work. Downie's band The Tragically Hip played a 'secret show" at NXNE in 1997. Massive free concerts at Yonge Dundas Square and on Yonge Street stopped when COVID arrived. The festival again makes the club shows its priority post-COVID.
NXNE Yonge Street performers include: Iggy and the Stooges, St. Vincent, Run the Jewels, Lizzo, Chvrches, Devo, Mac DeMarco, Raekwon, The Flaming Lips, Stars, Billy Talent, De la Soul, Hollerado, Gza, Lights, Ludacris, Matthew Good and many more.
Previous showcasing Festival artists, sometimes in small venues before they were "names" also include: Post Malone, Lumineers, Father John Misty, Daniel Caesar, Arkells, Grimes, Future Islands, Sam Roberts, Schoolboy Q, Sarah Harmer, Vince Staples, Eagles of Death Metal and many more.
A film festival was added in 2001, screening primarily music-related features, documentaries and shorts. NXNE Film has screened films by directors such as Stewart Copeland (of rock band The Police), Don Letts, Guy Maddin, and Rob Heydon, and has hosted many world premieres, including Bruce McDonald's Broken Social Scene concert film, This Movie Is Broken , in 2010. [4] Michael Tanner was the director of the festival. from 2007 to 2014. [5]
In 2013, NXNE added comedy as a fourth stream, formally recognizing the growing number of standup, sketch, and improvisatory comics taking part in the festival since 2010. NXNE also added art as its fifth stream that year. including exhibits, projections, installations, performances and an art fair.
In 2014, NXNE marked its 20th consecutive year with over 1,000 music performers and an overall attendance of 350,000. [6] The 2015 edition of NXNE ran for five days, June 17–21.
In 2016, under the direction of Michael Hollett, the festival organizers changed the format, with the goal of concentrating more highly attended performances in a large venue in the Port Lands area, at 51 Commissioners St. [7] This concept ultimately alienated dedicated NXNE attendees - and proved to be an unsuccessful pilot project.
Following the trial of the Portlands concept, the festival returned to Yonge-Dundas square and Clubland format. In addition to returning to their previously successful format, the festival also added a video gaming component, and gaming was among the topics discussed at the one day Interactive conference at Ryerson University. Yonge Dundas Square provided festival-goers the chance to play on a giant screen and to compete against each other with live play-by-play commentary.
There was no festival in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused its cancellation. The festival returned in 2022, embracing the original, discovery festival format.
Each year, NXNE Music presents hundreds of bands from Canada, the United States and around the world at more than 20 Toronto music venues. Venues host up to 7 bands each night (from 8 p.m. onward). The festival has many venues in Toronto's downtown core, along Queen Street West, College Street and the Bloor Street Annex. NXNE Music provides a platform for emerging artists, and allows fans to see "buzz bands" at small club venues. There previously were free outdoor concerts at Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, with Canadian and international headline acts, including The Flaming Lips, Ludacris, Chvrches, Devo, Iggy and the Stooges, Billy Talent, A.A. Bondy, Uncle Sinner, Social Distortion, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, De La Soul, Bad Religion, Stars, The Pharcyde, The Raveonettes, GZA, Descendents, Digable Planets, and K-os. [8] [9]
NXNE Talks was an early panel that featured essential conversations about pressing issues in the music, eSports, gaming and entertainment industries. Past NXNE Talks speakers include: Stewart Copeland, The Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten, Steve Earle, Bruce Cockburn, GZA, Peaches, Patti Smith, Thomas Dolby, The Rolling Stones' Andrew Loog Oldham, Fab Five Freddy, Nolan Bushnell and Bullmoose). NXNE Talks tend to focus on the "why" rather than the "how to".
The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay. They released 13 studio albums, one live album, one EP, and over 50 singles over a 33-year career. Nine of their albums have reached No. 1 on the Canadian charts. They have received numerous Canadian music awards, including 17 Juno Awards. Between 1996 and 2016, the Tragically Hip were the best-selling Canadian band in Canada and the fourth best-selling Canadian artist overall in Canada.
Yonge Street is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, John Graves Simcoe, named the street for his friend Sir George Yonge, an expert on ancient Roman roads.
Yonge–Dundas Square, or Dundas Square is a public square at the southeast corner of the intersection of Yonge Street and Dundas Street East in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Designed by Brown and Storey Architects, the square was conceived in 1997 as part of revitalizing the intersection. Since its completion in 2002, the square has hosted many public events, performances and art displays, establishing itself as a prominent landmark in Toronto and one of the city's prime tourist attractions. Central to the Downtown Yonge entertainment and shopping district, the square is owned by the city and is the first public square in Canada to be maintained through a public–private partnership. The intersection is one of the busiest in Canada, with over 100,000 people crossing the city's first pedestrian scramble daily.
The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You.
Now, also known as NOW Magazine is an online publication based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Through most of its existence, Now was a free alternative weekly newspaper. Physical publication of Now was suspended in August 2022, amid the bankruptcy of its former owner Media Central Corporation, although some new content was still published to its website.
KC Accidental was a Canadian post-rock band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band released two albums of mostly instrumental music. It later evolved into Broken Social Scene.
Michael Hollett, born 1955, is the founder and president of North by Northeast (NXNE) music festival which happens every June in Toronto since 1995. Hollett is also founder of the national print and online arts magazine, NEXT, available in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary since December, 2020. Hollett is co-founder of Toronto's longest-running free alternative newsweekly, Now Magazine. He was editor and publisher of Now from 1981 to 2016.
Dundas is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Yonge Street and Dundas Street. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.
Sam the Record Man was a Canadian record store chain that, at one time, was Canada's largest music recording retailer. In 1982, its ads proclaimed that it had "140 locations, coast to coast".
The Masonic Temple is a hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-west corner of Davenport Road and Yonge Street.
Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the northwest, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don Valley to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west. It is also the home of the municipal government of Toronto and the Government of Ontario.
Spiral Beach was a Canadian indie rock band, formed in Toronto, active from 2003 to 2009. The group consisted of vocalist and guitarist Airick Woodhead, vocalist and keyboardist Maddy Wilde, bassist Dorian Wolf and drummer Daniel Woodhead.
Downtown Yonge is a retail and entertainment district centred on Yonge Street in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Downtown Yonge district is bounded by Richmond Street to the south; Grosvenor and Alexander Streets to the north; Bay Street to the west; and portions of Church Street, Victoria Street, and Bond Street to the east. All property owners and commercial tenants within these boundaries are members of the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area association, founded in 2001.
Arkells is a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, and have since signed with Universal Music Canada. They have released nine albums: Jackson Square (2008), Michigan Left (2011), High Noon (2014), Morning Report (2016), Rally Cry (2018), Blink Once (2021), Blink Twice (2022), Laundry Pile (2023) and Disco Loadout, Volume 1 (2024). The band has been nominated for over 15 Juno Awards; winning Rock Album of the Year for High Noon and Rally Cry, and six times for Group of the Year.
"Grace, Too" is a song by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. It was released in September 1994 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Day for Night. The song peaked at number 11 on the RPM Canadian Singles chart.
Dinosaur Bones were a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2008 in Toronto consisting of songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Ben Fox, bassist Branko Scekic, keyboardist David Wickland, drummer Lucas Fredette, and guitarist Josh Byrne.
Firefly Music Festival was a music festival produced by AEG Presents that was first held on July 20–22, 2012, in Dover, Delaware. Firefly takes place in The Woodlands of Dover Motor Speedway, a 105-acre (42 ha) festival ground, over the span of three days. Many nationally known musical acts have performed at the festival, with over 100 performances held over the course of the festival in 2016. The festival producers had worked together to establish the event at the current venue with the hopes of having "an open-air festival on the East Coast with plenty of outdoor camping". In past years, the festival has included up to seven stages: The Porch Stage, The Lawn Stage, The Backyard Stage, the Treehouse, The Coffee House, The Pavilion and The Firefly Stage. In 2019, the festival had six main stages, two sponsor stages, and one stage in each camping hub. Firefly offers three different pass options; general admission, VIP, and Super VIP.
The Thornton–Smith Building, located at 340 Yonge Street, is a prominent heritage building in the heart of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Since the completion of the building in the twenties, Yonge Street has seen many transformations and while tenants in the building have reflected these changes The Thornton–Smith Building itself has remained true to its original architecture.
The Factory in Deep Ellum, formerly the Bomb Factory, is an American music venue and event space located in the Deep Ellum district of downtown Dallas, Texas. It originally operated from 1993 to 1997 and was reopened in March 2015 under new management. Since its reopening, the venue has hosted acts including Erykah Badu, Sturgill Simpson, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Disclosure, Don Henley of the Eagles, Future, D'Angelo, Brand New, Hardwell, Chvrches, Kraftwerk, Ludacris and Hatsune Miku.
Cathy Young is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Her first album, A Spoonful of Cathy Young, was released in 1969. Her second album, Travel Stained, was released in 1973. Young won the Juno Award for Best New Artist in 1974, and was nominated for the Juno Award in the category of Best Female Vocalist in 1975. In November 2017, Young's image was included on a 70 ft. mural of Canadian music Icons who have performed at historic Yonge Street music venues. The 22-storey mural currently is the second tallest in the world, and was created by noted Toronto artist Adrian Hayles.