A Snapshot of NXNE ’23

By
SWOMP
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0

The annual North by Northeast (NXNE) Music Festival packed a musical punch across the city of Toronto from June 13 to June 18, 2023.

NXNE is described as Canada’s most important discovery music festival, presenting essential emerging artists, often just before they break, from across Canada and around the world.

Festival passes were available for only $25, which gave people access to five nights of non-stop music at over 20 of the city’s best live music venues.

SWOMP attended the event on June 14, 2023, and the snapshot of time showcased excitement, tremendous effort by the organizers, a vibrant arts and music scene, and talented artists gracing the stages.

Our first stop was at NX HQ, the festival headquarters, a busy artist and festival hub located at It’s OK, 468 Queen Street West, in the heart of Toronto’s live music district.

Organizers, artists, and sponsors mingled throughout the two-floor former shoe store, posing for photos, jamming to music, and sipping on drinks, including coffee infused with tequila.

We were treated to a performance by Desiire, who mixed a blend of R&B, jazz, and electronic into his It’s OK set as well.

From there, and after grabbing sushi at SAKU (we highly recommend it, by the way!), we headed down the road to one of the most unique places we’ve ever attended – The Bovine Sex Club.

Splattered with stylish graffiti, old bicycles secured to the outside walls, and painted baby dolls peering around, the volume got louder and the music heavier.

Please Stand By was performing during our visit.

Here are some photos:

The five-piece metal band from Oshawa, Ontario, played a loud and passionate set, which shook the eyes of the plastic dolls on the walls.

From there, we made one final stop to a place we’ve fallen in love with since visiting it for the first time last fall while in between Pearl Jam shows in the city: The Horseshoe Tavern.

The “checkered board floors,” the lighting, the vibe, and the table tops that seem to pulsate with the hundreds of thousands of hours of live music that has reflected off them since 1947, provided a perfect nightcap to our brief NXNE journey.

The Get Alongs were a perfect choice for the venue and a fitting band to wrap up our first NXNE experience.

Here are some photos from their show:

The Toronto-based band gave us Weezer and Ramones vibes while they rocked The Horseshoe stage. Check out a superb article in Melted Magazine about the band, here.

“To the artists, music fans, sponsors, partners, and volunteers who helped create an incredible festival, THANK YOU!” the NXNE organizers tweeted at the conclusion of the festival.

“To the performers who played their hearts out, YOU ROCK! To the best audiences, SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! Another amazing week in the books.”

The history and names that have performed at NXNE since their inception in 1995 are truly astonishing: LIZZO in 2014 at Yonge Dundas and on a streetcar, and in 2017 at Port Lands; Post Malone played Port Lands in 2017 as well; Daniel Caesar played there too in 2016.

Lumineers, Billy Talent, Sam Roberts, Grimes, The Arkells, Beaches, Matthew Good, just to name a few.

Did we witness the next Lizzo during our brief stop at the event?

Either way, it was awesome to see so many artists and musicians come together, celebrate each other, and support one another.

The concept of NXNE is noble and valuable, fun as hell, and an incredible showcase for all of the up-and-coming artists and for the music venues as well.

We’re looking forward to spending more time at NXNE ’24!