Music/Features

North by Northeast (NXNE) opened its 2023 artist applications on Tue., Oct. 11. For the second year in a row, there is no fee to apply and all bands receive a fee.

“We had thousands of bands apply — and hundreds play — from diverse economic and social backgrounds in 2022 when we eliminated the application fees, and NXNE was richer for it,” says NXNE president Michael Hollett.

The festival is open to most genres of music and maintains it is committed to diversity and gender equity in its programming decisions.

“We are certain we received a much broader range of submissions because of our no-fee-to-apply policy,” says Hollett. “A wide range of genres and economic backgrounds were represented in our applications. And, as a result, NXNE is able to provide a much more accurate snapshot of the emerging talent in this country right now.

“In addition, we will keep the cost of attending the festival low — full-festival pass was only 20 bucks last year — thereby helping ensure these bands have full venues when they come to Toronto to play. We remain committed to creating the best possible experience for performers at NXNE.”

NXNE is a showcase festival committed to presenting emerging artists and was founded in 1995, in partnership with SXSW. Canadian and international acts who premiered at NXNE before breaking big include Lizzo, Lumineers, Billy Talent, Sam Roberts, Grimes, Daniel Cesar, Run the Jewells and Post Malone.

Links to the free NXNE Artists’ Application Form are live on the Festival’s website, nxne.com.

The 2023 festival dates are June 13 through 17.
Hollett is also editor/publisher of NEXT Magazine.