Music

NXNE 2013: Genre By Genre, Our Best Bets

How should you prepare for this year's week-long musical extravaganza? What bands should you see? The answers are here.

By • Photo by Corbin Smith

Fans in Yonge-Dundas Square during NXNE 2011. You too could be this stoked.

  • Multiple venues
  • June 12–16
  • $20–$275

It’s hard to believe, but if North by Northeast was a person, it would be old enough to drink this year. The festival, which started out 19 years ago as a pale imitation of Austin’s South by Southwest, is now a force to be reckoned with in its own right. It’s a place where up-and-coming acts from around the world come to get noticed. It also provides a few of Toronto’s best free concerts in any given year, lined up back-to-back.

Every year, we come out of NXNE with a new favourite band that we refuse to shut up about for the rest of the summer. The only problem is, finding that new favourite band involves sorting through literally hundreds of contenders. We’ve managed to come up with a totally subjective list of acts worth seeing, broken down by genre, to help you separate the wheat from the chaff.

Here are a few key tips that apply to fans of all genres.

Ride a bike

NXNE venues are everywhere from Parkdale to the Danforth, and, if we’re being honest, public transit in this city is terrible. If you’re going to be moving from venue to venue, ride a bike or be prepared to spend a ton of money on cabs.

Go easy on the drinking

Our city’s Victorian attitude towards liquor and its ridiculously early last call make extended hours all the more exciting, but if you want to see as many bands as possible, you’re going to want to moderate your intake.

Have a plan

Make sure you have a plan of attack each night. It doesn’t matter if you stick to said plan, but if you go out just to “see what happens” all you’re going to get is shitty bands and indecision.

Invest in energy drinks

Here’s the secret of NXNE: everyone is jacked out of their mind on Red Bull and those weird five/six/eight-hour energy shots. Yes, you’re going to crash terribly on Monday. Don’t worry, it’ll be worth it.

OK, that’s it. You’re ready. Choose your genre and get ready to rumble.

CORRECTION: June 11, 1:20PM We previously referred to South by Southwest as South by Southeast. The correction has been made above.

NXNE 2013:
PUNK and METAL		   NXNE 2013:
HIP HOP		   NXNE 2013:
POP and ROCK		   NXNE 2013:
ELECTRONIC

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