North by Northeast Music and Film Festival & Conference 2008
June 12 - 15, 2008

The 2008 North by Northeast (NXNE) was held June 12 - 15, 2008 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NXNE is an important Canadian music & film festival which consists of the music festival, the film festival as well as the NXNE industry conference. For the last fourteen years, NXNE has developed an international reputation for discovering new & emerging talent to not only music fans but also industry professionals. According to NXNE, "Over four days, more than 250,000 people experienced NXNE in the clubs, at the airport, and in public parks and squares. More than 50 NXNE venues presented 500 bands from all over the world, including artists from the USA, UK, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Israel and Finland. Toronto audiences saw blistering performances from international sensations including MONOTONIX and SEMI-PRECIOUS WEAPONS as well as killer sets from the recently reunited RED KROSS and SWERVEDRIVER. Indie stalwarts SLOAN played a rare club gig to celebrate Converse’s 100th anniversary and BRAN VAN 3000 blew away a jam-packed Yonge-Dundas Square on the fest’s final night. This year, there was far more hip hop than ever before, with established stars like SHEEK LOUCH and CORMEGA as well as hot emerging DJs. THE MIDWAY STATE won the redpipe Fan Choice Award for favourite performer, and MAJOR MAKER won the 2008 Galaxie Rising Stars Award. The awards came with cash prizes of $10,000 and $3,000 respectively. The film component of NXNE grew in both scope and audience, with more than 25 films screened, including advance screenings of the feature comedy THE ROCKER and the rockin’ doc GLOBAL METAL. ROLLING LIKE A STONE drew a capacity crowd, as did THE LAST POGO, which attracted an SRO audience of veteran Queen St. hipsters."

The industry conference consists of panels, roundtables, workshops, seminars, and always controversial speakers. The keynote speaker was BBC broadcaster Whispering BOB HARRIS who has been a supporter of Canadian music by exposing emerging Canadian artists through his show.

North by Northeast (NXNE) is an important Canadian music & film festival for music fans and industry. Check back here for NXNE 2008!

@ 6 Shooters