8 buzz-worthy Canadian artists to check out at NXNE 2023

The annual music fest returns June 13–17. Here are eight can’t-miss homegrown acts.

Since 1995, NXNE has been the best way to catch multiple bands in multiple venues across Toronto. If you wanted to get a very concentrated taste of the local music scene in one giddy, late-night, bar-to-bar stupor, it was perfect.

Nowadays, NXNE is far from its peak, when you could easily hop from shows at the Rivoli or Horseshoe to Yonge-Dundas Square to see a packed free show by the Flaming Lips or Iggy Pop.

It’s faced the same threats as the live music landscape as a whole — vanishing music venues, affordability issues, and, oh yeah, a global pandemic. The festival is also still recovering from a failed rebrand a few years ago into a destination event at the Port Lands.

But the heart of the NXNE experience is still there, and will be on full display when the festival returns between Tues., June 13, and Sat., June 17.

You can grab a full festival pass for $25 — less than you’d pay for a lot of individual shows in this city — and get access to hundreds of bands at bars and clubs across the city. Or you can head to the new NXNE headquarters at local community hub It’s Ok* (468 Queen St. W.) to hobnob with the artists.

These days, the focus is definitely more on up-and-coming artists than already-broken big names. You might have to search a little to find the gems, but they’re there — especially bubbling Canadian artists.

You can go through the website and sample yourself, but we’ve done some of the groundwork for you. Here are eight Canadian artists to catch at this year’s festival.

Housewife

Though they’re only 20, Brighid Fry is already a veteran of the Toronto music scene. In the duo Moscow Apartment, Fry mastered the art of wise-beyond-their-years indie rock adolescent anthems. Now, with Housewife, they’re applying the same mix of crunchy guitars, witty lyrics, and wistful hooks to the rites of early-20s Gen Z passage.

Fry, also a climate activist with Music Declares Emergency, has been on ones-to-watch lists for years. The graduation is coming.

Saturday, June 17, midnight, Rivoli (334 Queen St. W.)

Charmaine

Zimbabwe-born, Toronto-based artist Charmaine makes ultra-confident hip-hop that mixes ’90s sounds with southern rap influences stemming from when she lived in Tennessee. Her hard-hitting flow busts out of the speakers, but she can also sing a smooth hook.

Charmaine’s been on the rise the last few years since being signed to the major label Warner Canada, and she won a Juno for her single “Bold.” If there’s one artist at NXNE who’s destined to play much bigger festival stages, and soon, this is her.

Wednesday, June 14, 10:00 p.m., It’s Ok* (468 Queen St. W.)

The Garrys

The three sisters of The Garrys hail from landlocked Saskatoon, but you’d be forgiven for thinking they come from somewhere much beachier. Their sunny-yet-bittersweet harmonies, jangly guitars, and psychedelic surf come with a slightly dark edge lurking beneath the surface. It’s no surprise their 2021 album Get Thee to a Nunnery was produced by late, great Sadies guitar hero Dallas Good, a master of that sound.

Friday, June 16, 10:00 p.m., Monarch Tavern (12 Clinton St.)

“ OBSTACLES “ - Out now ✈️https://t.co/Jl9wajzKoc pic.twitter.com/XNIEAQkonA

— DESIIRE (@DesiireNow) March 15, 2023

Desiire

Desiire has a smooth R&B delivery, a great taste for production, and an adventurous sense of collaboration that’s led him to team-ups with everyone from DJ Koreatown Acid to dancehall auteur Lexxicon. The Congo-born, Toronto-based artist is big on community-building, uniting fans from indie rock to rave and queer scenes with every show.

If you see the name Desiire on a show poster, you can trust it will be a good one.

Wednesday, June 14, 8:00 p.m., It’s Ok* (468 Queen St. W.)

Goodnight Sunrise

This Toronto rock band writes big belt-along choruses that go perfectly with a showstopping keytar solo. Seriously, catch them and you’ll get lots of keytar.

They have a rock radio-friendly sound but a healthy skepticism about “the game,” as heard on their breakout single “Wait For It” — a critique of the path that new artists are told to take by making it big as TikTok influencers first, musicians second. They’re not about that (though they are a good follow).

Thursday, June 15, 8:00 p.m., Garrison (1197 Dundas St. W.)

Pony Girl

Ottawa-Hull art-pop group Pony Girl holds a mirror up to 21st-century anxieties: socially mediated protest movements; the exhaustion of tech supremacy; and “overrated millennial fun.” The Paper Bag Records–signed band’s pop-rock tunes are tinged with electronic drums, soft hooks, and the occasional little blast of sax. Very lush.

Friday, June 16, 9:00 p.m., Monarch Tavern (12 Clinton St.)

Sunglaciers

This Calgary band plays arty indie rock with a post-punk edge. They cite influences like Deerhunter and Women, bands that were darlings of the Pitchfork age but are now just a bit too off-kilter to sit comfortably on “Total 2010s Indie”–style playlists. Their latest album, Subterranea, was produced by fellow Calgarian eccentric Chad VanGaalen, someone who knows a thing or two about keeping things just weird enough.

Friday, June 16, 10:00 p.m., Handlebar (159 Augusta Ave.)

Love Language

One Canadian city festival invades another at Pop Montreal’s showcase at the Baby G. The lineup, featuring Blesse, Fraud Perry, and Cinzia & The Eclipse, is one of the strongest front-to-back lineups at NXNE this year. But the highlight is “Indian Cowboy” band Love Language, which blends classic jangly lo-fi indie rock sounds with critiques of colonialism and organized religion courtesy of Anishinaabe lead singer Tashiina Buswa.

Thursday, June 15, 10:00 p.m., The Baby G (1608 Dundas St. W.)

But wait! There’s more. Here’s a bonus non-Canadian pick:

MonoNeon

This year, NXNE is co-presenting a free series of outdoor music performances in Liberty Village, which from June 15-18 will be transformed into Little Tennessee. That’s also the theme of the opening night party at the Drake Hotel, which will turn each of its floors into a different Tennessee music venue on June 14.

There will be a lot of artists coming from Nashville and Memphis, so expect to hear a lot of country. But we’re picking MonoNeon, a bassist with a big following on YouTube and one of the last artists to ever play with Prince. That gives you an idea of his vibe: funky yet experimental, with melodies that you can’t quite get out of your brain.

Friday, June 16, 8:30 p.m., Little Tennnessee (Carpark 181, 75 Fraser Ave.)

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