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NXNE Music & Film Festival and Conference in Toronto June 14-20, 2010
I just got back from my annual trek to Toronto for the NXNE Music & Film Festival and Conference. This year's festival surpassed the previous years with its multitude of musical offerings and independent films. The 2010 version of NXNE hosted 650 bands from around the world, 40 films and thousands of attendees. The highlight was the stellar FREE concert at the heart of the city in Yonge and Dundas Square that featured one of the first North American appearances by Iggy and The Stooges with James Williamson back on guitar, the seminal L.A. punk band X, Seattle grunge-masters Mudhoney and old and new favorites such as Sloan and The Raveonettes. The square was the place to be! A music market was set up in the square daily and acted as a central meeting place for attendees and bands. Seven free park and public stages held outdoor concerts along with two stages at the airport and even the train station! 50 clubs across the city were slamming every night from dusk till dawn with music fans checking out bands from across the globe. Performing bands included London's The Gin Riots and Comanechi to L.A. punks The Zeros and a special acoustic set by John Doe and Exene of X. The festival features an eclectic mix as all genres of music were well represented; rock, country, electronic to hip hop, singer-songwriters and metalheads could all be found on one of the stages every night. Most clubs hosted 3 a.m. shows with last call at 4 a.m. for a full night of entertainment.
The conference portion of NXNE hosted celebrity interviews with Mudhoney and John Doe & Exene of X, which was a definite highlight of the weekend. The duo told tales of their humble beginnings and how they keep on rockin' after 30 years is because they still enjoy it! Other music industry panels covered topics ranging from marketing, booking and touring, music licensing and the annual "Demo Derby" where music execs critique your music.
I finally got the chance to attend the film festival this year. The ever expanding film festival showcased 40 independent and underground films from around the world. Some of this years' offerings were U.K. director Don Lett's music documentaries "Strummerville" and "Supersonic Sound: The Rebel Dread," the rock n' roll vampire flick "Suck," and two 'making of the record' documentaries; the premiere of "The Stones In Exile" and "Search and Destroy: Iggy Pop and The Stooges Raw Power".
An NXNE debut was "Interactive" a new media workshop that was sold out in advance and will be back next year due to its success. Two more new offerings were a rock art poster show at the Twist Gallery and the NXNE record show. Another festival doing was the NXPO trade show at the hotel with live performances during the day that was a preview for the night's showcases.
The dates for the next NXNE are June 13-19, 2011 and band submissions will be due in October of this year. Plan next year's vacation by making a road trip to NXNE. Priority passes are for sale online or if you don't want to attend the whole shebang, wristbands for the showcases are available for $50 for the five day pass or $25 for one day pass and $25 for just the film festival. A passport and clean record is needed to cross the border and you no longer need to do a currency exchange. Great hotel deals can be found online thru various travel websites. The Northern Ink Xposure Toronto Tattoo Convention is usually hosted the same weekend at The Hilton for those that want to add some extra ink on their trip.
Just make sure that G20 is not booked that weekend as this was the only sore point of the trip; that and my feet from walking club to club and my nightly hangover head!
-Sue Static
