The Worst Pop Band Ever – With influences ranging from Radiohead to Miles Davis, Bjork to Brad Mehldau, TWPBE is a Toronto-based group that tries to amicably reconcile their love of improvisational music with pop.
Rex @ 12AM

Revival Dear – As a roots rock band from Toronto, Revival Dear has found a way to pay homage to the past and herald in the future at the same time. Somewhere between the Band and Fleetwood Mac.
**This will be a great gig**
Cadillac Lounge @ 12 Midnight

Emily Weedon & Delta – Recommended if you love Dolly Parton. Emily Weedon & Delta have honed a sharp shit-kickin alt country show that is sure to get boots moving, asses out of seats and potentially even get you laid.Lead singer Emily Weedon works the pipes, guitar and piano while channeling the greats of girl country. Recently out of the studio with producer Moe Berg.
Black Bull @ 1AM

Ladyhawk evokes the devilish sounds of Goats Head Soup guitars and the honey-slides and howling of Neil Young in his darkest hours.
Horseshoe @ 2AM

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

Run With The Kittens – Ripping some musical styles from the past, some from the future, this foursome is hell bent on showing people a good time with a repertoire ranging from darkly witty Dylan-esque tunes to stompers worthy of Motorhead.
Holy Joe’s @ 11PM

The Two Koreas – Like soggy cigarette butts in melting snow banks, Toronto’s preeminent practitioners of jangular electric beat muszik re-emerge from a winter of considerable discontent to release the new “Sessions EP.”
El Mocambo Down @ 11PM

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

Throughout NXNE, The El Mocambo will be one of the hottest venues of the Festival. Toronto Unplugged profiles the gigs shaking out both upstairs and downstairs on this Friday the 13th.

Tonight, the El Mocambo UP will feature:

Toronto’s Songs From a Room @ 9PM
Casey Baker and the Buffalo Sinners @ 10PM
.Moneen. @ 11PM
Black Lungs @ midnight
Bedouin Soundclash @ 1AM

Image Credit:  Newscom

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

One outstanding local talent that will be on showcase at NXNE will be local roots music purveyors Revival Dear.  The band is slotted to play the Pearson Airport NXNE Showcase gig on June 13th.

The band is described as a duo who simply make good old music.  CBC Radio 3 references sounds of The Band and Fleetwood Mac….

“There was a time when music was a craft performed by artisans who rode the rails and played from the heart. A time when music was central to communities, bringing people together and inspiring change. If you have ever longed to go back to such a time, then Revival Dear will ride straight into your heart. ” -CBC Radio 3

Key Tracks:  Ol’s In The Water, Be Back Someday | LISTEN HERE

Image Credit:  U SPIN Records

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

It began in 1996 and was patterned on the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Each year, three-dozen music venues host hundreds of bands from Canada, the United States and all over the world. Each music venue hosts five bands a night (9 p.m. onward), and the majority of the venues are grouped along downtown Toronto’s Queen St. West, College St. West, and the Bloor St. Annex.

The music conference at NXNE runs for three days at the Holiday Inn on King Hotel which serves as Festival HQ. NXNE delegates, panelists and bands playing the festival are able to participate in discussions, songwriter round tables, keynotes, demo listening and peer critiquing, legal clinics and the very helpful peer mentor sessions. The NXNE conference panels are held Friday and Saturday, and aim to foster a professional environment where musicians, artists and music industry reps can network and share ideas within their field.

This year’s line-up is solid to say the least. Perhaps the most anticipated gig will take place on closing night at the Kool Haus where My Morning Jacket will play the evening of June 16th.

My Morning Jacket’s new album Evil Urges will be released on June 10th – just before the start of NXNE. MMJ frontman Jim James says this about the album,

“There’s a theme of moral confusion that runs through the whole record,” says Jim James, explaining the title of the band’s new album, Evil Urges. “The world today is such a confused place. Things that people think are good values are obviously twisted, but there are other things considered evil that obviously aren’t. There is real evil out there, but Evil Urges is about how all of these things that you’ve been told are evil really aren’t, unless they’re actually hurting something or somebody.”

Alongside My Morning jacket at NXNE is a slew of incredible Canadian bands including: Moneen, The Stills, We Are The Take, The Coast, Spiral Beach, Ladyhawk (at the Shoe – sure to be a killer gig) and many more.

For the entire Festival lineup, visit the NXNE Band Schedule

Image Credit: Newscom

Post from: Toronto Unplugged