North by Northeast

North by Northeast (NXNE)
North by Northeast 2011 in Yonge-Dundas Square Toronto on June 17, 2011.
Location(s)	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Years active	1995–present
Website
http://www.nxne.com

North by Northeast (or NXNE) is an annual music and arts festival held each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival's main is live music, but it also includes a film festival, a comedy festival, art components, video game activities, and a digital interactive media conference. The festival events happen in a variety venues. NXNE is largely a volunteer-staffed music festival, with about 1,000 volunteers in festival operations. The alternative weekly newspaper Now is a major sponsor, and its owners hold an ownership interest in the festival.

New in 2016 is a large venue in Toronto's Port Lands area for major events during two days of the festival.

NXNE began in 1995, patterned on the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. It was co-founded by Michael Hollett. The SXSW organization is a minority ownership partner in NXNE. At that time it was a three-day festival of mainly local, unsigned, independent artists. Over the years the festival expanded its attendance and began to feature well-known performers. The festival events took place in a number of venues, and participants purchased wristbands for entry into the events.

A film festival was added in 2001, screening primarily music-related features, documentaries and shorts. NXNE Film has screened films by directors such as Stewart Copeland (of rock band The Police), Don Letts, Guy Maddin, and Rob Heydon, and has hosted many world premieres, including Bruce McDonald's Broken Social Scene concert film, This Movie Is Broken, in 2010. Michael Tanner was the director of the festival. from 2007 to 2014.

In 2013, NXNE added comedy as a fourth stream, formally recognizing the growing number of standup, sketch, and improvisatory comics taking part in the festival since 2010. NXNE also added art as its fifth stream that year. including exhibits, projections, installations, performances and an art fair.