NXNE Returns to Sankofa Square (Formerly Yonge-Dundas Square) with the Billboard Live Stage on June 12, 2025

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The Billboard Live Stage is coming to Canada, and it will happen at the site of NXNE's most legendary performances.

On June 12, 2025, Billboard Canada will present a performance of major chart-topping artists culminating in a highly anticipated headline performance by a global music icon. The show will take place at Sankofa Square (formerly Yonge-Dundas Square), the bustling public square at the heart of downtown Toronto.

It's a fitting return to the place where NXNE presented some of its biggest shows on the festival's 30th anniversary, and its first in partnership with Billboard Canada and its parent company ArtsHouse Media Group.

"For 30 years, NXNE has been a defining force in Canada’s music landscape, championing talent and shaping the future of live performance," says Amanda Dorenberg, CEO of ArtsHouse Media Group and Billboard Canada. "As Billboard Canada and ArtsHouse Media Group continue to support music’s evolution, we’re proud to celebrate NXNE’s 30th anniversary with the Billboard Live Stage at Sankofa Square, further extending its legacy by giving artists a platform to reach new audiences and make a global impact."

NXNE is no stranger to the square. It's been the site of performances by massive acts including The National, The Flaming Lips, Sloan, multiple members of Wu-Tang Clan, Devo, Ludacris and many more, including a legendary blowout performance by Iggy Pop & The Stooges in 2010. The festival's history goes way back to the opening of the public square, remembers co-founding NXNE president & CEO Michael Hollett.

“We were honoured to present the first ever concert in the Square when Gord Downie played NXNE in 2003 and we had the biggest crowd ever for Iggy and the Stooges in 2010," he says. "With Flaming Lips, St. Vincent, Raekwon and so many great shows, we have a great history at Yonge and Dundas, and we are thrilled to return on our 30th anniversary to the freshly named Sankofa Square to again bring incredible, free live music to the city and the world."

Scheduled for Thursday, June 12th from 4-9 pm ET, the show will match Billboard's global reach to NXNE's knack for creating FOMO-inducing moments of live music and identifying emerging talent on their way to stardom. As previously announced, NXNE will also be home to this year's Billboard Canada Power Players, the country's most influential music industry celebration. Expect more exciting announcements about Billboard Canada's programming to come, including the reveal of the Billboard Live Stage performers.

NXNE is also unveiling its first wave of showcasing artists, which includes more than 100 exciting emerging acts from Canada and all over the world. Notable highlights include Vancouver-based comedian and trained opera singer Toddy, Montreal-based singer-songwriter Avery Jane, Welland, Ontario rock’n’roller Andy Colonico, Newfoundland experimental hardcore band The Order of the Precious Blood, and award-winning producer and soul-hop artist B1GJuice.

The festival will take over 23 venues throughout Toronto, including Lee's Palace, Rivoli, Death & Taxes and The Theatre Centre (1115 Queen St. W.), its new headquarters for 2025. Priced the same as the festival’s debut in 1995, the NXNE Festival Pass ($29) grants access to all Clubland shows and Artist Development Day panels. There are also VIP options with a variety of exclusive perks and access. More info at nxne.com.

Below is a list of confirmed emerging showcase artists for 2025:

538st (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

A Cure for Love (Columbus, OH, USA)

A Short Walk To Pluto (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Absolight (Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada)

A Weekend at Ramona’s (Toronto, ON, Canada)

activemirror (Oranjestad, Aruba, CARB)

Adam Ambrose (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

Alena Ciera (Washington D.C, USA)

Alex Dolphin (London, ON, Canada)

Andy Colonico (Welland, ON, Canada)

Attack the Sound (Chicago, IL, USA)

Ash Molloy (Torbay, NL, Canada)

Avery Jane (Montreal, QC, Canada)

B1GJuice (Part of the BitterJuice Collective) (Toronto, ON, Canada)

av club (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Basset (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Beach Season (Calgary, AB, Canada)

Bebe and Oona (Toronto, ON, Canada)

BIG MILK (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Bitch Stick (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Bitter&Broke (Scarborough, ON, Canada)

BlackBudget (Toronto, ON, Canada)

BongoBandana (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Boniface (Winnipeg, MB, Canada)

Bradley Hale (Heidelberg, ON, Canada)

BREE TAYLOR (Mississauga, ON, Canada)

Casual Cries for HELP (Halifax, NS, Canada)

CEC (Winnipeg, MB, Canada)

Certified Bad Guyz (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Chara Kai-Le (Toronto, ON, Canada)

City Circuits (Toronto, ON, Canada)

CMAGIC5 (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Cruel Hope (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Cure-Pipe (Saguenay, Québec, Canada)

Dandelion Highway (Toronto, ON, Canada)

DAPHNE (Vaughan, ON, Canada)

David San Clair (Drogheda, Louth, IRL)

Dead Roots (Waterloo, ON, Canada)

DEREV (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Diamond Weapon (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Discontinuity (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Dynesti (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Dov Beck-Levine (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Evan Denley (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Falls for the Elderly (London, ON, Canada)

Feura (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Fleeting Colours (Montreal, QC, Canada)

FRANKIE FLOWERS (Waterloo, ON, Canada)

Full Throttle (London, ON, Canada)

Garrett Neiles (Toronto, ON, Canada)

gee. (Mississauga, ON, Canada)

GODDESS (Hamilton/Toronto, ON, Canada)

Hendrika (Whitehorse, YT, Canada)

Honey Moon (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Hormoans (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Hotfix (Hamilton, ON, Canada)

Jade Hilton (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Jasmine Kiara (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Julie Title (Toronto, ON, Canada)

June Hawthorn (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Junko Daydream (London, ON, Canada)

Karen Lee Andrews (Sydney, NSW, AUS)

KING FALCON (New York, NY, USA)

Laraw (Montreal, QC, Canada)

LeeL (Hillsdale, NJ, USA)

Lennie Rayen (North Bay, ON, Canada)

LESS KILLJOY (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Lightkeeper (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Live Animals (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Living Dead Girl (Peterborough, ON, Canada)

Living Room for Small (Waterloo, ON, Canada)

Lost Faculty (Hamilton, ON, Canada)

Lostvoy (Toronto, ON, Canada)

LTtheMonk (Hamilton, ON, Canada)

LUELLA (Kingston, ON, Canada)

Lunchmeat (Toronto, ON, Canada)

magenta (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Matt Kristan and Elfrida (Hamilton, ON, Canada)

Mawzy (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Max Parker (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Melo Griffith (Ajax, ON, Canada)

Merv xx Gotti (Regina, SK, Canada)

Miss Mae (Brantford, ON, Canada)

Monstrosa (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Museums (Montréal, QC, Canada)

Noise Hotel (Ottawa, ON, Canada)

Orlas (New York, NY, USA)

oui merci (L’Assomption, QC, Canada)

papaya noon (Cardiff, WAL, UK)

Permilla (Niagara Falls, ON, Canada)

Problem Patterns (Belfast, NIR, UK)

Raveen (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Rebecca Sichon (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

RedFox (Montréal, QC, Canada)

Reno K.O.Q (Queens, NY, USA / Kingston Jamaica)

Sam Louis (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Sea of Lettuce (Calgary, AB, Canada)

Seago (Brampton, ON, Canada)

Shébani (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Spring Colours (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Sudden Waves (Montreal, QC, Canada)

Summer School (Seattle, WA, USA)

SWiiMS (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Tatum Quinn (Montréal, QC, Canada)

The Blue (Calgary, AB, Canada)

The Codas (Kingston, ON, Canada)

The Holy Gamblers (Toronto, ON, Canada)

The Jailbirds (Mississauga, ON, Canada)

The New Hires (Ottawa, ON, Canada)

The Order of the Precious Blood (St John’s, NL, Canada)

The Satisfactory (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Toddy (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

Tre. Charles (Durham, NC, USA)

TRUSS (Cleveland, OH, USA)

TWIST IT (Philadelphia, PA, USA)

VOYAGR (Buffalo, NY, USA)

Waahli (Montréal, QC, Canada)

Wedding (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Willem James Cowan (London, ON, Canada)

ZOCHI (Regina, SK, Canada)