Toronto Indie Band Noise Hotel Wins Amazon Prime People's Choice Contest At NXNE 2026

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Noise Hotel has been crowned the winner of NXNE's 3rd annual People's Choice Award, sponsored by Amazon Prime for Young Adults.

The "living room indie" band based in Toronto, comprised of frontman and guitarist Eric Montpool, drummer Brendan Vandepol, bassist Christian Strong and guitarist Matthew Scharfe, emerged victorious in this year's contest, which gives the fans the power to decide which emerging artist made the most memorable connection with the crowd during the renowned Canadian music festival.

The band's victory comes off the heels of their electric performance at the legendary Sneaky Dee's venue in Toronto.

"It was a nice way to end off a really good week," says Montpool on winning the award. "It was a great call to receive and getting handed the award was like nothing else."

In addition to a $1,000 cash prize courtesy of Amazon Prime, the band also wins studio time with an engineer provided by Slaight Music, an Epiphone SG special guitar courtesy of Long & McQuade, a slot to perform at the NXNE stage at the 2026 Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), a pair of Blundstone boots courtesy of Blundstone Canada, a $50 7-Eleven gift card for each member and VIP passes to next year's NXNE.

Noise Hotel's Sneaky Dee's show was a highlight for their career, they say, especially with the looming threats of demolition and redevelopment that faced the venue (it has since been saved).

"It got me kind of emotional because it was possibly going to be the last time we were ever going to play there," says Strong. "Everyone who was there knew what was going on with the venue. Sneaky Dee's is such a big part of Canadian music culture."

After forming in 2022, Noise Hotel's current lineup came together in 2024, and the band has played NXNE every year since. This year, they celebrated by releasing their new EP, Five Stars, which contains the first five songs born from the band's current iteration and serves as a highlight reel of the past three years for them.

The band's indie sound is a culmination of alternative, folk and soul influences that has been likened to the Arctic Monkeys, the Strokes and the Backseat Lovers. From starting with the initial acoustic song idea, to adding folk influences and specific production and EQ elements, there are bits of each member's respective inspirations that come together to form the band's unique style. Everyone's fingerprints are on every song.

"It's never the song until [we] all do something with it," Montpool explains.

Inspired by concept albums and artists like Jack White, Pink Floyd and The Who, Noise Hotel love to bring their world to life onstage. Strong prides himself in bringing props like lamps, luggage pieces and cutouts to shows, even working on projecting mapping for their visuals. From printing out menus and calling their supporters "devoted guests," to dressing up for the occasion whenever they hit the stage, the band truly strives to create an experience. As their momentum continues to grow, he hopes to be able to bring these onscreen graphics and backdrops to every show, allowing fans to walk into the lobby of the Noise Hotel every night.

"I love playing a completely different person at shows," Vandepol adds.

With two full albums worth of written material and demos ready to be recorded, Noise Hotel are eager to hit the studio, put out new music and make the most out of its studio time they have won as part of the People's Choice Award. Their goals are to sell out their hometown RBC Amphitheatre and then a stadium in Croatia.

Winning the award is a true stamp of approval for Noise Hotel to continue chasing that ambition, and it also reflects the years of their early career spent fleshing out their musical resumé as an emerging act at NXNE.

"It cements how special NXNE is to Canadian music because they really do care about developing artists and giving emergent bands to perform," Montpool says. "With them giving us a chance for three years and us being able to take home this award, it's exactly what they all represent,."