Here are some things to consider seeing if you’re NXNEing all over the place tonight! Calm down! We got you!

Halifax duo Cousins play the Annex Wreckroom and they come with a warning: if you see them, you will fall under their spell.

The Men are one of the festival highlights overall. Go see them play ripping jams from new(ish) album Open Your Heart and feel like you’re in the basement.

Badbadnotgood and Ryan Hemsworth diversify the festival at the Hoxton.

Get more guitar fix with Bleached, featuing sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin of beloved, defunct LA band Mika Miko at the Silver Dollar.

And exercise one of two amazing outdoor options with the start of the Yonge-Dundas Square shows at Bad Religion, or head to dainty Toronto Island for the JanSport Bonfire Series at Artscape Gibraltar Point with Smith Westerns and Dusted, the latest project from Holy Fuck’s Brian Borcherdt. We asked Borcherdt to walk us through his idea of NXNE; read it below.

Photo by Norman Wong

AUX: Say you’re playing Toronto host for a day to a band/artist from out of town. Where do you take them?

Brian Borcherdt: Galleria Mall.

Is there anything you’re looking forward to seeing or adamant about avoiding at NXNE?

I’m looking forward to day drinking, something that Toronto should be better at—typically there are patios and there’s Bellwoods for juggling, fire breathing, and general clowning around, but there are too few daytime music-related events, until this weekend. I’ll hit up some day parties. The question is, do I last til the late, late night?

What’s the best and worst thing about a festival like NXNE? Does it compare to others you’ve played or attended?

NXNE is getting better every year, so it seems. Again, I think there needs to be more daytime fun in the sun, like SXSW. And it needs to come from outside of the NXNE organization, DIY events, hosted by local labels, bands, and communities. You can go to a bar any night of the year. Boring.

What’s your favourite Toronto artist, and why?

I can’t name one. I dropped out of touch for years due to touring, but I’m enjoying being closer to home and hanging out with friends and seeing their bands.

Tell us why your show is the show everyone should make sure to see.

Awkward banter.

What else is Dusted up to that we should know about?

By the time you read this we’ll be back from a West Coast tour with Place To Bury Strangers. And we’ll probably have played a bunch of late night talk shows on cable TV.

Check out NXNE.com for the full festival schedule.