Nemahsis Closes NXNE With Human Storytelling and a Very Canadian Touch
The emergent Palestinian Canadian popstar is also SPIN Canada's inaugeral cover star.
Nemahsis at the Soundstage, W Toronto, by Nolan McBride.
The final day of North By North East festival (NXNE) closed out on Sunday evening, 14 June 2026 at the W Hotel’s brand new Soundstage in downtown Toronto to bring the curtains down on a week of celebrating Canada’s rich and diverse music scene, showcasing the best emerging talent from across the country and genres.
The event was headlined by rising pop star and Palestinian Canadian singer Nemahsis, marking her return to performing live after a hiatus that followed a whirlwind year for her in 2024, that saw her release her acclaimed debut album Verbathim, take it on tour across the country and then sweep the JUNO Awards in early 2025, but took its toll. It also doubled up as the official launch for SPIN Magazine’s Canadian edition, of which Nemahsis is the first cover star.
Nemahsis on the cover of the inaugural edition of SPIN Canada. Cover photo by Norman Wong.
SPIN Canada’s editor-in-chief and NXNE founder Michael Hollett opened the evening by declaring that even as NXNE was coming to an end for this year, a new era of Canadian music journalism was beginning with SPIN. Magazines and art journalism have been under threat in the last few years, pointed out Michael, ironically, this comes at a time when Canadian culture is thriving like never before, and SPIN Canada pledged to cover the gap in coverage by focusing on Canadian artists, culture and live music experiences.
The next few hours were a demonstration of the unique strength of Canadian culture. Local songwriter Harper (known mononymously) opened the show by performing a few heartfelt ballads. The singer revealed in between songs that he was added to the bill less than 48 hours prior. Having toured with Nemahsis before, he’d reached out hoping to watch the show, only for Nemah to personally ask him to open instead. “Best seat in the house!” he smiled from behind his piano on stage. I couldn’t think of a more Canadian music industry experience: it’s a small, close-knit community compared to its American and UK market counterparts, but it punches well above its weight: aside from his own music, Harper has produced tracks for artists like the Nigerian pop superstar, Burnaboy.
Nemah Hassan, known artistically as Nemahsis, is herself a master class in combining storytelling and song in her uniquely enrapturing way. The show felt intimate, as a group of roughly hundred fans and industry folk gathered around the stage to listen as Nemah recounted stories of home, growing up, the challenges her family faced, and how it all poured into her songs, bringing them to life in vivid colour.
Picture by Nolan McBride.
The daughter of Palestinian Canadian immigrants and one of six children, she told the tale of her hit song ‘Coloured Concrete’, inspired by a memory of how her parents had to remove their rugs on the family home’s floor to get rid of mould, but wouldn’t be able to afford to have to redone and so had to choose to leave the floors uncovered. To keep the kids distracted from the cold concrete flooring under their socked feet in the winter, Nemah’s parents told the kids they could painted the floors any colour they wished. Nemah captured those pockets of joy from her childhood in vivid melodies and anthemic choruses, stripped down with just her guitarist and bass/keys player on stage with her.
The band, pictured by Nolan McBride.
The evening continued with the JUNO-winning singer weaving in Palestinian instruments and western pop anthems that she’d felt would be fit for Adele, seamlessly into a musical style very recognisably her own to anyone familiar with her music. It struck me again just how Canadian a style of music that was: rich storytelling of cultures melding into each other, the give and take of growing up between them; the fusion of traditional and pop music stood out to demonstrate Canadian music and culture at its best.
Nemah brought a quietly confident stage presence, commanding the crowd to sing along to the choruses and sway to the music, and the room swelled with applause as she stood triumphant against the stage background, a picture of blinding-white linen set against the sky, with the homeliness of earthen, handcrafted pottery pieces surrounding her on stage.
Picture by Nolan McBride.
Michael Hollett led a post-show on-stage Q&A with Nemahsis, where she was also unveiled as the cover star for the inaugural digital edition of SPIN Canada. A longer, in-depth interview with Nemah conducted by Hollett appears in the new edition of SPIN Canada which can be found at spinmagazine.com.
As Nemah talked about her journey from nothing to becoming one of Canada’s biggest new popstars, I saw her beginnings reflected in the faces of the artists and fellow NXNE performers sat in the room, like Newmarket rockers Noise Hotel, who had picked up the NXNE People’s Choice award earlier that evening. Always sharply dressed in matching suits onstage, they won over festivalgoers during their set at Sneaky Dee’s on Thursday night (11 June).
Noise Hotel by Nolan McBride.
As such, this felt like a fitting way to end Canada’s premier artist discovery and emerging music festival, and the biggest national celebration of the emergent arts: NXNE is the start to many a Canadian artist’s career. As many have done over the festival’s 31 year run, some day many of these artists will be sitting on the other side of that stage as Nemah was, having made it. And cheers to that.
Michael Hollett Q&A with Nemah. Picture by Nolan McBride.
