Michael Hollett is the founder and president of North by Northeast (NXNE) music festival which happens every June in Toronto since 1995. Hollett is also founder of the national print and online arts magazine, ''NEXT'', available in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary since December, 2020. Hollett is co-founder of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

's longest-running free

alternative newsweekly An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...

, '' Now Magazine''. He was editor and publisher of ''Now'' from 1981 to 2016.

Early life

Hollett was born in Oakville,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

parents. While at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

, studying

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Hollett became

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the university newspaper, ''Excalibur'' during the late 1970s, where he met his future partner,

Alice Klein Alice Klein is the co-founder and former owner of Toronto's longest-running free alternative newsweekly '' NOW Magazine''. In 1981, Klein co-founded ''NOW'' with Michael Hollett and several others. It is now one of the largest independent media org ...

. They were in left-wing politics during this period and were members of the Socialist League. Hollett went on to edit small-town newspapers throughout Ontario, including the ''Orangeville Citizen'', the ''Caledon Citizen'' and the "Halton Hills Herald", Georgetown, Ontario.

Career

In 1981, Hollett co-founded ''NOW'' with his partner

. The paper has remained independent ever since. Although a number of alternative weekly newspapers had been attempted in Toronto without success in the past, ''Now'''s early decision to be distributed without charge proved to be crucial in its success. Buzz Burza helped develop the free distribution initiative after the paper initially charged 50 cents per copy. The magazine also continues to reflect the editorial slant that Hollett brought to it, notably favouring the New Democratic Party (NDP) politically. In 1995, Hollett became a founder of the

North by Northeast North by Northeast (or NXNE) is an annual music and arts festival held each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival's main focus is live music, but it also includes an eSports gaming tournament, comedy, a conversations series, a flea mark ...

(NXNE)

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

. In 2004, he provided the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

for a

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

CD release by the band

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, a ...

. Hollett served on the board of directors of the

Association of Alternative Newsmedia The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) is a trade association of alternative weekly newspapers in North America. It provides services to many generally liberal or progressive weekly newspapers across the United States and in Canada. A ...

(AAN) a continental organization representing alt weeklies and digital media across North America from 2009 until 2016. He was also a founding member of the Alternative Media Foundation. Hollett resigned from both boards when he resigned from NOW Magazine in 2016. He resigned from NOW to focus on growing NXNE and to spend more time writing. He is a founding board member of Music Canada Live, launched in 2014, and remains active in the association. Hollett continues to travel the world attending music festivals and conferences, often as a speaker, expanding NXNE's contacts and looking for talent to book. He recently spoke at the Golden Medlody Awards, Conference and Festival in Taipei, Taiwan in June, 2018 and again in 2019.

Personal life

Hollett resides in the Toronto neighbourhood of Riverdale. He is an avid hockey fan and player, and was active with the Friends of Maple Leaf Gardens, an organization dedicated to the

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

of the historic hockey arena in downtown Toronto who helped preserve and re-purpose the building.

External links

Now Magazine
Everything Toronto.
Micheal's Bio @ Now magazineNXNE
Music Festival {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollett, Michael Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian male journalists Canadian newspaper editors Canadian magazine publishers (people) Living people Year of birth missing (living people)