NXNE, The Bovine Sex Club, and The Divine Project... This is what it's all about!
- jaybroderick
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By: Jay Broderick
Toronto, Ontario - Walking into Queen Street's Bovine Sex Club for the first time feels like a rite of passage, and on June 11, I finally lost my “Sex Club virginity.” For a venue that barely fits a couple dozen bodies before it feels full, it’s wild how right it is for a night like this. Small, sweaty, intimate, and loud… exactly where local music thrives.
NXNE (North by Northeast if you've been living under a rock) has been championing emerging artists since 1995, and honestly, LOUDTO needs to be deeper in this festival’s bloodstream. It’s built for the kind of talent we obsess over. And tonight, that talent came in the form of Toronto’s own The Divine Project, a band we spotlighted back in December 2025, but just like my Bovine virginity, I have also not yet caught this band in a live environment.
This showcase wasn’t just another NXNE slot either. It was made possible by the UK’s Rock and Metal Alliance (RMA), a grassroots network connecting independent artists across borders. Three of RMA’s members, Emma, Roxy, and Rob, flew across the Atlantic with Birmingham’s Blood Dealer, making this a truly international collision of underground heavy music.
Blood Dealer
I didn’t plan to cover the whole night. I was here for The Divine Project. But when a band travels from Birmingham to Toronto and becomes the first UK band to ever play NXNE, well..... you'd be an idiot not to stay!
Blood Dealer hit the stage second, led by vocalist Billy Douglas, a frontman who doesn’t accept lukewarm energy. When the crowd gave him a half‑hearted response to “Are you ready to kick it into gear?”, he fired back: “Where we come from, we call that fucking shit!! ARE YOU READY???”
The room erupted. Challenge accepted.
Their set was a chaotic, heavy, alt‑metal blast. Charlie ripping through guitar lines, Ollie hammering the kit, Will locking down the low end, and Billy flipping between clean melodies and vicious growls. For a band making festival history, they played like they had something to prove… and they proved it!
Blood Dealer Photo Gallery (all photos by: Jay Broderick)
The Divine Project
At 9:00pm sharp, The Divine Project kicked off the night, and the front of the room instantly turned into a tangle of bodies banging, thrashing, and pushing toward the stage. The Bovine’s floor practically vibrated. Hanging out before the show started, the band was engaging with a lot of the fans, showing that there was distinct comradery, and the fans showed their appreciation as soon as the night kicked off.
As the band commenced through their opening 3 songs, founding member, and guitarist Eric Divine, and bassist Derek Boshlov jumped off the stage and onto the floor, turning the crowd into part of the performance as the 2 band members played through the track with fans as close as you could possibly get. Cells phones out snapping pics, and taking videos... a small memento to forever look back on, and "remember when".
Mid‑set, the band thanked RMA for bringing this event together, and reminded everyone that RMA had brought them overseas to the UK earlier this year. The energy in the room shifted; this wasn’t just a gig, it was a reunion of collaborators. For a young band to have this relationship is massive, and as they progress through their career, it's yet another moment that will forever remained burned in the memory bank.
The Divine Project's vocalist Ro Stevens did an amazing job belting out the words of the band's music, and also sharing the word of what is happening with the band's progression. He shared that "word on the street is that we're working on a new album", and they tested out two or three new tracks tonight. The fifth song of the set was one of them, heavy, fresh, and clearly pointing toward a bigger, more ambitious sound. “Let’s get this shit going — I wanna see a circle pit right now!” Stevens challenged the patrons, and despite the tiny stage, the band moved like a four‑person cyclone, weaving around each other as the pit exploded.
Drum solo intros from Mitch Greenham, and killer riffs from guitarist David T. Anselmo ensured high‑energy moments, with the band balancing crowd interaction with razor‑sharp timing. Even during a slower, moodier new track, fists and horns were raised high.
The Divine Project closed their all too short 45 minute set (a downfall of a 6 band bill) with their 2025 track “The Longest Night”. The crowd bounced, a pit opened again, and the room felt like it might burst at the seams.
It’s tight, gritty venues like The Bovine where live music culture breathes its loudest. Local bands doing what they love. Fans pressed shoulder‑to‑shoulder, sweating, shouting, living in the moment. International artists sharing the stage with Toronto’s own. Scenes connecting. History being made.
And this is why LOUDTO exists. And this is why NXNE still matters. And this is why The Divine Project continues to be one of Toronto’s newest, most exciting heavy acts.
The Divine Project Photo Gallery (all photo by: Jay Broderick)
The Divine Project Online
Show Date: June 11, 2026
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