#DEPARTURETO: DEPARTURE FESTIVAL + CONFERENCE 2026 HIGHLIGHTS

The Departure Festival + Conference 2026 has kicked off officially in Toronto, running now till May 10, 2026. The Festival is an intersection of music, art, business, culture, and technology that features concerts, panel discussions and movies, with the Depature Honours Gala at Koerner Hall paying tribute to accomplishments of notable Canadian talent. Several marquee names were in-attendance at the Festival and Conference, including Maggie Kang, Sarah McLachlan, Jacob Tierney, Sum 41‘s Deryck Whibley, Lilly Singh, and more.

The Team, including Justin Waldman, Genevieve Walker and special contributor Angela McLean, provide some highlights from the Festival:

POWER BALLAD – Mr. Will

New to the Departure Festival + Conference this year are film screenings and the Festival kicked off with this high-profile feature. Writer/Director John Carney has brought us some classics like ONCE and SING STREET, here he’s back with another Musical Dramedy, with blockbuster talent in POWER BALLAD. We meet Rick Power (Paul Rudd), a wedding singer who despite having had a record deal in his younger days, never quite propelled so stardom. He crosses paths with Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas) at a gig and they hang out together in a jam session which inspires a song that ignites Danny‘s career with a smash hit. The problem is, Rick never gets credit for this and the Film has him grappling with this and he plots his plan to get justice for this when even his wife and daughter fail to believe him.

The Film shifts tonally from comedic to heartfelt with grace, and who knew Rudd had such a fantastic voice and that Jonas had such acting chops? POWER BALLAD ultimately is a story of a man who must come to terms with his dreams never coming true, and in the face of losing his shot a second time, a fire gets lit within for him not to lose his chance at recognition, especially when it comes to a song that has such a deep personal attachment to him.

Attendees were gifted commemorative guitar picks from the Film even! Cineplex Pictures release POWER BALLAD June 5, 2026.

JACOB TIERNEY – Angela McLean

Much like the global phenomenon that is HEATED RIVALRY, its Soundtrack and Score have taken off and continues to unite an entire fandom. Series Writer/Director/Creator Jacob Tierney,, Composer Peter Peter, and Music Supervisor Scotty Taylor joined Variety Executive Music Dditor Jem Aswad to share the stories behind the songs and sounds behind the beloved series at Bluma Appel Theatre.

“This is the most music I’ve ever put in anything,” said Tierney. “Even when we were wrong [working together] we were on the right track.” It was also Peter’s decision to have less of a Score in the final episode. Recalled Tierney, he said, “‘Let it be quiet,’ and I was like, you’re right.”

We learned that they were shocked to get rights to Feist’s “My Moon My Man”, and they were very intentional about avoiding big hit songs.

CHOIR! CHOIR! CHOIR! AN EPIC SINGALONG WITH EXTRA SPECIAL GUEST SARAH MCLACHLAN – Justin Waldman

We were fortunate enough to attend a very special Choir! Choir! Choir! performance with a special appearance from legendary Sarah McLachlan at Massey Hall. If you’ve never been to a Choir! Choir! Choir! show, we have our two hosts who teach the audience how to sing, making THEM the choir, learning our roles and pitch etc. It is karaoke, but done with roughly 2500 people – an interactive experience that transcends words and proves to be something that has to be seen to be believed. It was highlighted and advertised as being culminated with a performance of McLachlan’s “Angel” which she came out and performed with the entirety of Massey Hall backing her as the choir, no less than three times and was a near out-of-body experience being a part of that shared experience.

GOING GLOBAL: SCALING CULTURE WITH RUSSELL PETERS – JUSTIN WALDMAN

It was amazing catching Going Global: Scaling Culture with Russell Peters, where the funnyman talked about anything and everything, including a live roast (at the behest of the person asking for it). Nothing was off topic for Russell as he laid into what it meant to be a ‘Canadian Comedian’ despite the fact that he left Canada and moved to the US over a decade ago. Meanwhile others like Seth Rogen, Mike Myers, and Jim Carrey don’t get referred to as the “Canadian Comedian”, yet he somehow still gets that moniker. He was quick to make quips back at moderator and interviewer – Mark Strong – who grew-up with Peters and have been professional friends for some time.

Peters talked about one of his mentors being Larry Horowitz, as he stated “when I started doing Comedy in ’89, Larry Horowitz was who I looked up to, he would do the same set every week but really delivered it. He taught me how to polish and sell and I needed to make that my blueprint”. He then talked about the evolving scene and how he doesn’t particularly trust Comedians and doesn’t consider them friends – and especially not people in LA with the quip of “I don’t consider any of the LA people, my friends. Anyone I would trust is in New York. I’d call people here but they’re broke”. Watching the conversation was more like being a “fly on the wall” as two friends chat intimately.

FROM VISION TO PHENOMENON: INSIDE KPOP DEMON HUNTERS – Justin Waldman

We were lucky enough to attend a very earnest conversation with Academy Award winner Maggie Kang, moderated and conducted by Tim Chan about KPop Demon Hunters, its global success, its cultural signifance, and how Sheridan College (Kang is an alumni) played a critical part of it all.

Kang herself was taken back by how well and quickly KPop Demon Hunters resonated with audiences, when asked how early on she knew then movie would be a hit. She said, “It was kind of soon as soon as the Movie dropped, as so much content was being made”. “If an audience finds it we could be okay. And they found it very fast!”.  

The conversation then centered around Sheridan College, and if her parents had a different path for her. She said candidly, “I’m the second child of two. My sister got it a lot [specifically referring to the notion that she should’ve done something parent-approved]. With me, they knew early on I had an artistic ability. Thankfully, my dad is a huge cinephile, one of the first members of Cinematheque Toronto”.

This continued into how her parents, specifically her dad, helped shape her and lead her down the career path she has taken. “My dad introduced me to Animation. After I graduated Sheridan, I was scouted by Dreamworks and two months later I was on a plane to LA and have been there since. I got into animation because I like storytelling. It was a way for me to become a Filmmaker”.

Further tidbits were shared about Dreamworks as well, including a “Shrek Test” which is their version of a stress test. It was shortly after Shrek 2 came out, and she was tasked with creating a fun and creative way to get Shrek and Donkey out of a situation as her interview.

The conversation then pivoted back to KPop Demon Hunters, and Kang was asked if we’d ever hear any of the unreleased songs, which she quickly shut-down, as we learned once the songs are killed, they’re killed. The conversation ended with Mayor Olivia Chow coming out and presenting Kang with the Key to the City (one of the highest honours a Torontonian can receive). met with great surprise by Kang!

DEPARTURE HONOURS – Mr. Will and Angela McLean

More on the Awards Gala which took place at Koerner Hall May 7, 2026 here.

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Some more Highlights with key moments from this year’s Departure Festival + Conference:

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Learn more here.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Justin Waldman/Genevieve Walker/Angela McLean)