Arkells
#FIRSTLOOK: FEFE DOBSON, MAX KERMAN, TEGAN AND SARA AND MORE ADDED TO DEPARTURE FESTIVAL + CONFERENCE LINEUP
Loft Entertainment and Oak View Group (OVG) today announced world-renowned artists and speakers joining this year’s Departure Festival + Conference. Decorated music artists Tegan and Sara, Max Kerman, Fefe Dobson as well as comedy icons Elvira Kurt and Jamie Kennedy join previously announced guests including Bryan Adams, Dallas Green, Matty Matheson, Tia Wood, Shaggy, Jully Black, Mustafa, Harland Williams, Leslie Liao, Caroline Rhea, the hosts of How Did This Get Made? – Live and more. Departure Festival + Conference takes place May 6-11 in Toronto.
Priority and Conference. Passes are on sale now at departureto.com.
“With each new addition, Departure continues to establish itself as a must-attend event for artists, industry leaders and fans alike,” said Kevin Barton, Executive Producer at Loft Entertainment. “From industry leaders to world-renowned performers, this year’s event will be essential for anyone passionate about the future of music, culture, and creativity.”
CONFERENCE PROGRAMMING:
Departure continues to grow its already impressive slate of speakers for this year’s conference, showcasing leaders and innovators from the music industry including Grammy-nominated, Juno-winning indie pop duo Tegan and Sara, Arkells frontman Max Kerman, who presents his debut book, Try Hard and multi-platinum award-winning pop-punk artist Fefe Dobson.
Offering key insights into the vigorous music market from talent management to industry insights, Departure’s Conference will welcome record producer Murda Beatz—known for his work with Travis Scott, Drake, and more; award-winning, multidisciplinary artist Vivek Shraya; Toronto journalist, author and publicist; Dalton Higgins; Indigenous Rights & Water activist, Autumn Peltier; Toronto-based realism and pop artist Julia Brevetti; co-host of TVO’s The Agenda, Nam Kiwanuka; vegan chef and creator Lauren Toyota, and Catherine Harrison, Founder and President of Revelios – Mental Health Works
Click here for a full list of Conference guests to date.
FESTIVAL MUSIC PROGRAMMING:
Departure will welcome additional musical talents to join the Festival including Canadian Folk Music’s Emerging Artist of the Year Noah Derksen, popular UK tech house DJ Chapter & Verse, rising star rapper DijahSB, emerging country artist Sully Burrows, electronic dance DJ Felix Cartal, who will headline an energetic DJ set outside Hotel X; and former frontman of the hip hop group Migos, rapper/singer Quavo and Murda Beatz will close the festival on May 11th, to cap off the week.
Click here for a full list of artists, venues and schedule of events to date.
FESTIVAL COMEDY PROGRAMMING:
Departure continues its celebration of Canadian comedy with the addition of Elvira Kurt, beloved host of the hit game show Spin Off, performing at Comedy Bar, a cornerstone of Canada’s comedy scene and a key Departure Festival venue. Additionally, actor and comedian Jamie Kennedy—known for his roles in the Scream movies, and The Jamie Kennedy Experiment—will join Harland Williams as a special guest for his two shows at The Royal Theatre on May 8th, adding even more star power to Departure’s comedy lineup.
Click here for a full list of comics, venues and schedule of events to date.
Hotel X Toronto serves as the central hub for Departure’s Conference activities and film screenings, while the Festival will span 40+ venues across the city and showcase 100+ emerging and established artists — with the complete lineup to be announced in the coming weeks.
#INTERVIEW: DANAI GURIRA ON “BLACK PANTHER”
Huge things are expected of Marvel’s long-awaited BLACK PANTHER and with just another week to go till release, Toronto Fans were treated to a celebratory Canadian Premiere for the Ryan Coogler-directed Film. Fans queued hours for a chance at rush tickets to the event graced by none other than star Danai Gurira, known best for her work on AMC’s acclaimed series The Walking Dead as Michonne.
The groundbreaking Blockbuster comes with raves based on its Los Angeles Premiere last week and members of the Cast were just in South Korea to promote the Film too.
BLACK PANTHER is set in a technologically-advanced African nation called Wakanda, where upon the death of his father, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) rises to the throne as a successor king. He summons the help of the warriors Dora Milaje led by Okoye (Danai Gurira), his estranged wife Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), among others to defend what he is due by birthright. Unexpected challengers surface suddenly to overthrow him, also threatening to cause chaos in the world with weapons made from a precious element native to Wakanda called Vibranium.
We ask a dazzling Gurira dressed in black and gold, about being approached by Coogler who admittedly had never seen The Walking Dead when reaching out to her.
Gurira: “He had seen me in a Movie that was same time as Fruitvale Station at Sundance and that Movie was called The Mother of George. So it was from that quiet Indie he became interested in working with me. This came to pass and he wrote a role with me in mind. As an Actor, nothing really tops that because I had so much respect for him. I was just so proud of him, this young man who came out of grad school and made this type of an impact. He’s so humble, so sweet, such a good guy.”.
One of the greatest things about BLACK PANTHER is its element of humour and often we see its characters are aware of the world beyond Wakanda. Likewise, Gurira’s Okoye keeps Boseman‘s T’Challa in-check when he struggles. We ask her about her experience working with the Film’s leading man.
Gurira: “He’s such a fantastic quintessential leading man. He really helms things with a quiet, calm energy that just allows everyone to feel valued and connected to him. He’s an astounding collaborator and he respects people’s thoughts and opinions. He’s a deep thinker and a great writer and storyteller himself. Working with him is really easy.”
Gurira tells us the toughest part about getting into Okoye‘s headspace.
Gurira: “I’m not as much a traditionalist as she is, I’m more a modernist. I loved that about her and I understood it, but it wasn’t where I come from. But really this let me connect more deeply with the essence to really what Wakanda speaks to, which is African self-determination. That to me is something I totally can latch-on to, this idea of a nation that has never been colonized and a need to protect that. That I could connect to.”.
Hover left and right to see photos of Gurira on tonight’s Carpet:
The Canadian Premiere saw local talent like Kardinal Offishall, Jazz Cartier, Pree and Arkells come out to show their support. We had the pleasure of speaking to Kardinal Offishall, Priya and Arkells about what BLACK PANTHER means to them.
Kardinal Offishall: “I think since the time I was a kid, the possibility that there could be something that took place – even though it’s fictional – in a world dominated by people of colour, used to be unbelievable. It’s not a Movie that is going to be limited to people of colour as the story is universal. It’s just going to be amazing for everyone to watch this Movie. I think positive imagery that shows people who look like me in a different light, these are all things that are super-necessary, especially for the time we’re living in.”.
Offishall admits he has heard Soundtrack (out Friday, February 9, 2018 via Universal Music Canada) single All the Stars by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, thus far and gives a vote of confidence, stating “Kendrick having a hand in forming what it’s gonna sound like, I’m sure sonically it’s gonna be incredible.”.
Arkells: “Normally when we’re invited to these things, we’re on the road. On Twitter I saw last week people were going nuts about this Movie.”.
On their four JUNO nominations today, lead singer Max Kerman admits, “We planned on getting no JUNO nominations.”. The Band does plan to be in Vancouver for the Awards on Sunday, March 25, 2018 airing on CBC at 8:00 PM ET.
Also don’t forget to check-out the BLACK PANTHER EXPERIENCE as it tours Southern Ontario. It allows you to connect BLACK PANTHER to upcoming release AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and witness Black Panther in marvelous AR Technology. Stops are as follows:
OTTAWA
Winterlude Festival – February 9-11
TORONTO
Cineplex Cinemas Queensway and VIP – February 13
CN Tower – February 17 & 18
Cineplex Cinemas Scarborough – February 20
Hover left and right to navigate slideshow:
See our Chats with Kardinal Offishall, The Arkells and Gurira:
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release Marvel’s BLACK PANTHER Friday, February 16, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Photography taken on the NIKON D3300.
For advertising opportunites please contact mrwill@mrwillwong.com