Departure Festival kicked off with Caribbean talent and big energy this week, and as a Canadian-born Caribbean girl in Toronto, it was a pleasure to be in attendance.
Across Toronto, it’s apparent that Barbados is truly in the building. Talented artists have taken over the city this week for Departure Festival, bringing sound, culture, and serious energy to Toronto. In addition to Canadian talent from across the country, various soca and reggae artists joined the contingent of artists putting on performances, participating in panels and Q&A sessions, and attending other industry events.
Representing Now Toronto, Departure’s official media partner, I had the opportunity to introduce the artists during the opening night gala at Lula Lounge. Talent in town for the festival includes Azizi Clarke, Nikita, Tionne Hernandez, and Sivers, all of whom were on the red carpet for the opening night gala, hosted by De Soca Prince of Toronto, Dr. Jay.
“As a DJ, I realize that so many people get showcased through Departure, and I just love to see it,” he told Now Toronto.
“So many things are happening for the culture,” he continued. “I want to big up Departure for that.”
Meanwhile, the Barbadian contingent couldn’t help but share their national pride.
“We get a chance to showcase our talent here in Toronto, and it’s gonna be amazing,” Clarke told Now Toronto.
“I’m extremely appreciative of this opportunity, and I can’t wait to see the Barbados kill it out there today,” Clarke shared. “I’ve been singing from the time I could speak, coming out the womb. Yes, my music is everything, and I want to take it to the world.”
“You know, it’s all about the fans, all the people that support departure and the people that support Barbados,” Sivers shared, adding that at the end of the day he’s just a poet from a small island.
“It just represents union, the connection between the Caribbean, especially Barbados, with Canada. I’m just really excited to be a part of the process.”
Tionne Hernandez shared that it’s amazing to have the opportunity to share the sounds of the Caribbean with the wider music industry.
“I am so happy to be able to share my talent with the wider world, because usually it’s just within the Caribbean, but having the opportunity, especially to sing soca in Canada, yeah, that’s amazing,” she explained.
“I’ve been singing from the time I was about 10 years old,” she shared.
“It has been a long road, a lot of hurdles, and it hasn’t been easy, but it’s something that I love doing, and so I am so happy to be able to express that with so many people.”
So, as a Caribbean woman who grew up in Toronto, immersed in a large Vincentian family and the rich West Indian culture of the city, how does it feel to see Caribbean culture celebrated so widely during a local event? It feels deeply special.
For so many kids raised in Caribbean families in Toronto, our culture has always been loud, vibrant, influential and everywhere. It’s in the music playing at family functions, the food spots we grew up visiting with our families, Caribana weekends, basement parties, church halls, and long summer nights soundtracked by soca and reggae. But there’s something different about seeing that same culture centred in professional spaces like this, celebrated not as a niche moment, but as an essential part of the global music conversation.
Watching Caribbean artists from Barbados walk red carpets, speak on panels, network with industry leaders and proudly represent where they come from felt emotional in a way that’s hard to explain unless you grew up in the diaspora. It’s seeing people who sound like your family, move like your community, and carry the same cultural pride take up space in rooms that haven’t always reflected us.
And in a city like Toronto — one built and shaped by Caribbean communities — it felt like a reminder of how connected everything really is. The Caribbean influence on this city has never been small, but this week, it felt impossible to ignore.
What a time to be a diaspora baby in Toronto.
