Departure, a reimagined version of Canadian Music Week, is marking its 43rd festival with a city-wide activation full of music, art, comedy and tech.
The beloved spring music festival is now bigger than ever after a major rebranding announced last year, bringing more well-known industry names and different art expressions across the city.
Last year, the cherished Canadian Music Week (CMW) received a rebranding led by Loft Entertainment and Oak View Group (OVG). The reimagined festival, now named Departure, is working to attract more international artists and young creatives and allow for more inclusive and vibrant conversations within the Canadian music scene.
Read More
From May 6 to 11, Departure will take over Toronto with a series of conferences on important topics to the Canadian music industry, as well as a range of art exhibitions, concerts, comedy shows, and other artistic expression presentations spread across different venues in the city.
Departure’s Executive Producer Kevin Barton told Now Toronto that although the event is now more vibrant and inclusive, its essence as an annual highlight in Canadian music remains at the spotlight.
“We purchased what was known as Canadian Music Week, which is a long-standing brand over 42 years of operating in the city of Toronto, that has highlighted so many great Canadian talent as far as musicians go, and executives. And in purchasing it, we wanted to really take what was [the] core and the essence of a great festival,” he said.
One of the key differences in this year’s event is the expansion of the festival, which will now include a bigger variety of art expressions, artists and venues.
“We really wanted this to feel like a city-wide activation, as to something that was hunkered down alone as a conference and then sporadically other artists showcase. So, we really wanted to expand that footprint,” Barton said.
The director also mentioned that the rebranding was inspired by Toronto and its multicultural nature, which he hopes Departure is able to reflect.
“The idea of Departure was really about the departure from the norm. It was really about a lift off. We felt that Toronto had such amazing artists that it started that had honed their careers here,” he said.
“We really wanted to just kind of buckle down on the idea that Toronto is this amazing launch pad for ideas and innovation. It’s an ecosystem built on such culture. It’s built on such culture and arts that we just really wanted to showcase that to the world.”
Barton also revealed that he is excited about some of the well-known names appearing at the festival this year, including internationally acclaimed chef and TV personality Matty Matheson and legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams.
“We just really wanted to feel like a city-wide activation and for creative people to get the opportunity to showcase and network. It’s really about building community for us,” he said.
“We’ve really been thoughtful in programming to ensure that the different communities in Toronto feel heard and felt and represented on the stage in the conference and behind the scenes.”
EVENT KICKS OFF ON TUESDAY, MAY 6
The festival is kicking off Tuesday with some amazing conference sessions that cover important topics in the music industry, such as the effect of global politics in music, building safe communities and looking into arenas, and a conversation with American artist and entrepreneur Justin Bua and hip hop album cover genius Danny Hastings.
The conferences will be followed by a series of amazing musical concerts across multiple Toronto locations, including a three-artist country gem in Reid’s Distillery, Black music songwriters combo at El Mocambo, and a hip hop show at Dance Cave.
There’s something for everyone on the days that follow with a variety of different concerts in different styles including rock, jazz, R&B, pop, country and more.
The event will also feature multiple other activities like pop-ups, comedy shows, film screenings and art exhibitions. You can check out the full festival schedule here.
To dive into the Canadian music scene at this Toronto-wide festival, attendees can choose from three different event passes.
The priority pass is filled with premium access and perks, Departure and Radiodays North America conferences and panels, standby access to music and comedy events, fast-track line privileges and more.
Meanwhile, the conference pass allows attendees to stream on-demand content through the Departure app, join in on conferences and panels, and go to networking events and happy hour.
But for those looking to only enjoy curated musical performances, the music pass will give you access to music showcases and other premium events.
For more information on the festival and how to purchase passes, click here.
