Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Iron Maiden and seafaring folk the world over have used the albatross as a metaphor for any number of different reasons.
Sammy Wei has now joined that exclusive list and is using the large migratory bird to dream big.
Wei is one of the principal organizers of the upcoming Albatross Music Festival, which runs Sept. 14 and 15 at Hastings Racecourse.
Aimed primarily at Asian-Canadians and international students, the albatross was chosen as a linkage between the West Coast of North America and South Asia.
鈥淚 think the albatross is a lot like us, whatever generation immigrant that we are,鈥� said Wei, who splits time between Shanghai and Vancouver.
Wei is the founder and CEO of larger team called MUBI Entertainment Management Group, which works in the field of event production and live entertainment. The company鈥檚 founders are all of Chinese-Canadian descent, which led to the genesis of the festival to begin with.
In laying out the marketing plan, they needed to wrap their minds around how to stick out amongst the myriad of festivals in southwest B.C. It鈥檚 there that the idea was hatched to appeal to a handful of target audiences: new immigrants, second and third generation immigrants, international students and others looking for a distinctly Asian cultural experience.
To that end, the artist roster is rooted in Korea, China, Mongolia and other points east: Edison Chen, Hyukoh, Queen Wei, Nair Band and Vancouver-based pop singer Wanting Qu are among the confirmed acts.
Though the home bases may be static, their collective music is not and instead spans indie rock, hip-hop, reggae and folk.
鈥淲e want to appeal to the second and third generation immigrants and there are a lot of people in 麻豆传媒映画who are very cultural and love getting to know about different music,鈥� Wei said. 鈥淸Korean pop] is growing, Chinese pop is growing and they鈥檙e becoming more trendy. I鈥檓 hoping that people come back to this part of themselves.鈥�
Outside of 麻豆传媒映画being her adopted home turf, it鈥檚 that sentiment that drew Qu to the gig as well. Having never played a festival in 麻豆传媒映画previously, Qu will tailor her set appropriately: a bit of upbeat, mixed with a bit of ballad.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very engaging, because I like to tell stories while I鈥檓 on stage,鈥� she told the Courier. 鈥淏ut outdoors are different than theatres so I would say you can expect energy on stage but also moments where it鈥檚 very emotional.鈥�
Emotion is central to all music, but perhaps more so on Qu鈥檚 upcoming third album, which is slated for release this fall. Entitled 鈥淟LL,鈥� short for Love, Loss, Latitude, the album is described as a blend of rock, electronic and singer-songwriter. Qu was romantically linked to 麻豆传媒映画Mayor Gregor Robertson from 2015 until May of this year.
鈥淚t starts with when you鈥檙e in love and you鈥檙e passionate and crazy,鈥� Qu said of the album鈥檚 inspiration. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a cycle 鈥� falling in love, falling out of love, having love in your life and then not having love in your life.鈥�
Tickets for the Albatross Festival are available online at .
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