By Deanna Cheng,
Special to The Post

In a city as diverse as Vancouver, an Albatross Music Festival makes perfect sense.

The inaugural event, which takes the stage on September 14 and 15 at Hastings Race Course, headlines a number of international artists from the United States, Korea, China and Taiwan. It is named after 'the king of seabirds' because the albatross is a bird that migrates back and forth across the Pacific to its eastern and western land masses.

The festival is being organised by MUBI Entertainment Management Group Inc. in partnership with Modern Sky, a mainland China's music entertainment company that produces large-scale music festivals around the world.

At a recent press conference, MUBI's CEO Sammi Wei said the Albatross Festival will be a new live entertainment option. “The idea of a music festival to me is to listen to more music. New genres, new languages,” she said.

At the press conference, Wei said she selected artists based the quality of the music, preferring those who are singers and songwriters. “We looked for artists who look and feel like their music.” 

Another criterion was the artist's link to Vancouver.

Local musicians Wanting Qu and Elise Estrada, who where both at the press conference, have extensive connections to the Lower Mainland.  “Asians are very underrepresented,” said Elise Estrada. She added that hee upcoming Asian outdoor music festival, especially one where artists of different backgrounds showcase their talent, feels empowering. 

Walter Soo, executive vice president of player and gaming development of Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, said, “Food and music is translatable in any language without having to learn the actual language.” 

For more information on the event, go to www.albatrossfest.com.