INTERSECTIONALITY
Duane Forrest promises two immersive experiences
of music and visual storytelling at SFIAF 2025
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By Andrew “Boots” Hardy
Duane Forrest is an international performer of both talent and grace. An accomplished playwright, singer-songwriter and multimedia artist, he was born and raised in Scarborough, a ‘burb of Toronto, Ontario, to Jamaican immigrants. Growing up in a disadvantaged, “at-risk” section of Scarborough, his childhood and adolescence were steeped in the reggae of his forebears, a musical and cultural influence that kept him from a wayward lifestyle.
A natural storyteller and gifted guitarist and singer, Forrest will be presenting two shows at the San Francisco International Arts Festival this year. With a silky voice and fingers that move across the fretboard like butter, his performances have sold out at Fringe festivals and other diverse venues around the globe, earning him five stars from Broadway Baby last year and the highest of praise in countless flattering reviews.
As an original composer, Forrest already has two full-length albums under his belt, with a third now in the works. One album, The Climb, was adapted into a stage production and was one of the highlights of the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival. His newest EP, Blackest Bird, stands as a commentary of social equity for Black Canadians while his current endeavor, Sunrise in Jasper, extends that commentary to the treatment of Black and Indigenous peoples throughout Canadian history.
Reaching thousands of subscribers on Spotify, and with his music skating across the airwaves of more than half a dozen countries, Forrest’s fans have been treated to tours across North and Central America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. A true working artist, he brings both his best and his newest work to the San Francisco International Arts Festival this year.
Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World
Delving deep into his Jamaican heritage, Forrest will be presenting his own profoundly personal interpretation of Bob Marley’s most recognizable songs.
Marley, widely considered a—perhaps the—pioneer of reggae, brought a powerful sense of spirituality to his musical storytelling, taking Caribbean music to mainstream audiences around the world. He became an icon of pop culture whose influence remains relevant and visible even decades after his death from melanoma in 1981. He believed in the unity of all people of African descent, and his music gently urged people to end political and personal divisiveness. He posthumously earned induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and induction into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame. What’s more, the legendary musician was awarded Jamaica’s Order of Merit, one of the island nation’s highest honors.
Fusing his own storytelling skills with live performance and an innate ability to engage with his audience, Forrest’s Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World is a soulful dissertation on Marley’s enduring legacy, illustrating the lasting effect of his musical influence on the world, and on Forrest himself. Reception of this powerful tribute has been nothing short of stellar. The warmth of Forrest’s voice, merged with his skilful guitar-playing, has netted him Broadway Baby’s coveted five-star review and the accolades of both fans and critics far and wide.
Tree of Dreams
After his sold-out performance at Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year, Forrest was drawn to see Tide & Foam Productions’ Sid Zhang and Connor Lifson, and their (also sold-out) performance of Book of Dew. An inventive and immersive display of light and sound, Book of Dew’s object-based storytelling drew Forrest in and led him to seek out Lifson and Zhang with an object-based concept of his own.
“I went to go see their performance, and I was blown away,” Forrest explains. “I’ve been dreaming about doing an object-based show that fuses my music with storytelling… We were a collaborative match, so I pitched them my idea.”
From there, a partnership was formed that promises synergistic results, integrating Zhang and Lifson’s unorthodox brilliance with Forrest’s ethereal musicality. The trio later added to the team with Los Angeles-based, multiple Addy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Shozo Okada.
Tree of Dreams is an immersive exploration of fear, resilience, and self-discovery, where music, storytelling, live camera work, and object-based storytelling converge in a breathtaking theatrical experience. The show takes audiences on a journey through the inner landscape of a child, confronting the tension between dreams and reality, growth and fear.
It’s a multi-layered experience of acoustic music, made immersive with live projections and dynamic interactions with symbolic characters: wise ants, a mysterious bee, and a massive, obscure underwater creature. The show invites audiences to navigate the paths we all must take to overcome fear, navigate trauma, and step towards hope and possibility. Immersing the audience in the child’s journey, Tree of Dreams encourages reflection on their own dreams, fears, and the stories that shape their identity.
For more information on and tickets for Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World, CLICK HERE.
For More information on and tickets for Tree of Dreams, CLICK HERE.
