Get Ready to Laugh, Rock, and Reflect with Feature Friday!

Forget The Box is back with another electrifying edition of Feature Friday, your weekly dose of Montreal's most captivating artists! This week, we're serving up a delightful platter of comedic brilliance, musical magic, and poetic ponderings. Brace yourselves for the side-splitting antics of comics Elspeth Wright and Vance Michel (who's sharing his hilarious comedy special, "Just Blaze"!). Then, let the sonic waves of Avery Jane and Booster Fawn transport you to another dimension. And for a touch of introspective charm, we've got a soul-stirring poem dedicated to the power of music. So grab your headphones, settle in, and prepare to be entertained and inspired by the diverse talents that make Montreal's art scene so unforgettable!

Elspeth Wright

Elspeth is a comedy nest regular and a Just For Laughs recording artist. She co-produces a weekly show in Saint Henri called Stand Up St. Henri. She is the creator of the show Battle of Wits, a comedy game show. Most recently, she just got back from Halifax, where she performed at the Halifax Comedy Festival, on her very first TV recording.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elspeth_wright/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ElspethWright

Vance Michel

Vance Michel is a comedian, producer and content creator. Hailing from New York but now a permanent fixture in the Montreal comedy scene. He co-produces World Smallest Comedy Night at Hurley’s every week. It’s a fun show where comedians can feel free to be as weird as they would like. Check out his first comedy recording Just Blaze on YouTube now.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vbleezy/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coffee_tawlk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vancemichel510

Booster Fawn

Booster Fawn first started releasing music in 2016 - selling burned CD-Rs in hand-knitted cases at open mics around Canada and the USA - because he wanted to bring the spirit of nature to civilization. His unique sound combines inventive lyrics, catchy melodies and songs that - by blending folk and rock inspirations such as Leonard Cohen, The Decemberists, Wolf Parade, Destroyer, Neutral Milk Hotel and Modest Mouse to a tee - are each in their own right brilliant earworms.

Based in Montreal, Booster uses a wide range of styles and genres to spread his message of faith, love, and healing. What makes this ex-cherry picker’s music so special is his approach to collaboration. Over the years he’s recorded and performed with a large cast of musicians, meaning that one never knows what to expect when they see him perform or listen to his music.

Booster Fawn is part chameleon, part phoenix, 100% kaleidoscope.

A Dreamy Freak Folk Tune about the Pitfalls of Love

Post-covid and post-breakup made Joshua Séguin, aka Booster Fawn, process emotions in a way that he had never experienced before. His new single "Juliet & Romeo," is a track that starts as a lo-fi acoustic number and morphs into a neo-western flavoured folk rock with hypnotic and repeating vocal lines. It's a breakup and mourning song, a song in which Séguin dives into who he truly is and was.

"When I was 22, my first serious girlfriend committed suicide. Her name was Marianne. I thought we were going to spend our whole lives together, but it did not turn out that way. It’s been very hard for me to let go of lovers that have followed ever since. In a way, the story of my life is very much the story of my romantic relationships. And my songs are very much the story of my life."

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boosterfawnmusic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8fNjKyyrBdUEkX0roIDMmg

Website: https://boosterfawn.com/

Avery Jane

Avery Jane is a Montreal-based singer-songwriter originally from Victoria BC. Her music is inspired by many different musical genres such as jazz, pop, folk, neo-soul, modern and classic Rhythm and Blues, which have amalgamated to create her unique personal sound and style. After years of performing in big bands, musical theatre, folk duos and indie-jazz bands, she relocated her career to Montreal and continued to focus on music and songwriting. In the fall of 2019, Avery began performing the pub circuit in Montreal as a solo act while honing her skills and writing original music. During the pandemic, her work changed drastically from performance-focused to creation of original music.

She released her first single, "April" in 2020, her debut EP Honey Lemon Ginger in 2022 and EP “Hey You” in 2023. Avery's lyrics are genuine and clever, often focusing on how it feels to love and be loved in unique ways. With songs about forgetting to buy toothpaste at the grocery store, giving her mother a room to visit her in the big city, and unconditional love, Avery’s insightful, relatable and melodic lyrics touch on many aspects of the human experience.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/averyjanemusic

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@averyjanemusicc

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0IrebEVSBArhPXGMlGnV_w

cynthia - @poetry.by.cinni

I turn my deep existential questions into abstract thoughts. With the intent to connect and inspire people to feel through art :)

This is a poem about music. When I had to go through surgery and was stuck in bed for a long time, music was the only way to clear my mind off dark thoughts.