Drake has announced the first three events of a new concert series dubbed ‘October World Weekend’, which the rapper says will precede the worldwide expansion of his own music festival, OVO Fest.
- READ MORE: Drake – ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ review: rapper’s house makeover provides long-overdue career boost
The slate of events – more shows for which will be announced in the coming weeks, as Drake noted on Instagram – will take place across a range of venues in Toronto. The first show will be headlined by an ensemble of “All Canadian North Stars”, and is set to take place on Thursday July 28 at 2,500-capacity History venue. The exact roster for that billing is yet to be confirmed, but it’s likely Drake himself will make an appearance.
The second show will go down the following night (July 29) at the 16,000-capacity Budweiser Stage, with Chris Brown and Lil Baby leading the bill. The same venue will be utilised on Monday August 1, when Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj lead a gig boasting a “Young Money reunion”. Lil Wayne founded the Young Money Entertainment label in 2005, and released the first five of Drake’s seven studio albums through the imprint.
Tickets for all three shows will go on sale tomorrow (July 15) via Ticketmaster. In announcing them, Drake reconfirmed that he plans to take OVO Fest abroad in 2023, celebrating the festival’s 10th anniversary. It was last held in 2019, where Drake appeared alongside the likes of Cardi B, Offset, Tyga, Rick Ross and Meek Mill.
Drake released his seventh album, ‘Honestly, Nevermind’, back in June. Just an hour after it was released, it shattered the global record for the most first-day streams given to a dance album on Apple Music.
The album received a three-star review from NME’s Kyann-Sian Williams, who described the album as “an unexpected elevation from the bland trap”. “The house sound has at least given him the creative boost that his recording career has been crying out for recently,” Williams added.
Earlier this month, Drake made a special appearance during the Backstreet Boys‘ show in Toronto, joining them to perform their 1999 classic ‘I Want It That Way’.
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