The “All Three Coasts” (A3C) Festival & Conference announced its first round of featured speakers, including hometown favorite Clifford “T.I.” Harris and fashion designer Dapper Dan, on Tuesday at The Gathering Spot.
The festival will commence its 15th anniversary on Oct. 8-13, with the majority of its programming scheduled to be hosted at the Atlanta Convention Center at AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta.
“We’re not producing an outdoor festival but we are producing a music experience across the city,” said Ryan Wilson, co-founder and chief executive officer of The Gathering Spot. “We’ve brought together an amazing group of people this year. All of these people represent, not really a particular industry, but people who are driving the culture forward.”
For the past 15 years, A3C has been an experience that has not only attracted music professionals, but industry leaders in entrepreneurship, social justice, and technology to Atlanta. Unlike other conferences similar in nature, A3C is known for encompassing the entire city instead of just one location or neighborhood.
“One of the best parts about A3C over its history is (it) not only connects artists to one another but connects artists with the future of what’s next,” Wilson said. “This is really step one to let you know that we’re coming back”
Wilson also disclosed that some of the A3C’s popular experiences are coming back including The Artist Center, Creator Complex, and Women In Charge, which was run by Janee Bolden of Bossip.
“Toyota is, again, partnering with us this year to bring back Women In Charge and we’re super excited,” Wilson said. “It’s been one of the bedrocks of the A3C experience. We’re talking not just women in the creative industry, we’re talking about women that are leading efforts across industries.”
Last year, A3C made The Georiga Freight Depot its music festival home with performances Lil Wayne, The Diplomats, Trina, Mannie Fresh, LightSkinKeisha, Wu-Tang Clan, Young Dro, and dozens more taking part in the experience.
Unfortunately, the five-day festival ended with an altercation and stampede, cutting Lil Wayne’s performance short. Fortunately, the Atlanta Police Department was able to determine that no weapons were involved, despite reports of gun violence.
Speaking on behalf of A3C, The Gathering Spot’s Ryan Wilson announced a couple of the speakers who will participate in A3C this year including:
- Clifford “T.I.” Harris (rapper)
- Will Packer (film producer)
- Charlamagne Tha God (radio personality)
- Kevin Liles (300 Ent)
- Gary Vaynerchuk (VaynerMedia)
- Lenny S (Roc Nation)
- Baron Davis (former NBA star)
- Mike Will Made-It (producer)
- Just Blaze (producer)
- Bozoma Saint John (marketing executive)
- Paul Judge (Techsquare Labs)
- Kei Henderson (Sincethe80s)
- Fadia Kader (brand strategist)
- Dapper Dan (fashion designer)
