Despite protests from the local community, Wayhome Festival made its debut this summer on the grounds of Burl’s Creek in Oro-Medonte.
Approximately 35 000 guests were set to be attend the heavily anticipated event and despite the large number of attendees, the layout of the festival was spacious enough and provided tons of room for everyone to enjoy all four stages: WayHome, WayBright, WayBold, and WayAway.
The festival grounds were decorated with rolling grass, trippy art installations, hammocks, lights, large lounge sofas, and a beautiful array of carnivalesque flags.
A Smirnoff barn was located next to the WayBright stage where guests could relax and still have a full-view of the many artists that performed on that stage, including July Talk, Alt-J, Vance Joy, Alvvays, Danny Brown, and Courtney Barnett.
The WayAway stage, hosted by SiriusXM, was located in a cute little nook beside the media tent, surrounded by illuminated trees, hammocks, pillows, and free SmartWater.
A VIP barn was located next to the main WayHome stage, where VIP guests could lounge and watch performers including Neil Young, Kendrick Lamar, Sam Smith, St. Vincent, The Sheepdogs, Sloan, Modest Mouse, Run the Jewels, Hozier, Brandon Flowers, and many more.
WayBold, slightly larger than the WayAway stage, hosted acts such as Gaslight Anthem, Bassnectar, Girl Talk, and The Beaches.
Passion Pit caused a stir among festival goers on the Friday with news of a last-minute cancellation. Anticipation brewed throughout the festival grounds when WayHome announced that there would be a special guest in place of Passion Pit’s cancelled slot – rumours spread of the possibility of Kanye West and Drake showing up.
The next day, during Modest Mouse’s set, it was announced that Broken Social Scene would be playing in Passion Pit’s slot on the WayBright stage. Fans were stoked about the news, and from the looks of the crowd everyone enjoyed the show.
The weather was perfect, with some much-needed overcast to save us from the heat on Saturday, and only a trickle of rain made its entrance on Saturday evening.
As for the headliners, Neil Young played one of the longest-standing sets I have ever witnessed. Even after I had fallen asleep, I could have swore Neil was still up there playing at the wee hours of the night. He performed all of his hits, and made sure we were aware that we need to treat planet Earth a lot better than we do. He also ate from a bowl of cherries while he performed, which he handed out to fans in the front row.
Kendrick Lamar blew up the stage with a high-energy performance that attracted the entire festival to his stage, even those who were barely fans before. It was a highly-anticipated performance, and I have no doubt that he recruited an even larger fan-base by the end of the night.
Sam Smith closed the weekend with an absolutely extraordinary performance that showcased his undeniable talent – regardless of his Top 40 reputation, his vocals were enough to mesmerize even the most hard-core metal fan. Nothing but chills were given during that closing performance.
Looking forward to next year!