Ontario festival creates a nail biting buildup to lineup reveal
On the morning of Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, WayHome Arts & Culture Festival posted a cryptic video on their social media channels. The video, also posted on YouTube, offers viewers a 360 degree lens of virtual rooms filled with clues. Soon after WayHome posted the video, the festival was trending on most social media outlets.
Last winter, posters were spread around Toronto with cryptic messages, and rumours flew around about a new festival coming to the Greater Toronto Area. Clues were posted online in the form of pictures, indicating speculated artists. Fans took to Reddit to guess the clues posted, and by the time the codes were cracked, WayHome revealed the lineup at the Great Hall in Toronto. The inaugural lineup featured Kendrick Lamar, Sam Smith, Alt-J, and Neil Young.
Last week, WayHome hinted at the idea of revealing more clues, tweeting “soon” and revealing a WayHome recap video. The first of two 360 degree YouTube videos that was released takes the viewer through various rooms that contain a set of images or “clues.” The viewer can navigate [pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…have resulted in the most unique lineup reveal so far.[/pullquote]
through the rooms, moving the virtual room around to get different views. The video includes a connect-the-dot constellation, a calendar labelled “September 2069,” a laser, and two floating eyes, among other clues. A few days later, WayHome released another 360 degree video that features a walk through a jungle. If you move around the scene, you find clues such as a clock with 12:34 and 11:11 on the back, a salad head, three beach houses, and various animals nearing the end of the jungle. Some clues are obvious, such as the running figure on a half moon, which indicates Half Moon Run. Others were not as straightforward, such as the dark animals in the jungle and the projected video on a wall with a radar.
Speculations quickly rose on Reddit about the clues. Many supported the idea of Arkells, Mac Demarco, Beach House, Major Lazer, Kurt Vile, and Lucius playing the festival.
WayHome has clearly outdone other festivals in their lineup reveal. Most festivals, such as Coachella, Bonnaroo, SXSW, and Pemberton reveal their lineups without much build-up. In 2015, Osheaga offered an iOS app that allowed users to play a game in order to reveal the lineup. WayHome’s efforts, however, have resulted in the most unique lineup reveal so far.
On Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, the full WayHome lineup was revealed, including headliners Arcade Fire, The Killers, and LCD Soundsystem. Other performers listed include Major Lazer, Haim, A Tribe Called Red, Vince Staples, Kurt Vile & The Violators, and Half Moon Run.