If you’ve been following gigs & grub, you know how much summer festivals mean to me (and how the impending snow is about as welcome as food poisoning.) You also know that based on my favourite festivals, I talk extensively about Wayhome, held in Oro-Medonte for its inaugural year this past July. The lack of large-sized venues in the GTA means Toronto hasn’t received a grand concert experience it deserves in a long time: the Virgin Festival series on the islands fizzled out, and Downsview Park is a royal pain-in-the-ass to get to (not to mention the sound quality is atrocious.) It could be all the negatives surrounding it, but Wayhome weekend was above and beyond any expectations going in. From the beginning, the festival was incredibly welcoming: cars were parked in snaking rows, so no tricky navigating required. Campsites were a good size for sleeping, cooking, Frisbeeing, etc. Some extra shade source would’ve been nice, but hey, this ain’t Algonquin. Tons of food truck options went above-and-beyond your typical pizza fare: Buster’s Sea Cove had wicked-fresh fish tacos and The Drake supplied mouth-watering gourmet nachos. Even the sponsored activities and free swag didn’t lack enthusiasm: Reebok shoes were being doled out and you couldn’t walk two feet without seeing a Molson Canadian bandana. Did I mention the music? Headliners Sam Smith, Neil Young and Kendrick Lamar covered the gamut of musical tastes and energy; Lamar was a grenade of passion, rolling through popular cuts from his two recent studio albums and some classics sprinkled for the hardcore fans. Neil Young was solemn, bringing the massive crowd to a complete silence. Sam Smith closed the entire festival; off earlier in the year for vocal surgery, his voice carried through the festival grounds effortlessly. If the power cut out, I have no doubt his falsetto would’ve blasted to the back of the grounds with no problem. As big as the headliners were, the middle-ground support shouldn’t be taken for granted. St. Vincent plowed through technical problems (and a leather outfit on the hottest day EVER) to bring the most electrifying set of the weekend. Southern rapper BIG K.R.I.T.’s double-time flow and insatiable vigor proved powerful for the intimate crowd. And Toronto’s own synth-pop duo Brave Shores killed their dreaded afternoon slot.
As the Sunday winded down, all the festivalgoers were sporting giant smiles—a whirlwind weekend that left us exhausted, beaten, but in a state of nirvana. Only one question remains: can the 2016 lineup get announced, like, today?
7 Comments
Megan
11/22/2015 04:11:12 pm
Great post Kenzie!
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Great post Kenzie! I really wanted to go to Wayhome this summer and now I'm sold on going next year. It's a great to hear you had an awesome experience. Many festivals are normally messy their first few years since their still working out the kinks but I'm glad that wasn't a problem for Wayhome!
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Couldn't agree more Mackenzie, this festival was amazing in every aspect. This was also my first time experiencing the giant festival weekend. I've been to countless major concerts and seen all my favourite artists, but this one defintiely stands alone in its own way. All those new experiences have definitely created life-long memories. Can't wait for next year!
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Jesse
12/4/2015 09:55:28 am
This was a nice nostalgic post for me. I like that you mentioned the smaller acts (shout out to Big K.R.I.T).
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Jodi
12/4/2015 01:53:46 pm
Great review! I too went to Wayhome this year and was quite impressed with how smooth the festival went for its first year out. Other then the heat I have zero complaints. Cant wait for next year!
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Val
12/6/2015 10:50:39 am
Great post Kenzie!!!!! Sounds like it was so incredible I know WillDyl was there too!!! Hopefully you guys got to crowd surf together!!!
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Oleg
12/14/2015 05:02:28 pm
Amazing review!
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