Finding My WayHome

Melding the best of Coachella and Bonnaroo, WayHome Music and Arts Festival is a refreshing change for music festival lovers. Returning to Burl’s Creek, just north of Toronto for its sophomore year from July 21-24, the festival brought a much needed chill festival vibe to the city’s music lovers.

The three day camping festival began early, on Thursday night, with a performance by Toronto band The Darcys during the ArtWalk, allowing attendees to enter the grounds a day early to visit and admire the art installations that were set up in the grounds for the weekend.

This year’s festival saw a heavily filled lineup of top Canadian talent including Half Moon Run, Arcade Fire, Shad, and Metric. The festival once again encompassed a variety of musical genres, with Major Lazer and Keys N Krates bringing their electronic beats, Rae Sremmurd and Vince Staples covering the hip hop aspect of the lineup, and Third Eye Blind, The Killers and LCD Soundsystem providing the soundtrack for festival goers born in the 90s to sing along with.

Utilizing the grounds to its full capacity, the four stages were thoughtfully set up to avoid any sound bleeding between stages. Once again, the WayAway stage proved to be a hidden gem in the grounds. Tucked away among a grove of trees, the picturesque stage not only provided relief from the heat for fans, but also saw some of the best performances of the weekend including Marian Hill’s unique electro-jazzy sound and The Paper Kites mellow folky tunes.

The heat was extreme this year but the well organized festival ensured attendees could stay hydrated with free water refill stations provided throughout the grounds, along with free Vitamin Water. The cashless RFID wristband system implemented this year allowed attendees to simply swipe their wristbands at vendors and alcohol tents, giving them a means to quickly purchase items.

While some of the art installations were reminiscent of other big American festivals that I’ve attended, including the balloon train from Coachella and the flags from the grounds at Mysteryland, there were many unique pieces for fans to stumble upon and discover throughout the weekend.

The festival’s signature “W” structure welcomed WayHomies into the grounds every day while the “I Feel You” flower arch became the motto of the weekend for many. However I’d still love to see more unique, random art installations. The event is billed as a music and arts festival and the art component could have been stronger.

The vibe of the festival was very laid-back, many people appearing to go with the flow as they explored the grounds and what it had to offer. Hammocks hung from trees, with fans watching shows from the comfort of swinging a few inches off the grounds, and Muskoka chairs were set up by the WayBright stage for attendees to rest their weary feet.

Although there was no silent disco this year (at least none this girl could find), the festival afterparties were rampant in the campgrounds, with newfound friends staying up until all hours of the morning dancing and reminiscing on the days’ events.

The first official full day of the festival saw the talented Gary Clark Jr. rip his guitar anew, shredding apart the WayHome stage, while LCD Soundsystem took to the stage later in the day to bring their unique and classic electro-pop sound under the starry night sky. Matt and Kim closed out the evening with their fun indie pop sound at the WayBold stage, guarded by the two unknown, black and white portraits framing the stage. Toronto favourites Keys N Krates threw down an epic electronic set that kept the crowd dancing and the totems bouncing to close down the WayBright stage.

Saturday saw 90s favourites Third Eye Blind performing some of their classic tunes such as “Semi-Charmed Life” midday at the WayHome stage, while Arcade Fire closed out the stage with an epic fireworks show to their hit “Wake Up.” Of course, one of the highlights from Saturday was Chet Faker’s groovy set that saw the talented Australian producer jumping from keyboard to synth to vocals, to perform some of his classics along with some of his newer sensual songs like “Gold.”

By the final day of the festival, the sun and extreme heat had taken its toll on many people, but BØRNS brought fans back to life with an early and energetic set at WayBold. Famous sisters Haim characteristically bantered with one another during their performance at the WayHome stage, following Stars’ beautifully quirky performance and preceding the final show of the weekend by The Killers. The Killers kept the crowd dancing and singing along throughout the entirety of their performance, shooting confetti into the crowd for one final festival pump up.

Many people that I spoke with had qualms about the lineup lacking in a lot of big name, popular artists this year. But it was nice to see so much Canadian talent at a Canadian based festival. It provided attendees with the opportunity to discover so much new music and some incredible up and coming talent. I will definitely be following a number of the lesser known stellar acts that I was fortunate enough to be introduced to.

Organizers appeared to have worked out many of the kinks from the inaugural year to execute a well-planned and top notch event for their return to Burl’s Creek. Taking ideas from the more successful parts of some of the best festivals in the world guaranteed attendees an awesome experience. Most importantly, the mellow atmosphere provided WayHomies with the opportunity to attend a large scale music and arts festival, easily accessible to the city of Toronto, with a vibe that is unlike any other festival in the area. And because of that, I look forward to heading home again #soon.