The inaugural WayHome Music Festival 2015 took place from July 24-26, 2015 at Burl’s Creek in Oro-Medonte, Ontario, one-and-a-half hours north of Toronto. Over 35,000 people attended the three-day long festival, which included performances by Neil Young and Promise of the Real, Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar, Alt-J, Modest Mouse, Hozier and 60 additional artists performing across four stages.
Camping at WayHome Music Festival
With 80% of WayHome Music Festival attendees camping at the expansive Burl’s Creek Event Grounds, it was easy to become immersed in the festival culture. After checking in at the main tollbooth off Highway 11, volunteers helped direct festivalgoers to campsites throughout the grounds. Overnight, the sprawling green space of Burl’s Creek Event Grounds was transformed into a tent city, with thousands of campsites spouting up in neatly organized grids.
Campsite all set up at Wayhome Music and Arts FestivalThe main festival grounds opened at noon on Friday, July 24. It was clear from the set up that the organizers set out to create a unique sense of community. The four main stages were spread out throughout the event space, allowing enough room for crowds to dance to their favourite band, with minimal noise overlap between the stages. In between the stages were many food and drink vendors, so groups didn’t have to travel far to have their thirst quenched.
Throughout the festival grounds were art installations curated by Toronto-based painter Charles Bierk, which added interesting focal points to the festival and also provided an opportunity to highlight Canadian artists. One of the most impressive art installations could be seen only at night—125 Steps by Nathan Whitford was a dazzling illumination set against the trees of Burl’s Creek Event Ground that bridged the gap between nature and technology and had festivalgoers stopping to stare once the sun had set.
Neil Young Wows the WayHome Stage
On Friday night, the epic scale of WayHome Music Festival became apparent, as a sea of people settled onto blankets and into chairs in front of the main stage—also called WayHome—to listen to a three hour set by Canadian legend Neil Young, backed by the impressive Promise of the Real.
Young played many of his new songs off his recently released album, The Monsanto Years, but, much to the excitement of the crowd, also played many classics including “Heart of Gold,” “Down By The River” and “Keep on Rockin’ In the Free World.”
Friday and Saturday night also featured late-night performances on the WayBold Stage by Girl Talk and Bassnecter respectively. Girl Talk was the perfect contrast to Neil Young’s earnest melodies—they pumped out mashup hits and kept the crowd dancing. Bassnecter, who followed Kendrick Lamar’s headlining show on Saturday night, was a crowd favourite with an impressive light show and electronic beats that had everyone cheering for more when his set ended at 2 a.m.
Although there was a brief patch of rain on Saturday afternoon, Wayhome Music Festival attendees could not have asked for more perfect weather for a weekend of camping and live music. However, security measures prevented individuals from bringing water into the festival grounds, and with only one water refill station, the line up for water was extremely long on Sunday afternoon when temperatures exceeded 30C.
But the heat didn’t stop festivalgoers from enjoying the afternoon. Sunday featured performances by Toronto-based rock band July Talk, who had the crowd sweating, American singer-songwriter St. Vincent and up-and-coming vocalists Vance Joy, who played at sunset at the WayBright stage. Four-time Grammy award winner, Sam Smith, who opened with his iconic song “Stay With Me” and had many in the crowd in tears, headlined Sunday evening.
Wayhome Music Festival has already announced the dates for next year’s festival, which will be taking place July 22-24, 2016 (location TBD).
That looks like it was an amazing time. I love music festivals. They have such a wonderful energy.
Sounds fun! I never been to any music festivals
that looks like a lot of fun. I live where the bonnaroo music festival is. That tiny town swells with over 100000 visitors every June. It’s crazy.
Hi Dina, My niece attended Bonnaroo this year and loved it! Cheers, Lori
How cool! My son and I love Neil Young! It would be so much fun to see him live in concert.
Wow! I’ve never heard of this festival before. Then again, I’m not too sure about any festivals but this looks like such a fun time!
Hi Jeanine, This was actually the first year of WayHome! My blogger told me she had an amazing time! Cheers, Lori
I love music but I have never been to any music festival. That looks like fun!
Looks like such a great music festival! I would love to go! And that lineup of bands sounds wonderful.
This looks like such a fun music festival! I have never gotten to camp at a music fest before but it sounds like a great time!
I haven’t ever heard of this festival but it looks like a great time! Any time you have good music and friends it’s sure to be a blast.
What an awesome festival. It sounds like it attracted a huge crowd. The next one will be great too!
This sounds like a lot of fun, I’ve never been to a big music festival. The idea of camping out their sounds like a great experience.
What a great festival and seems to be lots of fun! While it might not be my thing, am glad to view it through your blog post today!
That looks fun. I have never tried camping at a music festival. I would love to experience this.
I haven’t attended a music festival in like forever! I wish I was there too. I am a big fan of Neil Young and it would have been great to see him perform live.
There is nothing like a great music festival!! You look like you had a blast and also fun with selfie sticks!
I’ve never been to a music festival like this. It looks like it would be a lot of fun.
I never would have thought of camping at a music festival! That seems like it would be so much fun!
We haven’t been to a festival all year. You’ve got me itching to go!
My daughter always camps when she goes to a weekend festival. I would have loved to see Neil Young. He is a fav of mine.
Ahhhh this takes me back!!! Pre mommy days I was at every festival imaginable. Music is the best thing ever 😉
Large festivals like this look like so much fun to attend – especially if you have wide-ranging musical interests. Looks like they had a lot of nice acts.
This looks like a fun event. I love outdoor concerts and stuff but in Texas it is way too hot. I prefer to go in the spring or fall when it is a bit cooler.
Festival season is so much fun! I haven’t been to a good event like this in a while, but I need to add one!
The Wayhome Music Festival sounds and looks like an amazing time indeed. I would love to go to a festival like this and camp out a couple days. I will have to check it out for next year. Thanks for sharing.
Camping for a music festival is the way to do it! It looks like you had a blast.
It has been ages since I have been to a musical festival. I adore them. Music feeds my soul. This one looks like everyone had such an amazing time.
Sounds like a lot of fun! I have never been to a music festival before. Looks like a great time!
I love music festivals. They are a great way to see lots of artists for a really good price. It looks like you guys had a grea time.
This sounds like an amazing festival. I will have to watch for it next year. Looks like you had a great time.
Oh this looks like a very fun festival! I love festivals and it’s awesome when an artist is fantastic live.
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