WayHome Music Festival. Were you there?

Amongst the 35,000 people who attended, it was definitely an amazing experience. Filled with people from all ages, 1 – 70+, and all over North America, it was huge. With music playing late into the night, the neighbours weren’t too pleased with it, but it was definitely enjoyed by everyone at the event.

Andrew and I (with 3 other of Andrew’s buddies) headed up on Thursday night to get set up and situated before it got extremely busy, and because we had such a large RV, driving it was much easier when there’s barely any tents set up. We had a little bit of a mishap at the front gate, when we were checking in with our tickets. Somehow the system glitched and while we bought VIP camping spots, we didn’t get VIP admission tickets. Won’t lie, when we first bought the tickets, the site definitely wasn’t as clearly defined as it is now. So we ended up not getting hydro at our site, and just running off of the generator. Lucky us. It didn’t detract anything from our overall visit though.

One minor rant about it though – No one seemed to know where we were supposed to go though? We stopped and asked volunteers directions and they were like I don’t know, that’s not my section, or they would give vague directions  “Go straight left”. While we can laugh about it now, it was kind of annoying at the time when we’re trying to figure out where we needed to be and where we could park. BUT on the plus side – we were pretty darn close to the venue entrance, so can’t complain about that. Less than a 10 minute walk to the main gate.

But back to the music festival details!

Day 1: Friday

It was so nice being able to sleep in a little! The concerts didn’t start until 1pm, so we were able to have a lazy start and get in a good breakfast. The rest of our group showed up later that day, but we just mainly hung out around the trailer. I didn’t really know many of the bands that were there, so Friday was really (for me) all about Hozier.

When we walked around earlier in the day, I caught Saxsyndrum, which was really cool. I wanted to see For Esme, but time just had a habit of running away and we were eating lunch at that time. Then it was Hozier!! So, so good. I don’t know many of the lyrics to his songs, but it didn’t matter. The energy was so great and he’s so cute! If you only know the main song of his, Take Me To Church, I definitely suggest listening to the rest of his album!

Then it was the main headliner, Neil Young + Promise of the Real. I’m not a Neil Young fan. So I was a terrible concert goer and after a half hour of his music, I decided to head back to the trailer and catch a nap. I was planning on getting up and heading over to see GirlTalk as well, but I was so tired and probably got a little bit too much sun, that when Andrew came to wake me up I just swatted him away. Apparently though, they were really good. I’m a little sad that I missed it, but on the flip side I was so refreshed in the morning and ready to take on another day.

Day 2: Saturday

Saturday was perfect. It was a little overcast so I felt like I was able to do so much more. Which we did! We saw more concerts, including Dear Rouge, Run the Jewels, and Kendrick Lamar. I don’t have any pictures from Kendrick because we were too far away but he was amazing. I was dancing like crazy! So much fun. We ended the night with Bassnectar, and I managed to finally get a hold of my co-worker buddy as well.

We also made it to browse around the pop-up Etsy market. So many pretty things that I wanted to buy but really couldn’t justify. I’ve definitely put these vendors on my list though!

Day 3 : Sunday

The last day of festivities! We did a last minute run of the food trucks, because BeaverTails. I ate 3 that day. So damn good. I am addicted to these. Deep fried dough, covered in sugar. Might as well be crack to me. I was definitely on a sugar high for Sam Smith.

It was so stinking hot that day and I think that for a few moments I was getting a little bit of heatstroke. Luckily for the Sheepdogs concerts we managed to find a little bit of shade which I caught a little snooze. Then it was lunch time and then Vance Joy! He was really good too.

But really, let’s be honest. I was really there for Sam Smith and he did not disappoint. His whole show was amazing and definitely worth not going home that night.  I couldn’t believe how many people had started going home on Sunday not waiting. His performance almost brought me to tears. He’s just so humble and real. I cannot wait until he releases more songs. His whole album is absolutely fantastic.

I already know that Andrew and I will be headed back here next year, and can’t wait to see who they bring out next! Will you be there next year?