Music
Canada's newest major music festival WayHome announces lineup
by Mark Teo
February 11, 2015
Canada's newest major music festival comes out strong.
Over the last few weeks, excitement has been building for the Bonnaroo-related festival that was coming to Ontario. After announcing that they’d land at Burl’s Creek, just outside of Barrie, details began to leak slowly: It wasn’t called HomeAway, as originally reported; the fest would be called WayHome. The fest would hold 75,000 and 45,000 campers. And tantalizingly, black and yellow posters began dotting the streets of Toronto—transparently advertising the festival’s rollout—teasing an announcement, which boldly stated “Do not come to the Great Hall on Tuesday, February 10.”
Well, yesterday, at the Great Hall, they made the first official WayHome announcement, unveiling the event’s massive lineup. Taking place on July 24-26, the festival will be headline by pop-soul giant Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar (who dropped the massive “The Blacker the Berry” a few days back), and British triangle-core act Alt-J.
And while critics may have already been skeptical about it being a typical festival—duh, y’all, it’s a festival—there are some truly interesting picks: There’s a decent grouping of hip-hop headliners, including Lamar, Run the Jewels, Danny Brown, and Big K.R.I.T. Electronic fans will get the chance to see Bassnectar and Com Truise. And for the festival-staple Canadian acts (Hey Rosetta!, the Sheepdogs), WayHome also announced a few Ontario faves (the Highest Order, Evening Hymns) and Canadian risers (Viet Cong, Alvvays).
Our take? It’s pretty damn good.
Here are the names they’ve announced so far, with more to come.
In an unexpected move, WayHome also gave away 300 lifetime passes last night—a fantastic reward for those who attended the rollout. As for the rest of us plebes, we’ll have to pay the festival’s announced rates: There are four tiers of tickets, ranging from $209.99 to $289.99, which include a 20×20 camping site and a parking spot.
Shower spots and RV camping sites are upgrades for the deep-pocketed (or the more sanitary among us). VIP packages are also available, the most expensive of which are—get this—$2,500. Those interested in “Glamping” will receive memory foam mattresses, lighting and fans, electricity and… a dedicated concierge.
Check the festival’s teaser video below.
