So, it’s been 3 days now since my life has changed forever. And i’m now going to document my experience at the Wayhome Music Festival this past weekend in as much detail and hilarity as i can muster up. Just a forewarning that this was my first ever music festival ever, so there was plenty new things that i witnessed for the first time and while i saw a bevvy of shows i will only be discussing the main three that caught my attention with as little backstory as possible in order to get the best reading experience without getting bogged down by semantics and what happened outside of these shows. But if you have any questions about the other acts i saw (Danny Brown, Justice, Mura Masa, Russ, Marshmallow, Porter Robinson etc) just dm me or something.

The first big musical act that i saw during my incredibly exciting weekend was ScHoolboy Q at the main Wayhome stage in the afternoon. It was the first big show i had attended so far during the festival, and considering that i am a pretty big Q fan i attempted to get as close to the front as possible without any luck. I was a good ten rows back from the front gate, but still a good enough distance that i could see everything going on.

The show began with the DJ poking fun at the notoriously white-southern audience while trying to get everyone to “turn up” and get as hype as possible before Q would start his set in the coming minutes. This was awesome. The Dj was really getting into it playing hard hitting songs like XO Tour Lif3, which i absolutely loved and the crowd did as well. I cant say if even half of the crowd knew more than the catchy chorus, but i was already in heaven. I was jumping around and yelling the lyrics at the top of my lungs as if i wanted the DJ to hear me and drag me up on stage alongside him. He then played a couple more songs until ScHoolboy made his appearance sporting a funny-ass hat with a pom-pom on the top, even though it was at least 25 degrees outside (Celsius for you American heathens). But he was phenomenal the entire time. Rapping along to every song from Gangsta all the way to some deeper cuts from his older projects. He didnt even need a hype man, it was all Q alone. He rapped just about every word as far as i could tell it was imamculate. Dude can really put on a show, he was having a great time gelling with the crowd trying to get their country-bumpkin asses to get as hype as humanly possible. And it worked, or at least it worked for the middle aged dude behind me that happened to look nearly identical to the bully from Community’s season 1 Christmas episode. Everyone from the constantly erratic shirtless sunburnt dudes to the shaggy haired potheads were getting hype at this show. His ability to bring everyone together to get wild was, well, just really awesome. Unless of course you hate confined spaces and being surrounded by a few super sketchy white dudes who want to mosh at every given chance at any part of the stage floor (aka me). But even then i still managed to have an awesome time. Q even went as far as performing Kendrick songs, he mentioned that he always has to perform some of his homies songs because he’s “Top Dawg for life”. He gave a shoutout to each member of TDE and then broke into the first verse of Humble and even the first verse of MAAD City which were both impeccable. All i expected was Q to see our weak crowd, perform his party bangers and then dip, but dude was really getting our crowd into it and i appreciated that. AND the fact that he played Kendrick made my heart happy. I was on another level as MAAD City is one of my favourite songs of all time.

Then after teasing the eventual end to this adrenaline fueled adventure Q ended with performing the entirety of That Part and Man of the Year. Both were incredible. Yelling out Kanye’s verse with hundreds of other people was just indescribable. I could barely even hear Q’s vocals everyone was yelling so loud, it was dope to say the least. And ending with Man of the Year was a great choice, yelling “Titties, ass, hands in the air” was a great moment in my life ha ha. So basically, in summation. If you ever get the chance to see Q in concert, its 100% worth it. Dude puts on a fantastic show and managed to turn our weak crowd into moshing fiends that knew all of his lyrics. Which he even pointed out, when he said he was weary that we would be a good crowd considering the lack of Rappers at Wayhome, but he was impressed at how hype we got at his set. Overall, virtually no complaints, he played all of the hits, some deeper cuts, and even some of his homies songs. Very very impressive.

Almost immediately after watching Q 🎶burn the roof off this motherfucker🎶 i quickly made my way to the Solange show which started shortly afterwards. I managed to get a spot in the third row behind the gates because Jazz Cartier was doing his best Lil Uzi impression as he dove off of a poutine truck (if you dont know what poutine is, step your delicious fry game up), and ran away from hundreds of thirsty fans hoping for, uh, i guess to touch him? I dont exactly know what they would get out of it, but Jazz managed to hop a ~7 foot tall fence in a way that would put olympic high jumpers to shame. But anyways, i got a perfect spot for the Solange show, and immediately i could tell that this was an entirely different crowd than the Q show. There didnt seem to be much overlap. Everyone at the show was possibly of African descent and seemed to be much much much more woke and less drunk or high. Everyone was just bubbling with anticipation at hearing Solange perform Cranes In The Sky or F.U.B.U. or the other numerous hits she had on her incredible album. While anxiously waiting for Solanges arrival i overheard many of the conversations happening around me and it was kind of hilarious to hear. For people that dont like to compare Solange to her sister, they did treat her almost exactly the same. Really, it seemed as if a couple of people at the show all ran their own Bey-hive/Solange-uh-fan twitters on the side. Because of the numerous “yaaaaaaaas”, “Slay” and “Queen” sayings i managed to all hear over a very short span. It was comical, but also i can understand. Beyonce is possibly the most popular artist of this generation, so if you try holding her sister to the same level, i understand. She is worthy, especially after the shockingly high quality of her music and her pro-black message. But after seeing the numerous woke, fake woke, and casual fans arrive Solange was ready to start the show.

The backdrop was similar to her performance on the Jimmy Fallon show if i remember correctly. It looked like the Japan flag, a white background with a large red circle in the bottom middle. Then Solange walked out with her backup singers, trumpeters, and guitarists all in matching red outfits. It was already an epic beginning of what was to come. They started with Rise, the drums took off and everyone in the audience was shook. We were all simultaneously grooving together while cheering for Solange and her incredible pipes. Her, along with her backup singers, had perfectly in sync choreography to go along with each song and it was immaculate. I knew she danced to her songs from watching her performances and music videos, but something about seeing it done so well live was incredible. She really was slaying. From Rise she went on to perform Cranes in the Sky and the entire crowd erupted in cheers. But all of the performers stayed stoic from the start. None of them broke character despite the fans loudly cheering and all dancing and vibing together. It was pretty impressive so say the absolute least. Then came the climax of the song. Everyone was on edge. The vocals had been perfect so far, but could Solange manage to belt out that high note to cap off the song?! Yeah, she absolutely did. The high-note was just perfect, as if it was ripped straight off of the actual track. I was awe-struck right there, i didnt know what to do or even how to react. Solange had snatched everyone’s wigs right then and there. From Cranes in the Sky she dove right into F.U.B.U. and every black audience member was cheering out, sticking up their fists or belting the pro-black lyrics as i just watched in awe. Being a brown dude of african-indian descent i decided to stray away from singing the lyrics (especially any racist profanities (just like everyone who is not black should do)). But, it was still incredible. The choreographed dance movies were all incredibly in sync, and the fact that this led to to Solange headbanging her gorgeous hair, and even actually twerking on stage was just, like, wow. Probably a top 5 moment in my life. Like, i may actually brag to people that i was a few feet away from Solange while she was actually twerking on stage. Incredible. From that point it seemed as if this was about to be the greatest performance ever. But, there was an issue. The electronic drums were becoming an issue. First off, the show started later than usual because the sound engineers were having trouble setting it all up. But then they some how gave out and stopped working after F.U.B.U. Solange however, being the incredible performer that she is realized this immediately and chose the perfect audible performing a drumless version of the song Tony. And for those of you who are unfamiliar with the song, as i was, it’s a deep cut from over six years ago. But people still knew the lyrics and loved it. And for someone that has never heard the song before, if i didnt know that there were issues with the drums i would never have guessed something was wrong. The song was perfect, she really nailed every part. Even the drummers, and instrumentalists all got in a line and danced together. It was very very well done. The dance moves were impeccable and very well choreographed, and everyone loved it. At one point she even walked off the stage and down to the gates to sing right in front of screaming cheering fans some of which immediately broke into tears upon touching her (not her hair though of course). I was only mere inches away from Solange at that point and it was still a humbling experience. Solange was really in touch with her fans and she really appreciated us and it showed.

Despite the fact that the set up and technical difficulties and trouble shooting of setting up the electronic drum set did take up a bit of time from the set (before they began performing and even a moment during their peformances) the overall experience was great. And Solange even talked to the crowd about it and assurred everyone that she would still perform and do her best to give us the best show she could. And she still delivered. And thankfully the drums were finally fixed with a few minutes remaining in her timeslot. So she went all out and finished the show by performing Dont Touch My Hair. Even though Sampha was physically there his vocals were still present, and with Solanges live vocals it sounded just as good as the actual recording. The instrumentals, the incredible percussion and the impressive trumpeting was magnificent. Even seeing Solange dance in a similar fashion to the music video and then just start to wild out was awesome. She was really vibing along to her performance and it showed. She then capped off this technical issue plagued performance with an astounding and epic instrumental finish that rivaled some movie scores as she head-banged and shook her hair in every direction and i loved it. She really knew how to control the crowd despite the major issues and still managed to slay me with an immaculate performance. My hat was literally off for her because i was so in shock i did not know how else to react to that performance. It was incredible. I hope that she comes around town to perform a show again because i will definitely be there for it.

Okay, so after watching Solange and Q change my life, sunday rolled around and it was Frank time. Well, not yet, but i was still indescribably excited nonetheless.

From Saturday when Q performed i would make frequent trips to the merch booth in hopes that Frank’s merch (or other artists i listened to) dropped early and i could get in before the crowds. But the dude that worked there informed me that Frank’s merch should arrive on the day he’s performing. He also informed me that they open at 2pm so i should arrive early in order to beat the crowd.

So as Sunday rolled around i made my way over to the Merch stand at 1:40 pm in hopes that i’ve arrived early enough to beat the crowd, or at least early enough where i wouldnt have to spend all day waiting. Boy, was i wrong. The line was tremendous. Frank had his own special tent with Blonded written across the side followed by an extremely long line of a few hundred people also anxiously awaiting Frank merch. But i was determined. So after waiting for over 4 long, excruciating, grueling, and exaggerated heat i finally arrived at the front with the inability to feel my knees and ankles (I guess i take, 🎶All chest no legs🎶 a little too seriously). But i had finally made it. And for those of you that dont know how the merch works i guess i should explain why the process is so long.

The reasoning why it took >4 hours for the average person to get their merch is because they are literally making it right in front of you. When waiting in line a piece of paper is being passed around with the design options and price points. It shows that there are a total of 3 different designs that you can mix and match with different colour schemes. Each design ranges in price from $5 for a single design and an extra $5 for every additional design, with the most expensive design costing $55 ($40 for the shirt and $15 for all 3 designs). But, if you were to provide your own shirt, it’s $10 cheaper overall (i guess you still have to pay for the labour and so the people working can make a living and stuff i dont exactly know). And it’s not limited to just shirts, (they only provide white t-shirts) but you can provide sweaters or jean jackets or anything of that sort as long as the material is right, they will print on it which is really awesome.

Long story short, after waiting out in the sun and getting extra tan i ordered my shirt and within 10 minutes or so it was ready so i immediately went back to my campsite to relax for an hour before getting ready for Frank’s performance considering it was almost 6pm at this point

Frank’s performance started at 9:45 pm. But i wanted to get a really good spot to catch his performance, so after thinking it over and planning for literally a couple days i formed my strategy. I decided that i would show up about half an hour to an hour early for the previous performance (which was porter robinson) and get as close to Frank’s extended stage as i could. And hopefully after Porter started his fans would realize that he is nowhere near the extended stage and move, or ultimately just leave after he was done. But once again i was wrong. Thankfully i still got there fairly ahead of time; over 2 hours ahead of time (for Frank) to be exact. When i arrived the gates surrounding Frank’s extended stage were entirely occupied, and i wont lie i was a little heartbroken, but i was still early enough that i was shifting between 1 and 3 rows behind the gate, so still incredibly close. But i was pumped, i was so excited that in my brain i was bouncing off the walls and figuratively exploding, but on the outside i was incredibly level headed and calm. Being able to hide my true feelings and emotions is one of my special talents, considering i’ve had so much experience hiding my true feelings ha ha…….. ha

So Porter Robinson rolled around and he played his fairly odd heavily anime(and kanye)-influenced EDM music and for someone who hasnt heard him, it wasnt that bad. I didnt mind it and enjoyed it a few times. But that’s not the important part. Frank’s performance is. And after waiting for 45 minutes or so after Porter for Frank’s stuff to get set up and conversing with other superfans and talking about the other shows i attended to pass the time as i could already feel my soul leaving my body in anticipation to see the almighty lord in person. (wow, run on sentence about the greatest human in existence MUCH ha ha what a loser).

So here it was. The culmination of the entire weekend, months of frantic planning and trying to get out of a wedding to see Frank had all passed and he was to go on stage in a few minutes.

And then it happened, the music began and he strolled onto stage amongst the thousands of screaming fans as he began to sing Solo. There was not a dry eye in the house as Frank belted out the lyrics as perfectly as i imagined he would. The vocals and the instrumentals (shoutout to his band though) were incredibly fantastic and just made the entire moment seem surreal. He then transitioned into Chanel and Lens and Biking. The newer songs before he got back into Blond’s catalogue. But i loved all of these songs and sang along until my voice was hoarse and then i kept going. During these performances singing along with other stans was indescribable. Some of them felt out of body experiences, as if this was not even real and that they were just somewhere in the background watching everything around them instead of seeing it in the first person. Others felt as if they were watching some sort of movie, as opposed to being in it (more on that in a bit). I did not know exactly how to feel. I kinda felt a mix of whatever emotions everyone else was feeling and whatever experiences everyone else had, i just shared that with them. As for my own experience. I dont know exactly how to perfectly put it in to words, but i’ll try my best.

Seeing Frank Ocean sing immaculately, perform to the crowd, going ham during Biking, were all surreal. It was an incredible moment in my life that i hope to never ever forget. I cant even believe that i was there to experience it, let alone be only 10 feet from the dude. I really saw god in concert and it was unimaginable. I thought to myself afterwards, that if heaven is half as good as that performance then just take me now ha ha.

So, after performing the newer singles he went back to Blond, performing the extended version of Good Guy, my favourite of all his performance songs. It took him two tries to get the keys to his liking (he may have made a mistake playing, but it was pretty hard to tell). But even though he may have made a mistake, it just brought him down to earth and make people realize that he’s human, he also makes mistakes, but instead of push through them like other artists may have done, he decides to start over and give us perfection. After Good Guy and performing a medley of Close To You, which was, just wow, like absolutely breathtaking he performed a new song. A NEW SONG. Well, if you’re a Frank stan, you would know he performed it at a festival a few days prior, but it was still fairly new. So new in fact that he needed the sheet music. But before he started the song he talked to us a bit, he mentioned something along the lines of how this song is going to premiere on Blonded Radio episode 007, and how that’s going to drop after he’s done performing festivals, because he just has not had the time to prepare it and everything with all of the work that goes into these performances. He then describes how this song is a more upbeat African-influenced track that bumps (well, he didnt say it bumps, but it did). The track starts, and damn was it groovy, everyone was vibing while Frank performed the entire thing without a hitch. It was glorious.

The entire time Frank is performing, i should have mentioned, he has a few trained Cameramen to follow him around and record everything. From what i saw there were 2 different men and 2 different style cameras. One recorded video which looked like it was straight from a VHS tape, which was still pretty cool. And the other, wow, the other one. Was a super professional HD camera, and the dude filming was a legend with it. The shots were immaculate. Everything was widescreen and beautifully shot. I dont exactly know how to describe it, but i guess it reminded me of Wes Anderson at points because of the symmetry of the shots. (i know that’s not the best example but it’s the only one that came to mind). The shots showed Frank playing Good Guy, or the stage floor, or the incredible lighting and DISCO BALL that came in to play from time to time. So now i’m just counting down the days (i dont know how many days though) until we get to see this footage, because it was absolutely beautiful. Every single show with this camera was fantastic.

Okay, so enough about that, how was the rest of the show? Well, by this point i could actually feel my voice leaving my body it was so harsh and rough from the endless singing. And my knees felt like they could buckle at any given moment, but everything else was breathtaking. But then it happened. He had the mic in his hand, and instead of performing more Blonde, or a few tracks off Endless, he actually began to perform Forrest Gump. FORREST FREAKING GUMP. THE FINAL SONG OFF CHANNEL ORANGE, THE SUMMATION OF THAT ALBUMS DEVOTION TO SUMMER CRUSHES, MEMORIES AND UNREQUITED LOVE. THE MASTERPIECE WAS ABOUT TO BE PERFORMED LIVE. FOR THE FIRST TIME AT ANY FESTIVAL.FASLKJFASLF. I didnt even have time to prepare myself, but i just stood there and took it in while quietly singing to myself. He got through the first verse, but when he started the second he stopped and realized he had made a mistake and stopped the track. Everyone, including me, cheered him on. Because this stuff happens. Just ask Kanye on the Saint Pablo tour ha ha ha. But the funny thing was, i dont even recall him making a mistake, maybe i was just entirely caught up in the moment though. But then he stated that he’s only performed about 5 or so times since 2008 so he’s a bit rusty (something along those lines), and i understood. The fact that Frank has slowly broken out of his recluse shell and is performing for us was worth it enough. He then asked us to help him by singing along so he could get the lyrics right. And we did. The entire crowd sang along to every line and every bar along with Frank. It was an unforgettable moment. Even when the cameraman caught video of a Gay couple kissing to the chorus and played it live over the big screen it was a beautiful moment for everyone. He hit all of the high notes (minus the whistling, but i guess i can live without that). And then he said “Good job guys”. TEARS. It was beautiful.

He then went on to perform Pyramids IN FULL. Even the guitar solo at the end was masterfully done by his band and i loved every moment of it.

There was even one moment, i can barely remember because of everything that was going around, it could have been in the beginning or closer to the end, but after reading a bit on reddit some dude yelled out that he loved Frank and Frank said “I love you” or something along those lines. Frank said he loved us, and i dont care how crazy fanboying this all sounds but damn that was a crazy moment. The entire concert was nuts for a huge stan like myself.

He then went on to perform the final few songs on Blond, like Futura Free and Nikes. But it was still perfection. I knew the concert was coming to a close but i didnt really care because i was living in this beautiful epicentre of happiness and joy. Another fantastic moment was when Nikes started and on screen they had a bouncing hello Kitty head bouncing on the lyrics like in Karaoke and the cameraman would go through the audience and film everyone singing along it was beautifully sweet. And during 🎶we’re not in love, but i’ll make love to you🎶 I WAS ON SCREEN. I WAS ON SCREEN AT A FRANK OCEAN CONCERT PROJECTED TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE BELTING OUT THOSE HEARTFELT LYRICS AND IT WAS THE HAPPIEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE. Even though the concert came to a close afterwards i stood in place for a few minutes, glowing smile glued to my face, but perplexed thoughts on my mind. I was awestruck, I was honestly unsure of how it got any better than this. And to this day, almost a week later i still havent figured it out.

For the next few days, and even the night before i wrote this, i would wake up early in the morning (before i had to) and imagine the concert, or wake up in shock as if i was going to miss him perform. Like, i dont exactly know how to describe it. It was an etherial experience that has consumed my thoughts. And i know this is over-exaggerating and overdoing it, but it’s true to a point. I havent stopped thinking about that performance, what those songs mean to me and what they mean to Frank. I havent listened to Blonde as much because i just want to be in that moment again. It was the happiest i’ve ever been and nothing else compares as much. I know it’s a downer to read, because it’s sad for me to type this all out but it’s kind of true. That was the peak of my life so far, and everything i do will involve me trying to reach those heights again.

Despite all of the technical difficulties, people insisting that Frank was not hype enough to end a festival, people getting mad that he had to repeat songs to give us a perfect performance, despite the electronic drums not working for solange, or the old skinhead sweaty white dudes trying to turn everything into a mosh, and despite incredibly egregious and unnecessary run on sentences, it was a perfect weekend and one that i will never ever forget. One that i will match up to every major experience i have in my life from now on. Do me a favour, see these artists perform live. I feel that it will literally change your life, as it has mine.