Festival lineups can be overwhelming; so many names to read through on one poster, it can be a tiring. But don't worry, your friendly neighborhood EARMILK writer has you covered to navigate Wayhome Music and Arts Festival's 2017 lineup, scouring the list to find four artists that you may have missed during your quick skim. Sure, Imagine Dragons, Flume and Frank Ocean are headlining. Yeah, there's Justice, Solange, Marshmello and Schoolboy Q, but under all these headliners lies a treasure trove of up-and-comers who should definitely be on your radar if you're making the journey to Wayhome this summer.
Take Daniel Caesar, for example. Caesar, from Toronto, Canada, has gone from starving artist to soul sensation with his breakout single, "Get You", a smooth and sultry homage to old school funk and soul. The track has over 10 million streams on Apple Music and 12 million streams on Spotify. Caesar also debuted his EP Praise Break with acclaim from several music media outlets. He describes his music as "a collision of all the sounds I appreciated growing up" and flags Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Partynextdoor and The Beatles as his biggest influences. With the Toronto hip-hop scene blowing up, you definitely don't want to be caught sleeping on this one.
OWSLA seems to be one of the go-to labels for "who-to-watch" in electronic music. With Skrillex at the helm, you know his signings have something special to offer the scene. That's where Hundred Waters comes in. The Florida-natives burst onto the scene back in 2012 with their first self-titled album, released via OWSLA to the surprise of many, and followed up with their second album, The Moon Rang Like A Bell. The group has received critical praise for their blend of electronic and organic sounds and broke-out with the Skrillex remix of "Show Me Love", featuring Chance The Rapper, but dig a little deeper and there's much more to discover. The group blends haunting vocals, courtesy of Nicole Miglis, and acoustic instrumentals with low, warped synths to create songs that hit you hard. Add Hundred Waters to your lineup list for the chilled-out, feels-y portion of your day.
One of the best parts of a festival experience is dancing. Dancing with your crew, strangers, alone or even with the staff (looking at you, security guards). If you're looking to get your groove on, Pat Lok is your man. We've supported the the Vancouver-native on our pages before, and it others are starting to pay attention: he now has over 2.5 million plays on Soundcloud and has received love from The Magician, RAC, The Knocks and Goldroom. The producer's sound is a mix of house and nu-disco, which will definitely have the Wayhome crowd moving. If you want to check out this underrated (in my opinion) part of the electronic scene, Pat Lok will certainly be a great first taste.
If you're a fan of Ryan Hemsworth and his Secret Songs label, you've heard of Mitski. For those who haven't, Mitski Miyawaki is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter who graduated from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music. She has released four albums, two self-released and two via labels. Her most recent release, Puberty 2, received heavy critical acclaim and was part of many Best Albums of 2016 lists. Her tracks "Francis Forever" and "Your Best American Girl" aided in her notoriety and have made her an artist to watch in future. For a little girl power hour in your festival experience, Mitski is your girl.
If you're planning on making the journey out to Oro-Medonte, Ontario this July, keep these artists in your back pocket to whip out and impress your friends with your knowledge on hip up-and-comers. Wayhome has more artists to be announced, as well, so the possibilities of finding new artists is endless. Check out the festival's full lineup below.
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