We had the privilege to attend the second annual OVO Fest, Drake’s Toronto-based live music festival. It was without a doubt one of the greatest musical experiences we have had in the last decade of concert going. It was a unique experience off the bat with a show sold-out largely on the speculation of guest appearances. The crowd was energized from the opening at 7:30 all the way down the closing number past midnight.

The Weeknd opened the show with his soothing R&B voice. The OVO-loyal fans sang along to the new-comers singles; the young man looked comfortable despite OVO Fest being one of his first concert performances. We took guess as to who was up next, listening to fans all around taking bets on the line up. A slim DJ took the stage getting the crowd ready for the next act, spinning tracks from his turntables and MacBook. The Maybach Music chain around his neck foreshadowed chants for Rick Ross who dominated the stage next. Mr. Ricky Rozzay was a crowd favourite sweating through tracks and crowd chants of “Hussle/Hard”.

The stage was set up with the next set’s design which featured a series of crucifix like structures towering over the entire space. Taking the crucifix shapes as a clue we assumed Toronto’s beloved half-Jewish rapper had set the stage for a fully-Christian rapper from Chicago. Alas Kanye was not to be found; the lights came on and it was Drake’s time to take the stage. Mr. Drizzy was in love with the crowd, which was reciprocated fully. He had the crowd on their feet for the entire 3 hour set that followed, taking breaks in-between verses only to flash his signature (charming) shy smile.

His voice was all quality as he switched through his R&B and rap verses without wavering. In between songs, he chatted with the crowd giving shout-outs to specific people, making use of a pair of binoculars to reach his praise all the way to the lawn. He shared his aspirations for more dinners with his mom and urged us all to show a little more love to our city.

The guest appearances were sprinkled through the show providing boosts to the crowd with every new face peaking out of the stage’s shadows. First up was J Cole who sang In The Morning with Drake which was followed by a shower of praise. Drizzy even attributed J Cole as being an integral part of his own success in the last year. Before J Cole walked off, the next guest took the stage with a Toronto Blue Jays hat pulled over his eyes. After Made You Look, he pulled the hat up before going into If I Ruled the World while Drake took a seat to enjoy. The crowd went bonkers for Nas.

Drake took the stage for another few tracks with the crowd singing, rapping and dancing along. After going through a few more singles including Made Men and Marvin’s Room, Drizzy took a break from the stage as it was set up for the next guest appearance: Stevie Wonder. The living legend played a forty minute mini concert during the set with Drake sitting alongside to take it all in. It was surreal to experience the man singing some of his own classics to a young and appreciative crowd.

The excitement continued as The Weeknd came back on stage to boast his vocals on Trust Issues. The two paced the stage together exchanging rap verses for extremely impressive vocal ranges. As people began to accept that we may have seen the final guest at this point, one more surprise made his way through Canadian customs just in time. The crowd absolutely lost it, literally jumping in front of their seats, grabbing and screaming in excitement for Lil Wayne.

Wayne is a true entertainer. Drake, Rick Ross and Wayne shared the stage for a few final numbers. The excitement became so dangerous, I looked to my neighbour to share the moment only to see him silent, clutching his heart with teary eyes. This one exception aside, Wayne had the crowd roaring to Miss Me and A Millie.

Drake pulled off an absolutely phenomenal experience. It was apparent the crowd left happy, reminiscing on the last few hours as they made their way out into downtown Toronto. The crowd undoudtedly walked out with more pride in our city with Drake’s closing remarks still echoing:

All I care about is money and the city that I’m from.