The Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) wrapped up its two-day 6 Fest music event, and people have taken to Twitter to voice either support or frustration for the student organization following last-minute lineup changes and no surprise appearance by Toronto rapper Drake.
@RUStudentLife @RyersonU where can I get a refund? You guys misled us with the advertising #6fest #drake
— Jakay (@45Jakay) October 11, 2016
Honestly, some of you people are so ungrateful. The student union worked hard on this. You wouldn’t be getting this event at U of T. #6fest
— Siobhan Reneé Liu (@SavageSakoori) October 11, 2016
I want my $70 bucks back how are you gonna hype an entire event on special guests and not bring any of them #6fest
— ♡ (@alduhhh) October 11, 2016
One thing #6Fest goers don’t realize rn is that no other school in the country has come close to putting on an event like the @RyeSU did
— Alex D’Addese (@alex_daddese) October 11, 2016
6 Fest ran Sunday and Monday, with artists Diplo and Big Sean initially billed as headlining acts, alongside “special guests.” Last-minute changes to 6 Fest’s online promotional material, however, removed Big Sean and placed artist French Montana as a new co-headliner alongside Diplo. The Moroccan-born French Montana had also performed a very short set at a 6 Fest pop-up concert in early September. Posters hanging around Ryerson’s campus as recently as late Sunday still listed Big Sean as one of the event’s guests, and the RSU has not released any official retraction or apology for the loss of the artist on any platform.
I don’t know what was more fun at #6Fest the “full-scale carnival w/ amusement rides” I didn’t ride or the “Artist pop-up” that I didn’t see pic.twitter.com/Pe5dRGFioy
— ❦Mahima Kad❦ (@mahimakad) October 11, 2016
Genuinely think we need a full new team to run the RSU after the massive flop that #6Fest was. Way to waste our money Ryerson! :))
— Tayner Murdock (@TheEnterTayner) October 11, 2016
Pre-sale tickets for the concert ran for around $40, while “Tier 2” tickets were $116.66. The RSU-run event, which was open to non-Ryerson students as well, attracted a few thousand attendees at its Toronto Port Lands venue. The rocky, largely empty space hosted one stage, several food trucks and not much else. While the crowd was receptive and energetic on the first night, tensions began to build on Monday, with many concert-goers voicing disappointment when it became clear that Drake would not be making an appearance. The Toronto-based artist has performed at two separate RSU-affiliated events in the past, but a recent injury caused the rapper to cancel one of his Toronto concerts at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday, and cast doubts over whether or not he would show up at 6 Fest.
@Drake I’m proud of you. After postponing your SummerSixteen tour dates I thought u would show up to #6Fest anyway. And u didn’t. Cheers!
— Brady Vallbacka (@bradyvall) October 11, 2016
Thank you @RyeSU for ruining my reading week + making me cold, sick & dizzy, all for lackluster performances and no special guests. #6fest
— Maryan Haye (@maryanhaye4) October 11, 2016
The two-day festival still featured a sizeable lineup of artists. DJ sets by Toronto groups Thugli and Grandtheft opened the show on Sunday, and an energetic performance by New York rapper and frequent Kanye West collaborator Pusha T led well into Diplo’s sprawling set. Monday featured more local talent, with rappers Baka and Roy Woods, as well as R&B duo DVSN, rounding out a list of Toronto-area artists leading up to French Montana. DJ sets by DJ DattaBass, Unimerce, and others kept the crowd moving throughout the evening, with Drake’s songs getting frequent play in spite of his notable absence.
Thank you @RyeSU for #6fest – no other SU in the country has accomplished something to this scale before ? #studentlife #schoolspirit
— jasmine wd (@jazzdenike) October 11, 2016
Aside from last-minute lineup changes, the RSU successfully ran a professional-looking music festival according to schedule, with no dead air between sets. There were several fights within the crowd on both nights that required intervention from festival security, but no major injuries or stage rushes by audience members were reported. 6 Fest promoters did little to kill the runaway hype surrounding a potential appearance by Drake leading up to the event, and now it seems that hype has caught up with the RSU.
Student life and music reporter for The Ryersonian.