Dover, Delaware, is home to the magical four days of the Firefly Music Festival. Over 90,000 people attended this year's four-day event that was filled with music and my terrible dancing. Firefly takes place in the Woodlands at the Dover International Speedway, a group of tree-lined fields that provide shade and beautiful scenery.
After attending Firefly 2015, I had high hopes for this year (but could anything beat Odesza's set?), and I was not disappointed in the slightest.
Stages and sound.
Firefly has seven stages that offered different kinds of music to festival-goers. There's an acoustic stage where major artists (Jack Antonoff, Nathaniel Rateliff, James Hersey, etc.) perform on a small stage which provides a more intimate setting. There's a stage called the Treehouse stage, which is in the woods -- a small venue in a gorgeous setting. There's the Firefly main stage for the headliners and acts like Catfish and the Bottlemen and Grouplove, both of which drew huge crowds. It's so cool; there's so much music all the time. The only downside was having to sprint from one side of the festival to the other (it's a 105-acre festival, so, trust me, it's a lot of running) to make someone's set in 80-degree weather.
Food.
The food is so good. There were lots of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options that fit into everyone's lifestyles (I would die for a black bean quinoa burger right now). The worst part about the food is that it ran out! The first couple days seemed fine but Saturday and Sunday got a little tricky when it came to dinner in the festival. Better luck next time.
Camping.
Camping is truly hit or miss. Last year, it was at least a 30-minute walk to enter the festival with my general camping pass, which was the worst. It was 20 minutes to showers and flushing toilets, and some people had it worse than I did. This year, however, a huge group of my friends and I got the group camping package (which included free showers and a 40x40 land plot). Group camping was much more convenient (only 15 minutes from the festival and five minutes from flush toilets) and we'll definitely be doing that again next year. If you can get a big enough group to go, I highly recommend it!
Art.
In years past, the art at Firefly has been seemingly nonexistent. There have been a few Firefly cutouts for people to pose next to, and a few of the tree-filled paths have been lit up. This year, however, Firefly stepped up its game with large, abstract art pieces: some that glow and change color, some that provide shade (if you sit close enough), etc. The Pavilion stage (which was really a huge tent) had massive balloons attached to the ceiling that was so gorgeous, especially when the lights reflected off of them. Additionally, the forest was lit up even more than it had been in years prior, and the decorative Firefly signs remained. And, of course, there were lots of flags and funny signs that festival attendees brought, either to use as a landmark or just for laughs -- there was even one from Hamilton! Love that guy.
Here are my personal favorites (obviously, the most important part of this article).
Best set.
Saint Lucia. It was like I was transported to another world (I wasn't on drugs, I swear). Their entire set had so much light and was so much fun. The lead singer came up to the barricade multiple times, either running along the fence to high five fans or stopping to sing to them. He went in the audience (people freaked out) and continued his performance. They did a tribute to the Orlando shootings and a rainbow-colored flag was on stage with them throughout the set. The group had so much fun on stage; it's so cool to watch people do what they were made to do, and Saint Lucia's live set is a perfect example of that.
One act I wish I'd seen.
Tame. Impala. I know I had an excuse and there was someone else that I wanted to see but I heard that their set was unreal and looking back, whoever it was that I saw probably wasn't worth it.
One act I wanted at the festival.
The Temper Trap! Their new album recently came out and it's so good. Firefly and the Temper Trap seem like such a good pair; I'm really, really rooting for this match to happen in 2017. Please.
Least favorite part.
The line to get into the festival everyday was ridiculous. Sometimes it took 10 minutes to get through the line, get your bag searched and scan your wristband to get in, but other times it took 45 minutes. Next year, I hope they'll hire more people to search bags so it won't take that long again.
Favorite part.
Can I say the whole thing? Being in an environment where everyone is so in love with music is like nothing else I've experienced. Every single year, the Woodlands continues to amaze me. I loved being with my friends, seeing my favorite bands, making so, so many memories. Firefly is for sure my favorite four days of the year. Nothing compares.
Thank you for the memories, Firefly. Can't wait for the Woodlands next year.
