The Firefly Music Festival is located in the woodlands of Dover, Delaware and I would highly recommend that you go at least once. Firefly Music Festival is very well organized, perfectly located, and the atmosphere is very energetic and friendly! There is a band there for many different types of music lovers and when you are in the crowds you feel as though you are a part of it all. In order to fully enjoy the festival, here are a few tips you may not have thought of.

1. Start Planning Early

You have just purchased your Firefly Music Festival tickets six months in advance with a group of your friends and you are beyond excited! The line up for this year is amazing and you can already picture yourself singing along with the bands. Time flies though and before you know it there are only a couple of days before you have to leave for the music festival! Now you are stressed trying to figure everything out and coordinating with all of your friends. I cannot stress the importance of starting to plan and coordinate at least two months in advance. You have to figure out when and where the bands you want to see will be playing, coordinate for which of your friends has what because you won’t have room to pack doubles of things, and make sure you get enough groceries, but not too many because you aren’t allowed to bring any water or food into the festival. It may seem annoying at the time to have to plan for something that seems so far away but you will thank yourself when it is time to leave.

2. Arrival and Setting Up Camp

You are so excited to be camping with your friends for a few nights and can just picture the shenanigans that you will be getting into but will you make it in time? Something important to consider is when you want to be there and have everything set up. Firefly does offer a Wednesday Premier camping pass, which allows you to arrive on Wednesday instead of Thursday. If you can afford this pass I would highly recommend it so that you can beat the majority of people coming to the festival and so you are closer to the entrance to the stages. You will already be on your feet all day everyday so the shorter distance to the stages, the better. We got there Thursday at 3 a.m. this year and had to wait in a long line of cars to even get to our campsite. By the time we were setting up our tent the sun was rising and we only had time for a quick nap before the bands started to play. We were so excited to be there we didn’t care that we were sleep deprived but will definitely be getting Premier passes next time.

3. Preparing To Enter The Festival Grounds

Finally you are about to go into the festival grounds where there are multiple stages to check out as well as vendors of all sorts but what should you bring with you? You will definitely want to wear comfortable footwear because no matter what you wear on your feet they will hurt by the end of the day. You also want to wear comfortable clothing that you don’t mind getting sweaty and dirty. The two most important things to remember though are sunscreen (non-aerosol) and a reusable water bottle. You will be in the sun all day and will want to protect your skin. You aren’t allowed to bring water into the festival but there are multiple water re-fill stations that you can use to fill up your reusable water bottle. A few other things you will want to bring include a blanket to sit on for downtime, toilet paper for the porta-potties, and money for food or anything cool you just have to have that the vendors may be selling. I would also suggest bringing Band-Aids, sunglasses, and hand sanitizer. You won’t want to walk all the way back to camp!

4. Concert Placement

You have passed through security and are finally in the festival grounds, what do you do now? If you have extra time I would try to familiarize yourself with where the stages are located. You don’t want to miss out on any of the bands you want to see just because you can’t find the stage! You may also want to check out where the porta-potties, water re-fill stations, food vendors, and other vendors are located. You want to get the full festival experience! Once all of that is figured out, you want to head over to the stage where the band you want to see is playing. For known popular bands, if you want to be closer to the front of the crowd, you have to get there one or two hours early. If you don’t mind not being up close but still want to be in the crowd, I would still suggest getting there 20-30 minutes early. You can always push your way into the crowd but no one likes those people. If your feet and legs are so tired that you cannot think of standing any longer, layout that blanket in the back of the crowd and just relax. For your favorite band I would suggest to try to get front row spots because there is no other experience like it. You may have to wait awhile but it is totally worth it.

5. Enjoy!

After all that planning and organizing, through the sweat and dirt, don’t forget where you are! Music is a powerful thing, it brings us all together and you can feel that at Firefly Music Festival. You can feel the energy of the bands and crowds take over you. The music is so loud you feel as though your heart is beating to the rhythm of the songs. It is a feeling that I can’t explain to you, but instead, one you need to experience for yourself. You'll make memories that you will remember for a lifetime. I know I am going back to Firefly Music Festival, are you?