Regional Summer Concert Series: Overview of the Firefly Music Festival

By Alison Wallach

Year two of the Firefly Music Festival at the Woodlands of the Dover International Speedway exceeded my already high expectations. From Friday, June 21 to Sunday, June 23, I spent my days and nights in a musical Heaven, rocking out with upwards of 60,000 others who likewise basked in the glory of mind blowing sights, miraculous sounds, and the most delicious cheeseburgers.

Nothing beats the feeling of enormous groups of people coming together to appreciate their shared music tastes and each other's company. It's music festivals like Firefly that are quickly becoming the Woodstocks of our generation. Everywhere I looked I saw something else to fulfill my long awaited, music festival dreams -- a million chances to check off the "to-do's" on my Firefly bucket list.

When I say that I'm bad with directions, I mean that I sometimes need a GPS to navigate my way safely from my bedroom to my kitchen. That being said, the immensity of Firefly's grounds overwhelmed me, but it was the positive kind of overwhelming feeling that fills you with joyous anticipation. Every corner brought with it a new surprise, be it a silent dance party at the Headphone Disco or a patch of dirt that I welcomed as a complimentary mud bath. Not to mention, Firefly stationed enough maps on the grounds and enough volunteers ready to assist guests with anything they needed to ensure that people like me didn't wind up in the wrong part of the Woodlands.

Granted, I lived in luxury during those three days. I cannot say that I got the full experience of the Firefly Music Festival, as I stationed myself at a friend's apartment, conveniently located forty minutes outside of Dover in Newark, Delaware. (Shout out to Steph Espie for housing me -- you rock harder than Firefly!)

Being a newbie to the world of three-day long jam sessions, I felt a bit intimidated by the seasoned professionals who knew what to do and when to go do it. Each day presented me with a number of crucial, life-altering decisions: do I go see Matt and Kim at the Lawn Stage and risk losing my sweet, front row spot at the Firefly Main Stage where I'd see Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite and Passion Pit?

I chose to play it safe, and I apparently missed one amazing performance by Matt and Kim. Yet, I did get to hear Ben Harper's rich, bluesy, soulful sound from several feet away and come within inches of Passion Pit's lead singer Michael Angelakos as he jumped from the stage to get the audience's help in singing "Sleepy Head" after allergies caused him to lose his voice. Angelakos explained that his battle with Bipolar Disorder forced him to cancel his scheduled performance at last year's Firefly in addition to all of his July 2012 tour dates. Although they had to finish their performance early due to Angelakos' throat issues, Passion Pit put on one of the most energetic, heartfelt performances of Firefly, motivated by Angelakos' refusal to let anything prevent him from making it up to the crowd at Firefly by giving it his absolute all.

Other festival highlights included Friday evening's performance by The Avett Brothers, who captivated audiences with their perfectly balanced setlist of folk and bluegrass sounds combined with indie rock and their even more perfect and chill-rendering vocal harmonies. During the performance, Seth Avett crowd surfed the audience with his guitar in hand.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers did not disappoint on Friday night, performing many of their classic hits with as much enthusiasm and instrumental magic as ever. When the RHCP returned to the stage for an encore, bassist Michael Peter Balzary, more commonly known as Flea, came walking in on his hands, a literal testament to the continuing strength of the band both musically and physically in terms of performance stamina and stage presence.

On Saturday afternoon, the Alabama Shakes drew a remarkably large crowd, as lead singer Brittany Howard belted out vocals reminiscent of a young Aretha Franklin, as second-year Firefly attendee Stephen Harrington said. Her voice dipped with emotion and passion that reverberated towards the outermost reaches of the audience.

In contrast, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros seemed to struggle in keeping the audience's attention. Having seen them previously at The Theater of the Living Arts, it's obvious they perform better in a more intimate settings, as is the case with many bands who naturally prefer captive audiences. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes in particular seem to feed off the audience's energy and interact a good deal with their guests, which becomes difficult in a festival crowd.

When I saw Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros last, they were amazing and got everyone in the audience up and dancing. I remember leaving thinking that the band put on one of the best shows I had ever sen, hence my surprise when I felt their performance at Firefly to be lackluster. The chemistry between lead singer Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos makes for a powerful performance, but it appeared as if Castrinos had fallen ill and if Ebert couldn't bear the heat. At one point, an audience member requested that they play their hit "Home," to which Ebert replied, "No s**t we'll get to it," not putting much effort into hiding any bitterness. Still, they played "Home" and their other hits with what some enthusiasm."

Saturday certainly ended on a high note with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers closing out day two. Despite the predominately young crowd at Firefly, Tom Petty never seems to go out of style, with hoards of fans, young and old, coming out in support of the band. The massive sing along that broke out during "Free Fallin'" created a beautiful moment of unity, happiness, and love among the concert-goers.

Sunday's brief periods of hard rain couldn't put a damper on the festival goers who took it as an opportunity to both re-hydrate and a get a break from the rather oppressive heat and humidity. Sunday also brought with it up and coming folk band Delta Rae, who put on an incredible performance and covered Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" in an amazing rendition. The band seemed genuinely thrilled to have the support of a rather large crowd, and their excitement came shining through in their music.

Foster the People replaced Imagine Dragons to close the festival on Sunday night, putting on a visual spectacle with an array of lights and dancers dressed up as ghoulish creatures similar to those on the cover of the band's 2011 album Torches. Although Foster the People slightly disappointed in that they ended their set fifteen minutes early, they made up for it with the presentation of new material and their killer finale of
"Pumped Up Kicks."

So, was Firefly worth the six and a half hour traffic back up the first day? Was it worth the cost? Was it worth the mud stains that cover every article of clothing I wore? No doubt about it.
Would I go again next year, and the many consecutive years afterwards in which I predict Firefly will continue to rein supreme among the East Coast's music festivals?
I'll see you there.