This year, Red Frog Events and Goldenvoice teamed up to bring us the 4th edition of the Firefly Music Festival. I loved the lineup this year, and since I couldn't make it to Bonnaroo this year, my dad and I decided to instead make the trip north to Dover, DE for Firefly.
The lineup was pretty stacked: headliners were Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon, and The Killers, with other featured acts including Morrissey, Snoop Dogg, Foster the People, Zedd, Modest Mouse, Hozier, and many more. On top of that, there were still plenty of bands, particularly the bottom 1/3 of the lineup, that I was not familiar with at all.
Dad and I left Winston-Salem at approximately 6:00 am on Thursday morning, and by about 2:00 pm later that day, we had our campsite at the Woodlands completely set up. We said hello to our neighbors--who were very friendly--and planned out the rest of the day.
We started out by scouting out the area around us to find bathrooms, showers, phone charging stations, and water refill stations. One of the big things I noticed right from the get-go is that we were much closer to civilization here than we were at Bonnaroo. Within half a mile from our campsite was a Home Depot, a McDonalds, and even a hotel. Many people, myself included, flocked to the Home Depot daily to charge their phones. The employees there were also very nice about it, even bringing power strips for us to use and tables to sit around.
Another thing I noticed at the start was just how far away our campsite was from the festival grounds. From our tent to the front gate, it was a whole mile, and then another mile to the main stage from there. For comparison, when Dad and myself did VIP at Bonnaroo last year, it was less than half a mile from our campsite to the main stage. In fact, the Bonnaroo What Stage was so close to our campsite in 2014 that I finished Bonnaroo watching Elton John from my campsite. In all honesty, the long walk to the main festival grounds didn't bother me all that much. It's the walk back to the campsite that I hated, especially after a long day of partying with 90,000 other people. Plus, there was many more miles of walking around from stage to stage throughout the day to add on to that. Dad estimated that we walked close to fifteen miles each day of the festival. Like I said, it wasn't all that bad until you're walking back to camp.
The lineup was pretty stacked: headliners were Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon, and The Killers, with other featured acts including Morrissey, Snoop Dogg, Foster the People, Zedd, Modest Mouse, Hozier, and many more. On top of that, there were still plenty of bands, particularly the bottom 1/3 of the lineup, that I was not familiar with at all.
Dad and I left Winston-Salem at approximately 6:00 am on Thursday morning, and by about 2:00 pm later that day, we had our campsite at the Woodlands completely set up. We said hello to our neighbors--who were very friendly--and planned out the rest of the day.
We started out by scouting out the area around us to find bathrooms, showers, phone charging stations, and water refill stations. One of the big things I noticed right from the get-go is that we were much closer to civilization here than we were at Bonnaroo. Within half a mile from our campsite was a Home Depot, a McDonalds, and even a hotel. Many people, myself included, flocked to the Home Depot daily to charge their phones. The employees there were also very nice about it, even bringing power strips for us to use and tables to sit around.
Another thing I noticed at the start was just how far away our campsite was from the festival grounds. From our tent to the front gate, it was a whole mile, and then another mile to the main stage from there. For comparison, when Dad and myself did VIP at Bonnaroo last year, it was less than half a mile from our campsite to the main stage. In fact, the Bonnaroo What Stage was so close to our campsite in 2014 that I finished Bonnaroo watching Elton John from my campsite. In all honesty, the long walk to the main festival grounds didn't bother me all that much. It's the walk back to the campsite that I hated, especially after a long day of partying with 90,000 other people. Plus, there was many more miles of walking around from stage to stage throughout the day to add on to that. Dad estimated that we walked close to fifteen miles each day of the festival. Like I said, it wasn't all that bad until you're walking back to camp.
Day 1
Like Bonnaroo, the first day (Thursday) at Firefly is now reserved for newer and less established acts, though there are still some bigger acts that perform on these days. Firefly added Thursday performances to the festival just last year, and I can only assume that it's something lifted from Bonnaroo, which has been hosting Thursday performances for many years now. No other festival really does that aside from Virginia's Lockn festival, and Lockn would be different in that the performances it has on Thursday are from well-established acts.
As I walked through the gate to the festival, I was greeted by a hi-five chain that immediately brought back memories of Bonnaroo. The festival hadn't even started yet and I was already being greeted by many positive festival-goers who were just as excited to be there as I was! Already, my festival was off to a great start.
As I grabbed some dinner around 5:30 that afternoon, I decided to wander around the festival a little bit to see/hear some of the music playing. After walking around for a few minutes, I finally wandered into Firefly's new Pavilion Stage, a large tent set up specifically for electronic dance music and some hip-hop artists. There, DJ/model Jack Novak was performing for a small crowd, but who were all clearly having an amazing time. Her fist-pumping, bass-dropping beats kept an already energetic crowd going for her full 45 minute set, and I left feeling like I was ready to take on the rest of the weekend.
After a long break, I went over to the Lawn Stage to catch quirky indie-pop singer-wingwriter Ryn Weaver. I'm surprised she isn't more popular than she is. Regardless, with a single like "OctaHate", she's bound to be a star. The still relatively unknown pop songstress performed very well, proving that she certainly has the stage presence to back up her catchy songs.
After she was done, I stuck around to catch UK soul-dance group Jungle. As they were setting up, I couldn't help but notice the elaborate lights show the crowd was about to receive, which included some stacks of lights with the band's logo in them. While I of course love listening to the actual music portion of live performances, I also love a good lights show, and neither the lights show nor the performance disappointed. Jungle's soulful dance grooves had the crowd dancing for the whole 60 minutes of their performance, and it ended up being my favorite of that night.
However, the night wasn't over. Already a little bit tired, I stumbled back to the Pavilion Stage to catch Tycho. I was surprised and a little disappointed when I got there, because for an act as well known as Tycho, he played to a crowd of less than a thousand. To be fair, he was also up against The Kooks, who are far more popular, as well as X Ambassadors, a late addition after Charli XCX had to cancel. So it's not exactly his fault he had a smaller crowd. That being said, Scott Hansen and co. sounded phenomenal. Playing a slower set consisting of mostly tracks from their two most recent albums, it was a perfect way to close out the first day before hobbling two miles back to my tent.
As I walked through the gate to the festival, I was greeted by a hi-five chain that immediately brought back memories of Bonnaroo. The festival hadn't even started yet and I was already being greeted by many positive festival-goers who were just as excited to be there as I was! Already, my festival was off to a great start.
As I grabbed some dinner around 5:30 that afternoon, I decided to wander around the festival a little bit to see/hear some of the music playing. After walking around for a few minutes, I finally wandered into Firefly's new Pavilion Stage, a large tent set up specifically for electronic dance music and some hip-hop artists. There, DJ/model Jack Novak was performing for a small crowd, but who were all clearly having an amazing time. Her fist-pumping, bass-dropping beats kept an already energetic crowd going for her full 45 minute set, and I left feeling like I was ready to take on the rest of the weekend.
After a long break, I went over to the Lawn Stage to catch quirky indie-pop singer-wingwriter Ryn Weaver. I'm surprised she isn't more popular than she is. Regardless, with a single like "OctaHate", she's bound to be a star. The still relatively unknown pop songstress performed very well, proving that she certainly has the stage presence to back up her catchy songs.
After she was done, I stuck around to catch UK soul-dance group Jungle. As they were setting up, I couldn't help but notice the elaborate lights show the crowd was about to receive, which included some stacks of lights with the band's logo in them. While I of course love listening to the actual music portion of live performances, I also love a good lights show, and neither the lights show nor the performance disappointed. Jungle's soulful dance grooves had the crowd dancing for the whole 60 minutes of their performance, and it ended up being my favorite of that night.
However, the night wasn't over. Already a little bit tired, I stumbled back to the Pavilion Stage to catch Tycho. I was surprised and a little disappointed when I got there, because for an act as well known as Tycho, he played to a crowd of less than a thousand. To be fair, he was also up against The Kooks, who are far more popular, as well as X Ambassadors, a late addition after Charli XCX had to cancel. So it's not exactly his fault he had a smaller crowd. That being said, Scott Hansen and co. sounded phenomenal. Playing a slower set consisting of mostly tracks from their two most recent albums, it was a perfect way to close out the first day before hobbling two miles back to my tent.
Day 2
After a successful first day, I knew that the big attraction for Day 2 would be Paul McCartney. I'd seen him twice before already--once at my first Bonnaroo and again in October 2014 in Greensboro--and I was still fanboying hard. I couldn't fanboy too hard though, as there were still other bands I needed to see.
Heading into the festival around noon, I made my way to the Firefly Stage to see my first act of the day: British pop-classical-dance crossover group Clean Bandit. Accompanied by vocalist Elisabeth Troy and with a new girl on keyboards to replace the missing Jack Patterson, the group sounded great. The group's biggest cheers came when they played their high-energy Robin S cover "Let Me Show You Love" and their 2014 smash hit "Rather Be".
My next show was at the Backyard Stage with rapper Le1f, an outspoken and openly gay hip-hop artist with rap skills to boot. His set was a lot of fun, but while I watched and listened, I wondered why I didn't see him discussed in hip-hop circles more often. He clearly has the skills to be discussed in the same conversation along with contemporaries such as Vic Mensa, Raury, and Joey Badass. Hopefully, we'll start seeing him play more major festivals over the next couple of years. Please, Bonnaroo and Coachella?
After Le1f's set, I headed back over to the Firefly Stage, where I would remain for the rest of the afternoon. Cage the Elephant was up next, and I chose to see them because I missed them when they were hitting all the festivals the previous year. I've heard comparisons drawn between them and the Rolling Stones, and seeing them live definitely made me see the comparison. While it's hard to pin who in Cage the Elephant could be a Keith Richards equivalent, frontman Matt Schulz is pretty much the new Mick Jagger. Everything from his stage presence to his swagger-filled voice and piercing shrieks above Cage the Elephant's blues-punk makes him more Mick Jagger than any rock frontman of the past few years... except for maybe Julian Casablancas.
Next up was Morrissey. He hasn't done a whole lot of festivals in the United States as far as I know, so seeing him booked on the Firefly lineup piqued my interest a little bit, especially because a festival in its fourth year doesn't normally have surprise bookings like this one. As the sun began to set behind me, Morrissey and his band, dressed in matching outfits, took the stage, with Morrissey himself declaring "It takes a nation of millions to hold us back" as a nod to Public Enemy, and perhaps even a nod to the shooting in Charleston that had happened just days prior. It's worth noting that I did not expect to enjoy this show as much as I did. The former Smiths frontman and his band sounded great as they played a set consisting of mostly solo songs, with a few Smiths classics such as "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before". The most gripping moment of the set, however, was during "Meat Is Murder", when a long video of animals being slaughtered was shown on a screen at the top of the stage. It was too gruesome for me to really even look at it and I turned away from the screen while it was being shown. I don't really mind vegans, and not even this was really extreme by any standards... but it was still kinda gross to watch. Still, for a relatively small crowd, he and his band were excellent, and this show was definitely a personal highlight for me.
After he ended, many at Firefly went off to see one of three shows: classic indie rockers Modest Mouse at the Lawn, Norwegian tropical house producer Kygo at the Backyard, or hardcore hip-hop group Run the Jewels at the Pavilion. It was hard enough for me to have to choose between these three, but to make things worse, I was only 10 yards from the stage for Paul McCartney and really didn't want to leave, so I stayed. It kind of sucked, because I really wanted to see all three of those artists, but I had never been up close for McCartney before. So I sucked it up and stayed put for Sir Paul.
At about 10:00 pm, the ex-Beatle walked on stage to many cheers, and appeared on two giant screens flanking the stage. Opening up the show was the Beatles classic "Birthday", only because McCartney had celebrated a birthday the day before. Once that was out of the way, he and his band tore through more than 50 years of hits and a few deeper cuts. While the show was actually a bit shorter than what I was used to, it was still an incredible show. "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" was still spectacular, "Let Me Roll It" still rocked, "Live and Let Die" melted my face, and the "Hey Jude" sing-a-long still got me a little emotional. Also notable was "The Long and Winding Road", which he dedicated to the victims of the Charleston shooting. I really just don't think I will ever not enjoy seeing Paul McCartney play live. If you haven't seen him yet and you have an opportunity to do so, it's definitely worth the money.
After another amazing McCartney show, I decided to finish out the night with Zedd. If you've ever been to an EDM show at a festival, you know that people love to throw glowsticks at these things. Somebody brought five thousand of them and handed them out to many people. Then, every single time the beat dropped in a song, they were all launched into the air. It was more fun to watch than to take part it. I didn't stay at this set for very long since I was pretty exhausted from standing out in the sun all day, but what I did see of Zedd did not disappoint. He seems like he was made to play these large festivals, because the crowd he drew stretched all the way to the back of the field for the Backyard Stage. He very well has the potential to be a separate headliner for these festivals, and I can't wait to see where he goes in the future.
Heading into the festival around noon, I made my way to the Firefly Stage to see my first act of the day: British pop-classical-dance crossover group Clean Bandit. Accompanied by vocalist Elisabeth Troy and with a new girl on keyboards to replace the missing Jack Patterson, the group sounded great. The group's biggest cheers came when they played their high-energy Robin S cover "Let Me Show You Love" and their 2014 smash hit "Rather Be".
My next show was at the Backyard Stage with rapper Le1f, an outspoken and openly gay hip-hop artist with rap skills to boot. His set was a lot of fun, but while I watched and listened, I wondered why I didn't see him discussed in hip-hop circles more often. He clearly has the skills to be discussed in the same conversation along with contemporaries such as Vic Mensa, Raury, and Joey Badass. Hopefully, we'll start seeing him play more major festivals over the next couple of years. Please, Bonnaroo and Coachella?
After Le1f's set, I headed back over to the Firefly Stage, where I would remain for the rest of the afternoon. Cage the Elephant was up next, and I chose to see them because I missed them when they were hitting all the festivals the previous year. I've heard comparisons drawn between them and the Rolling Stones, and seeing them live definitely made me see the comparison. While it's hard to pin who in Cage the Elephant could be a Keith Richards equivalent, frontman Matt Schulz is pretty much the new Mick Jagger. Everything from his stage presence to his swagger-filled voice and piercing shrieks above Cage the Elephant's blues-punk makes him more Mick Jagger than any rock frontman of the past few years... except for maybe Julian Casablancas.
Next up was Morrissey. He hasn't done a whole lot of festivals in the United States as far as I know, so seeing him booked on the Firefly lineup piqued my interest a little bit, especially because a festival in its fourth year doesn't normally have surprise bookings like this one. As the sun began to set behind me, Morrissey and his band, dressed in matching outfits, took the stage, with Morrissey himself declaring "It takes a nation of millions to hold us back" as a nod to Public Enemy, and perhaps even a nod to the shooting in Charleston that had happened just days prior. It's worth noting that I did not expect to enjoy this show as much as I did. The former Smiths frontman and his band sounded great as they played a set consisting of mostly solo songs, with a few Smiths classics such as "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before". The most gripping moment of the set, however, was during "Meat Is Murder", when a long video of animals being slaughtered was shown on a screen at the top of the stage. It was too gruesome for me to really even look at it and I turned away from the screen while it was being shown. I don't really mind vegans, and not even this was really extreme by any standards... but it was still kinda gross to watch. Still, for a relatively small crowd, he and his band were excellent, and this show was definitely a personal highlight for me.
After he ended, many at Firefly went off to see one of three shows: classic indie rockers Modest Mouse at the Lawn, Norwegian tropical house producer Kygo at the Backyard, or hardcore hip-hop group Run the Jewels at the Pavilion. It was hard enough for me to have to choose between these three, but to make things worse, I was only 10 yards from the stage for Paul McCartney and really didn't want to leave, so I stayed. It kind of sucked, because I really wanted to see all three of those artists, but I had never been up close for McCartney before. So I sucked it up and stayed put for Sir Paul.
At about 10:00 pm, the ex-Beatle walked on stage to many cheers, and appeared on two giant screens flanking the stage. Opening up the show was the Beatles classic "Birthday", only because McCartney had celebrated a birthday the day before. Once that was out of the way, he and his band tore through more than 50 years of hits and a few deeper cuts. While the show was actually a bit shorter than what I was used to, it was still an incredible show. "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" was still spectacular, "Let Me Roll It" still rocked, "Live and Let Die" melted my face, and the "Hey Jude" sing-a-long still got me a little emotional. Also notable was "The Long and Winding Road", which he dedicated to the victims of the Charleston shooting. I really just don't think I will ever not enjoy seeing Paul McCartney play live. If you haven't seen him yet and you have an opportunity to do so, it's definitely worth the money.
After another amazing McCartney show, I decided to finish out the night with Zedd. If you've ever been to an EDM show at a festival, you know that people love to throw glowsticks at these things. Somebody brought five thousand of them and handed them out to many people. Then, every single time the beat dropped in a song, they were all launched into the air. It was more fun to watch than to take part it. I didn't stay at this set for very long since I was pretty exhausted from standing out in the sun all day, but what I did see of Zedd did not disappoint. He seems like he was made to play these large festivals, because the crowd he drew stretched all the way to the back of the field for the Backyard Stage. He very well has the potential to be a separate headliner for these festivals, and I can't wait to see where he goes in the future.
Day 3
Day 3 was a little bit slower. I began to wonder if I'd partied a little too hard the previous days. There's a common saying about music festivals that everyone who goes to music festivals should follow: It's a marathon, not a sprint. After two Bonnaroos and two Fireflys, that concept still hasn't really sunk in for me. I did a little better this year, stopping to sit and rest occasionally. However, I was so tired that I didn't even go into the festival to see any music until about 2:00 in the afternoon.
Still, I was having an awesome time and meeting a lot of awesome people. Our neighbors had taken to adopting my dad as theirs, calling him "Firefly Dad". I was a proud son.
Anyway, it was hot that day, so I didn't really want to spend too much time in the sun again. So I watched my first musical act of the day, guitar hero Gary Clark Jr, from a shaded spot pretty far away from the stage. I'd never seen him live before, but as with all of the other shows I'd already seen, he sounded great. If he isn't considered a rock god now, then he will be in a few years' time.
Halsey, an upcoming indie-pop singer-songwriter, certainly has quite a bit of potential. For someone who doesn't even have an album out yet, she had a pretty impressive audience. While I wasn't blown away by her show (and the heat didn't help), I did enjoy it quite a bit, and I think many in the crowd enjoyed it even more. She already has quite a following on Facebook (over 70,000 likes!) and while her sound may not be unique, I don't think it really has to be, because she is certainly a talented artist. I have a feeling that once her album is released this coming August, she will see more much-deserved spotlight.
My favorite act of the day was definitely Sturgill Simpson, a guy who has seemingly been at every major festival this year. So far it's been Coachella, Stagecoach, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo, and Firefly; after Firefly, he'll be continuing his festival run with Big Barrel (Firefly's country music festival), Forecastle, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits. Between his fantastic 2014 album Metamodern Sounds In Country Music and his numerous 2015 festival appearances, I figured I had to catch him here. As I stated before, this was the show that ended up being my favorite one of the day. One of the things I love about him is his likability among fans of country music as well as indie. Don't get me wrong, his sound is distinctly Nashville, but hearing his sound makes me realize that he's just as listenable to indie rock fans as well. Also, the lead guitar player in his backing band is a shredder.
Alison Wonderland is an up-and-coming DJ hailing from Australia. I will admit that part of what made me curious was the fact that she's a female in a male-dominated genre, but that doesn't even matter when you listen to her music, because she drops hard-hitting, trunk-knocking bass with the best of them. Her live show is no different. I was lucky enough to be in the front row for this show, and I'm very glad I brought my earplugs for this one, because the hard-hitting bass that I was talking about earlier is very much there in her live shows, but quite a bit louder. From the front row, this was face-melting levels of bass that I was dealing with. I'm pretty sure my molecules may have been rearranged as a result of all this bass. Alison Wonderland proves that she is a force to be reckoned with in electronic dance music, and I only expect her to get even better from here.
Finally, after three years of wanting to see them without any convenient opportunities, I saw Foster the People. Due to a schedule change, I actually got to their show a few minutes late when their set was pushed forward by fifteen minutes, causing Alison Wonderland to finish after they'd already started. Still, I found a comfortable spot and danced my ass off to their music. I was super happy to be seeing one of my favorite bands after not getting to see them. At that point, what more could I have wanted?
After Foster the People ended and the crowd dispersed to go see Kid Cudi or Sublime With Rome, I made my way up to one of the rails. After about 30 minutes of waiting, someone comes up to the stage and announces that Kings of Leon will not be performing that night due to an approaching storm; the storm cut Kid Cudi's and Sublime's sets short and cancelled sets from Steve Aoki, Matoma, Rustie, and Lettuce that were all supposed to take place during that time.. We were all instructed to make our way back to our cars, which turned out to be a pretty good move by the festival. Shortly after getting back to the car, The Woodlands was pelted with high winds and heavy rain left over from Tropical Storm Bill. I hate that we all had to deal with the disappointment of many shows being cancelled that night, but I'm glad that Firefly was concerned about the safety of their patrons as well. If there is anything we should commend them for, it's their quick action during that time.
So we all waited out the storm in our cars for a while as the rest of the night went on. That pretty much ended the day.
Still, I was having an awesome time and meeting a lot of awesome people. Our neighbors had taken to adopting my dad as theirs, calling him "Firefly Dad". I was a proud son.
Anyway, it was hot that day, so I didn't really want to spend too much time in the sun again. So I watched my first musical act of the day, guitar hero Gary Clark Jr, from a shaded spot pretty far away from the stage. I'd never seen him live before, but as with all of the other shows I'd already seen, he sounded great. If he isn't considered a rock god now, then he will be in a few years' time.
Halsey, an upcoming indie-pop singer-songwriter, certainly has quite a bit of potential. For someone who doesn't even have an album out yet, she had a pretty impressive audience. While I wasn't blown away by her show (and the heat didn't help), I did enjoy it quite a bit, and I think many in the crowd enjoyed it even more. She already has quite a following on Facebook (over 70,000 likes!) and while her sound may not be unique, I don't think it really has to be, because she is certainly a talented artist. I have a feeling that once her album is released this coming August, she will see more much-deserved spotlight.
My favorite act of the day was definitely Sturgill Simpson, a guy who has seemingly been at every major festival this year. So far it's been Coachella, Stagecoach, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo, and Firefly; after Firefly, he'll be continuing his festival run with Big Barrel (Firefly's country music festival), Forecastle, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits. Between his fantastic 2014 album Metamodern Sounds In Country Music and his numerous 2015 festival appearances, I figured I had to catch him here. As I stated before, this was the show that ended up being my favorite one of the day. One of the things I love about him is his likability among fans of country music as well as indie. Don't get me wrong, his sound is distinctly Nashville, but hearing his sound makes me realize that he's just as listenable to indie rock fans as well. Also, the lead guitar player in his backing band is a shredder.
Alison Wonderland is an up-and-coming DJ hailing from Australia. I will admit that part of what made me curious was the fact that she's a female in a male-dominated genre, but that doesn't even matter when you listen to her music, because she drops hard-hitting, trunk-knocking bass with the best of them. Her live show is no different. I was lucky enough to be in the front row for this show, and I'm very glad I brought my earplugs for this one, because the hard-hitting bass that I was talking about earlier is very much there in her live shows, but quite a bit louder. From the front row, this was face-melting levels of bass that I was dealing with. I'm pretty sure my molecules may have been rearranged as a result of all this bass. Alison Wonderland proves that she is a force to be reckoned with in electronic dance music, and I only expect her to get even better from here.
Finally, after three years of wanting to see them without any convenient opportunities, I saw Foster the People. Due to a schedule change, I actually got to their show a few minutes late when their set was pushed forward by fifteen minutes, causing Alison Wonderland to finish after they'd already started. Still, I found a comfortable spot and danced my ass off to their music. I was super happy to be seeing one of my favorite bands after not getting to see them. At that point, what more could I have wanted?
After Foster the People ended and the crowd dispersed to go see Kid Cudi or Sublime With Rome, I made my way up to one of the rails. After about 30 minutes of waiting, someone comes up to the stage and announces that Kings of Leon will not be performing that night due to an approaching storm; the storm cut Kid Cudi's and Sublime's sets short and cancelled sets from Steve Aoki, Matoma, Rustie, and Lettuce that were all supposed to take place during that time.. We were all instructed to make our way back to our cars, which turned out to be a pretty good move by the festival. Shortly after getting back to the car, The Woodlands was pelted with high winds and heavy rain left over from Tropical Storm Bill. I hate that we all had to deal with the disappointment of many shows being cancelled that night, but I'm glad that Firefly was concerned about the safety of their patrons as well. If there is anything we should commend them for, it's their quick action during that time.
So we all waited out the storm in our cars for a while as the rest of the night went on. That pretty much ended the day.
Day 4
I did eventually go back into my tent after the rain subsided a little overnight. Trying to sleep in that car was super uncomfortable, and I'm glad the rain and wind subsided just enough for me to sneak back into the tent where it was more comfortable.
When I woke up, some people around our campsite seemed to have bailed from camping, presumably because of the storm. Strangely enough, aside from the mud, I couldn't really tell a storm had been through. By the time the sun came back out, it became warm again and the mud was already starting to dry. It had definitely been a weird weather week unlike any I'd been in for a festival. At the previous year's Firefly, it was so dry that it felt like there was a constant dust cloud hanging over the festival. This year was pretty much the opposite.
Regardless, some wacky festival weather is something to be expected when you commit to four days at an outdoor music festival in the northern United States. I understand that it hardly ever rains at Coachella, and Bonnaroo this year got very little rain. On this last day of Firefly, it was totally sunny, but it was also totally hot.
I was still a little bit weary from the previous days, so I took it easy again on my last day. I started first with a set from indie newcomer BØRNS, the project of frontman Garrett Borns. I had only heard of him a few months prior to seeing him here at Firefly, and this ended up being one of the biggest surprises of the festival. Borns is someone who has only released four songs, and whose first single was released in November, and he's already drawing large crowds at these festivals. If that's not a huge sign then I don't know what is. All he has left to do now if release a full album. These festivals are usually a great way for an artist to gain exposure before their album hits shelves, and the album release often bumps them up in popularity--just look at Courtney Barnett's recent success.
My next musical act was the re-scheduled Steve Aoki. I'd never really listened to his music before, and I've also seen him panned by many a fan of electronic music here on the Internet. That side, his live show was an absolute blast. There was an obscene amount of confetti, and as is usual for Aoki's shows, he threw a cake into the audience. I'm glad Firefly was able to reschedule him, even if he did have to play in the burning sun at what was probably one of his earliest set times ever.
Next was Cold War Kids. I actually had listened to Cold War Kids a little bit before and I remember liking their music too. While they may not have stood out against the other excellent artists I saw that weekend, they still sounded excellent. They're a group that sounds the exact same way live as they do in the studio, save for a few subtle nuances that make them sound slightly different live.
After grabbing a beer at the Brewery, I headed over to the Lawn Stage to get a good spot for Hozier. While I wasn't really up front, I was still pretty close for his show. I think he's definitely an act that many festival goers everywhere were anticipating, seeing as he seemed to become famous overnight. Seeing him live made me realize that his success wasn't at all a fluke. The songs he wrote all translate very well to a live setting. I was a little afraid his soaring voice might falter a little in the heat and humidity, but his vocal control is remarkable. One of the highlights of his set was his hilarious cover of Ariana Grande's 2014 hit "Problem". He and his band are a great live act to catch this year, and since he's playing many festivals this year, you'd better make sure you go and see him.
Finally, the last band I saw in its entirety was Empire of the Sun. The last time I had an opportunity to see Empire of the Sun was at Bonnaroo two years ago. The only problem was that they played at 2:00 am, and it was after three days of music and partying until the sun came up. I nearly fell asleep during the act that played just prior to them, and I felt a little defeated when I decided to just head back to the campsite when I was too tired to stay.
This time, even though I hated missing Tove Lo and Snoop Dogg, I went to the Backyard Stage to catch Empire of the Sun. The wait was worth it: Luke Steele and his backing band and dancers made for one weird (but fun) show. The dancers changed costumes after every song. There was a ton of confetti again. It was all there and it was all awesome.
I did watch the Killers, but I watched them from the very back of the field while I charged my phone and didn't really pay a whole lot of attention. So far, the Killers are the only band to headline Firefly twice, which I thought was pretty cool. I listened to them from the back and they sounded pretty good, but I was so tired that I left part of the way through to go back to camp. One part did stick out to me: the cover of "Use Somebody" as a tribute to Kings of Leon. It's becoming a thing now for artists to pay tribute to those who may have had to cancel at a festival, and I'm not even mad.
When I woke up, some people around our campsite seemed to have bailed from camping, presumably because of the storm. Strangely enough, aside from the mud, I couldn't really tell a storm had been through. By the time the sun came back out, it became warm again and the mud was already starting to dry. It had definitely been a weird weather week unlike any I'd been in for a festival. At the previous year's Firefly, it was so dry that it felt like there was a constant dust cloud hanging over the festival. This year was pretty much the opposite.
Regardless, some wacky festival weather is something to be expected when you commit to four days at an outdoor music festival in the northern United States. I understand that it hardly ever rains at Coachella, and Bonnaroo this year got very little rain. On this last day of Firefly, it was totally sunny, but it was also totally hot.
I was still a little bit weary from the previous days, so I took it easy again on my last day. I started first with a set from indie newcomer BØRNS, the project of frontman Garrett Borns. I had only heard of him a few months prior to seeing him here at Firefly, and this ended up being one of the biggest surprises of the festival. Borns is someone who has only released four songs, and whose first single was released in November, and he's already drawing large crowds at these festivals. If that's not a huge sign then I don't know what is. All he has left to do now if release a full album. These festivals are usually a great way for an artist to gain exposure before their album hits shelves, and the album release often bumps them up in popularity--just look at Courtney Barnett's recent success.
My next musical act was the re-scheduled Steve Aoki. I'd never really listened to his music before, and I've also seen him panned by many a fan of electronic music here on the Internet. That side, his live show was an absolute blast. There was an obscene amount of confetti, and as is usual for Aoki's shows, he threw a cake into the audience. I'm glad Firefly was able to reschedule him, even if he did have to play in the burning sun at what was probably one of his earliest set times ever.
Next was Cold War Kids. I actually had listened to Cold War Kids a little bit before and I remember liking their music too. While they may not have stood out against the other excellent artists I saw that weekend, they still sounded excellent. They're a group that sounds the exact same way live as they do in the studio, save for a few subtle nuances that make them sound slightly different live.
After grabbing a beer at the Brewery, I headed over to the Lawn Stage to get a good spot for Hozier. While I wasn't really up front, I was still pretty close for his show. I think he's definitely an act that many festival goers everywhere were anticipating, seeing as he seemed to become famous overnight. Seeing him live made me realize that his success wasn't at all a fluke. The songs he wrote all translate very well to a live setting. I was a little afraid his soaring voice might falter a little in the heat and humidity, but his vocal control is remarkable. One of the highlights of his set was his hilarious cover of Ariana Grande's 2014 hit "Problem". He and his band are a great live act to catch this year, and since he's playing many festivals this year, you'd better make sure you go and see him.
Finally, the last band I saw in its entirety was Empire of the Sun. The last time I had an opportunity to see Empire of the Sun was at Bonnaroo two years ago. The only problem was that they played at 2:00 am, and it was after three days of music and partying until the sun came up. I nearly fell asleep during the act that played just prior to them, and I felt a little defeated when I decided to just head back to the campsite when I was too tired to stay.
This time, even though I hated missing Tove Lo and Snoop Dogg, I went to the Backyard Stage to catch Empire of the Sun. The wait was worth it: Luke Steele and his backing band and dancers made for one weird (but fun) show. The dancers changed costumes after every song. There was a ton of confetti again. It was all there and it was all awesome.
I did watch the Killers, but I watched them from the very back of the field while I charged my phone and didn't really pay a whole lot of attention. So far, the Killers are the only band to headline Firefly twice, which I thought was pretty cool. I listened to them from the back and they sounded pretty good, but I was so tired that I left part of the way through to go back to camp. One part did stick out to me: the cover of "Use Somebody" as a tribute to Kings of Leon. It's becoming a thing now for artists to pay tribute to those who may have had to cancel at a festival, and I'm not even mad.
Overall, I'd say I had a pretty great time at Firefly. While there are still some big things that need improving, the festival is doing pretty darn good for only being in its fourth year. All 90,000 tickets that were available were all sold. Not every festival has been able to do that in just four years.
So what all could Firefly improve on?
For one thing, a bigger commitment to sustainability and waste management is very necessary. I saw tons of trash everywhere this year, and I felt horrible for those who had to pick it all up after the festival. Some of that responsibility rests on the festival-goers for sure, but if you look at a festival like Bonnaroo, they have trash, recyclables, and compost all separate from each other, so that many tons of waste is diverted from the landfill every year. They also have a large array of solar panels providing power to the festival. I'm not sure if Firefly does or not, and I'm not even saying they definitely don't have one. I just didn't see any.
This year, there were a total of three water stations in the main festival grounds. That's one per 30,000 people. It becomes even more problematic when you have to empty out your water bottles before going into the festival grounds. For one thing, having so few water stations is downright dangerous. Bonnaroo has several around the festival area, and you're also allowed to bring in your own water. But it should've been obvious right from the beginning why only three water stations isn't a great idea. At the very least there should be seven water stations around the area.
Those are the two big things.
In all honesty, I had an amazing time this year and can see myself going back in the future if time permits. Firefly has a ton of potential to be an amazing festival experience for everyone, but it's far from perfect.
Until next time, Firefly!
So what all could Firefly improve on?
For one thing, a bigger commitment to sustainability and waste management is very necessary. I saw tons of trash everywhere this year, and I felt horrible for those who had to pick it all up after the festival. Some of that responsibility rests on the festival-goers for sure, but if you look at a festival like Bonnaroo, they have trash, recyclables, and compost all separate from each other, so that many tons of waste is diverted from the landfill every year. They also have a large array of solar panels providing power to the festival. I'm not sure if Firefly does or not, and I'm not even saying they definitely don't have one. I just didn't see any.
This year, there were a total of three water stations in the main festival grounds. That's one per 30,000 people. It becomes even more problematic when you have to empty out your water bottles before going into the festival grounds. For one thing, having so few water stations is downright dangerous. Bonnaroo has several around the festival area, and you're also allowed to bring in your own water. But it should've been obvious right from the beginning why only three water stations isn't a great idea. At the very least there should be seven water stations around the area.
Those are the two big things.
In all honesty, I had an amazing time this year and can see myself going back in the future if time permits. Firefly has a ton of potential to be an amazing festival experience for everyone, but it's far from perfect.
Until next time, Firefly!