Summer of 2015 here we go!! Are you ready for a magically music-filled summer? We sure are, and it is almost time yet again for the biggest, most amazing music festival to ever come to Delmarva, Firefly Music Festival. This will be the fourth consecutive year that Red Frog Events has brought some of the world’s top musicians to Dover, Del., both old and new, totaling more than 130 live musical performances.
This unbelievable four-day event is scheduled to take place June 18-21 in the beautiful Woodlands of Dover’s International Speedway. On April 3, Red Frog Events announced that they have officially partnered with Goldenvoice, creators of Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, to bring an even more explosive experience to the fans this year.
The official festival map was finally released last week and this year’s layout includes a total of 9 different stages, 3 Main Camping areas (which are divided into 13 sections, complete with shower facilities, farmers markets, general stores and much, much more), 3 Hammock Hideouts, TOMS Shoes ‘style your soles’ design tent, FYE Autograph Sessions tent, a continuous silent rave (headphone dance party in The Thicket that continues ‘til 2 a.m.), an air conditioned arcade (which will be a full service “Beercade” this year), a variety of art and food vendor villages, water re-fill and phone charging stations and plenty of wifi hotspots.
After the sun sets, the Woodlands are transformed into a mystical land with lighting effects throughout the trees and lining every path and, of course, music around every new turn. It truly becomes a magical place where it feels as though anything is possible; a carnival-like atmosphere where anyone can feel free to let go and have fun while enjoying some of the best, top hit music in the world.
This year’s line-up is just as magical and in case you haven’t heard, the big Friday night headliner is none other than legendary musician
Paul McCartney. That’s right folks, former Beatle and Wings frontman is coming to Dover! This will be
Sir McCartney’s first ever appearance in the state of Delaware and I am still a little in shock, but it looks as though this is really happening and I am honored to be a small part of it all!
McCartney has had one of the most successful, on-going solo careers out of all of the Beatles; constantly experimenting and evolving his sound. His latest solo album NEW was released in 2013 and has some surprisingly new age-sounding, electro-styled songs such as “Appreciate”, or “Struggle” which appears on the collectors edition. They are nicely blended in among other more classically poppy-Paul-sounding songs such as the title track, “New”.
There have been countless collaborations for
McCartney over the years that more recently include the release of “Cut Me Some Slack”, a song recorded with original founding members of Nirvana, drummer Dave Grohl (also frontman of the Foo Fighters) and bassist Krist Novaselic. The track was for Grohl’s Sound City Reel to Reel project, which was an album and a video documentary on the history and closing of the famous Sound City recording studio. Even more recently, in January of this year, one of
McCartney’s most unusual collaborations ever resulted in one of his most popular hit singles ever, “FourFiveSeconds”, which was recorded with Rihanna and Kanye West on vocals and
McCartney on lead guitar.
Wow,
Paul McCartney! I am not even sure where to go from here but, of course, Firefly has many other amazing acts scheduled including
Kings of Leon, The Killers, Snoop Dog, Modest Mouse, Cage the Elephant, Awolnation, Bastille, Zedd, Foster the People, Charli XCX, Echosmith, Matt & Kim, Walk the Moon, Gary Clark JR and many, many more.
There are so many different genres and styles of music available, offering fans a wide variety to choose from depending on their mood. Of course, there are plenty of alternative rock groups, electronic rock, industrial rock, alt indie rock, indie pop, electro pop, electro folk pop and even some folk & acoustic rock. There are many more reggae groups, hip hop artists and rappers this year compared to years past.
Thrown into the mix, there are several remix artists and DJs such as
Big Data, KYGO and
The White Panda (the latter of whom have had breath-taking performances at the last 2 Firefly’s). This year even includes a handful of female DJs who are making a splash on the scene. Australian DJ
Alison Wonderland and Chicago native
Jack Novak (that’s right,
Jack is a beautiful blond female with amazing DJ skills) are just a few who will be wowing the crowd with their pumping dance beats.
Also appearing Friday night is British lyricist and vocalist,
Morrissey, who made a name for himself in the ‘80s as the frontman for a lil’ group called The Smiths. The Smiths formed in Manchester, England, in 1982 and were broken up by 1987; however, they left a strong mark in music history. They were actually voted one of the most influential bands of all time, even beating out the Beatles in a 2002 poll by NME, a British weekly music journal.
Born Steven Patrick
Morrissey; nickname, Moz, is a devoted vegetarian and animal rights advocate and has often gained media attention for being very vocal about his humanitarian and political beliefs. The Smiths were known for bringing guitar rock back to Manchester at a time that was flooded with harder punk rockers.
Morrisey’s often dark, moody lyrics and deep baritone vocal stylings made The Smiths one of the first real emo bands before emo was even dubbed a genre. I, for one, can’t wait to hear this voice live and in person; his soulful croons are sure to leave us all swooning.
Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to mention that hip-hop, reggae rock, ska punk band Sublime with Rome will be a must-see on the top of my Saturday list.
Sublime with Rome is actually original founding members of the ‘90s super group Sublime, Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson with a new lead singer, Rome Ramirez. Most Sublime fans are well aware that original lead singer/songwriter Bradley Nowell sadly passed away in ‘96; however, his band mates didn’t want to call it quits just yet. In 2011 the group released an album of all new music entitled Yours Truly and on May 13 of this year, they released a brand new single, “Wherever You Go”. Of course, they will be performing a lot of their newer original music; however, they are well known for throwing in many classic Sublime songs for their die-hard-long-time fans.
That’s about all for now! If you haven’t already purchased your ticket then what are you waiting for? Get yours today @
fireflyfestival.com. A 4-day general admission pass is currently selling for $329 (expected to increase to $349) VIP passes are $699 and Super VIP is Sold Out. Red Frog has released several statements that there will be NO single day passes this year and they are about 88 percent sold out now, so hurry up and get your tickets today!! Hope to see you all in The Woodlands real soon!!
