Music, Movies, and Television: Firefly: America's Premiere Music Festival

Forget football and baseball. Disregard the Hobbit premiere. And ignore any upcoming holidays. They’re completely inconsequential these days because this generation’s priorities have changed. At this day in age, music festivals are quickly becoming the most anticipated events of the year. Bands and artists who spend the year touring in select cities come together on one magical weekend to create a steady 72-hour stream of music. Luckily, in recent years, there have been an increasing number of festivals in which people can see their favorite bands perform live.

The most well known of said festivals is Coachella. Hailed for its good music, hippie vibes, and endless stream of celebrity attendees, Coachella has been the go-to music festival for the past decade. While still noteworthy for its incredible performers, as of last year, Coachella is no longer the first choice festival in the US. Thanks to the Firefly Music Festival, Coachella has become the backup plan for music enthusiasts.

The Black Keys, Firefly 2012, Image courtesy of @Siljefp via @LiveAtFirefly

I’m sure at this point everyone on the West coast is having a conniption. “How dare she! The audacity! Coachella is the best!” I’m not knocking Coachella in any way, shape, or form. I’m merely drawing attention to the fact that Firefly far exceeded the expectations of everyone. In three days Firefly proved that it could live up to, and far surpass, the hype that surrounded it. Claiming to be the ‘Premiere East Coast’ music festival is one thing, proving doubters wrong and actually being it is another thing entirely.

What makes Firefly far more entertaining and appealing than its predecessors is the fact that, while the festival’s main focus is providing incredible music to those in attendance, there are numerous things to do and see. Firefly is far more than a music festival because of the fact that it offers more than just music. The festival grounds include an arcade, air-conditioned tents and charging stations, gourmet food, on-site screen-printing, and hot air balloons. Hot air balloons! Festivalgoers can meander through beautiful forests, lounge in hammocks, and chill out comfortably while listening to great music. Did I already mention the hot air balloons? How unbelievably cool?!

An added bonus brought by Firefly is the economic benefits it provides. Last year, Firefly brought upwards of 30,000 people into the small town of Dover, Delaware. Those 30,000 people rented hotel rooms, ate at local restaurants, and purchased goods from local stores. The economic upsurge that occurred during those three days in June was cause solely by Firefly. While Coachella draws attention to high-profile brands and sponsors, Firefly provides local businesses with the opportunity to reach the masses.

Until recently, most people only associated Delaware with being the first state. In almost no world would someone answer, “Delaware,” if asked which state they most looked forward to visiting. Truthfully, most people rarely even thought of the state. All that has changed thanks to Firefly. The festival has since aided in putting Delaware on the map. No longer is the state ignored for a lack of interesting events. Delaware is far less unknown than it was a year ago because of the fact that it is now associated with the awesomeness that is Firefly.

Since the overwhelming success of last year’s festival, Firefly has picked up steam in its preparations for a second year of good food, fun people, and great music. The recent release of the Firefly lineup was met with an incredible public response. The desire to attend Bonnaroo, Bamboozle, and Lollapalooza was replaced by the desire to attend Firefly. People from all across America rushed to acquire tickets to the festival, and eventually managed to crash the website. This just aids in highlighting the amassing popularity of Firefly.

The old saying, “Less is more,” is an apt reasoning for Firefly’s superiority over its highly publicized west coast counterpart. Because, in short, Firefly is capable of doing in one weekend what Coachella must do in two.

Still not convinced that Firefly is the greatest thing since sliced bread? Take it from someone who was fortunate to attend the first Firefly, if you go, it will change your life. With that, here are some brief reasons as to why Firefly should be your first choice of music festivals:

- The tickets are cheaper than Coachella, Bonnaroo, AND Lollapalooza

- The lineup is just as good, possibly even better, than the other known music festivals

- THEY HAVE HOT AIR BALLOONS!

- The food is just as good as the music (Everything from burgers and fries to pork sandwiches are offered)

- There are numerous places to relax and chill out (Hammocks are literally hanging from trees)

- Campgrounds are a short walk away from the festival grounds (If you choose to camp out instead of renting a hotel room, all you have to do is cross a bridge to get to good music)

- Smaller festival grounds mean shorter walks from one stage to another

- Firefly works closely with St. Jude Children’s Hospital. This is a big one. Isn’t it always more desirable to spend money knowing that it will help a good cause?

- The festival is put on by Red Frog Events, so obviously it’s going to be good (They’re responsible for other events such as the Warrior Dash and the Great Urban Race)

- There’s a much more personal interaction with the bands and artists (As in you can actually SEE them perform. Not to brag but Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons high-fived me last year. Also, the guy next to me caught Patrick Carney’s drumstick at the Black Keys show)

Dan Reynolds, Imagine Dragons, Firefly 2012

- Firefly always offers contests and opportunities for upgrade (Last year there were daily photo contests that offered winners VIP upgrades)

- THEY HAVE AN ARCADE!

- There is a nice blend of upcoming, and highly established, artists (You all know of the Red Hot Chili Peppers but how many of you have honestly heard of the Chevin? *Side note, the Chevin is actually an awesome band that should be checked out by anyone who enjoyed Your Vegas*)

- Firefly has a knack for introducing artists who will hit it big within a year (Last year Imagine Dragons performed at 11AM to a pretty small audience, most of their shows for their national tour sold out this year. They had a few thousand twitter followers when I saw them at Firefly, they now have 221,000)