Guide: Firefly 2022

Sep 21

☆ BY Stephen Diamond ☆

WHO SAID MUSIC FESTIVAL SEASON IS OVER? Firefly Music Festival is on for this weekend and we will be enjoying the remaining bits of summer at The Woodlands in Dover, Delaware with your favorite hip-hop, electronic, rock, pop, and indie artists.

This year’s headliners include Halsey, My Chemical Romance, Green Day and Dua Lipa. The mix of musical genres continues throughout the days across Firefly’s four stages. Here is who we are looking forward to!

Thursday

The first day of the festival starts off in the mid-afternoon like a choose-your-own-adventure game with the high electronic energy of the South African, MADDS, or the slow indie jams of Medium Build. How will you set the tone for the weekend?

If you are looking to keep the BPM’s high you have your choice of VNSSA, Killboy, Wax Motif, San Holo. If you are more into the rock energy, check out Mannequin Pussy, The Unlikely Candidates, or renforshort. They have some tough competition playing at the same time as indie favorites Briston Maroney, Neil Frances, and WILLOW.

Before heading to WILLOW, do not miss out on your only stomp-and-holler folk option of the day with the rising feelgood jams of Florida-based, The 502s, who will be playing at The Treehouse.

If you have enough energy after WILLOW’s set stay at the Firefly Main Stage for Jungle. Otherwise, take a break and prep for 100 gecs, or mellow along with Alexander 23 in the Treehouse. Regardless of the journey during the day, you will find yourself with the choice of Halsey or Jaime XX. Good luck!

Friday

Day two, and you may be a little burnt out from the prior night’s energy. Not to worry - rising indie queen Anna of the North can reinvigorate you with her sweet vocals! If you regretted a few of your decisions from the prior day, Ivy Sole can cure your soul with some smooth R&B and hip-hop back beats.

From there you can catch some indie favorites over the course of the day with Gus Dapperton, Dayglow, The Backseat Lovers, or alternative classics like Cold War Kids and Weezer. If you are a pop-punk fan, today’s your day, with a progression of Mod Sun, All Time Low, Avril Lavigne, and of course - My Chemical Romance to cap the day.

At the Pavilion stage DOT, LUCII, and Cloonee keep your dance beats going before Yung Bae takes the stage. Even if you are not an electronic fan, it is hard not to groove to Yung Bae - check him out! For your rap fix, Cochise, Ashnikko, and Cordae will fill the day before Big Sean hits the Backyard stage at 9:45PM.

If you are bored of the typical tunes, the Treehouse stage has some sneaky artist performances from Spill Tab, Nightly, Indigo de Souza, and Greyscale that are worth checking out - if you can convince your friends to leave the other stages.

Saturday

If you have made it this far in the adventure, then I have good news - the schedule gets a little easier on Saturday. By this, I mean that Firefly likely has saved you a few steps, with each stage sticking to a pretty tight vibe. So, if you are feeling chill and want some feel-good indie, then the Treehouse stage is for you. There you will find the day starting off strong with the crunchy indie rhythms of Jordana, followed by smooth grooves from Seb, vibey Daisy the Great is after, and in the evening things get atmospheric with Lo Moon.

The Pavilion, on the other hand, is your host for all things EDM and techno with DJ Sophie, Egzod, Ship Wrek, and more. While this is not my personal vibe, I would like to highlight Phantom for more chill techno bops. The Backyard stage ventures into a few genres, starting with the alternative rock stylings of Electric Candlelight with sounds beading with Creedence Clearwater Revival influence and other garage rock bands of the 70’s.

The stage then turns to hip-hop/rap with Weston Estate, Benny the Butcher, Princess Nokia, and Isaiah Rashad. A new crowd will shuffle in after for dancey pop vibes of indie favorite HAIM. Firefly mainstage flip flops throughout the day between pop punk and indie alternative starting with three solid pop punk choices - Jagwar Twin, Sueco, and Pale Waves. That is when it starts transitioning towards alternative rock with Matt Maeson, followed by UK-based indie essentials, Wolf Alice.

The pop-punk pops back up with the poster child of pop punk today, Yungblud. Alternative rock takes over twice more with favorites The Head and the Heart and Bleachers. The night ends for the benefit of pop punk and alt rock fans alike with veterans of the genres, Green Day. If you are not as old as Green Day and can stay up, Porter Robinson has some EDM beats to share back in the Backyard to end the night - if that is your idea for a cup of tea.

Sunday

On the final day of the festival, you will find a lot of pop choices to prepare you for the final pop queens, Charlie XCX and Dua Lipa, at night. Get warmed up with the likes of Conan Gray, MAX, Dorian Electra, Sadie Jean, and CHAI. Indie/Alt rock options are abundant as well with solid choices of Magic City Hippies, flor, The Regrettes, and Brook & the Bluff throughout the day across the stages. If you have any desire for some funk or ska, Oh He Dead, and Snacktime can fill your craving in the early afternoon. After showing a football game at 1pm, the Pavilion is back to music at 4 pm with enough EDM to shock your system - thanks to Whipped Cream, Elderbrook, and Gryffin. Last, but not least, rap/hip-hop is prevalent throughout the day with kings T-Pain and The Kid LAROI preceded by acts by Girl Talk, Bankrol Hayden, Saint John, and Emmy Meli.

After a full weekend of some dope music and delicious food, you are rewarded with an expectantly tantalizing performance from Dua Lipa, and an earlier bedtime before reality strikes and the comedown begins Monday morning. The weather is looking good for the weekend, with warm days and cool nights, so bring the energy and I am sure you will get it back in return. Do not forget to check out the Pride Parade on Sunday at 4PM, as well as sign up for Firefly’s return of Drag Brunch and Bingo! Lastly, we will mention that if the music does not fill your soul, check out the Good Hub for 11 different non-profits that will be representing and raising awareness for their good causes.

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We couldn’t be more stoked to have Suriel Hess as our new headliner for our upcoming LA show 🤩 🫶 Not gonna lie, us & Notorious Noise kinda went OFF with this line up & you’re not gonna wanna miss it - ticket link in bio 🎫