Firefly Music Festival is a music festival produced by AEG Presents that was first held on July 20–22, 2012, in Dover, Delaware. Firefly takes place in The Woodlands of Dover Motor Speedway, a festival ground, over the span of three days. Many nationally known musical acts have performed at the festival, with over 100 performances held over the course of the festival in 2016. The festival producers had worked together to establish the event at the current venue with the hopes of having "an open-air festival on the East Coast with plenty of outdoor camping". In past years, the festival has included up to seven stages: The Porch Stage, The Lawn Stage, The Backyard Stage, the Treehouse, The Coffee House, The Pavilion and The Firefly Stage. In 2019, the festival had six main stages (The Firefly Stage, The Prism, The Lawn, The Hideaway, Treehouse and The Roost), two sponsor stages (Bud Light Dive Bar and Toyota Music Den), and one stage in each camping hub (North Hub Beach Club and South Hub). Firefly offers three different pass options; general admission, VIP, and Super VIP.
The festival was held from 2012 through 2021 (the 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). It went on hiatus in 2023; however, it was announced by its promoters that it will return in 2024.
Musical acts
2012
The headliners for the 2012 festival included Jack White, The Killers, and The Black Keys. Each performer played as the final act for a separate night of the festival on The Firefly Stage, the largest stage at the event. Other notable acts included Death Cab for Cutie, John Legend, Bassnectar, Modest Mouse, and The Flaming Lips. Although Passion Pit was listed as a musical act for 2012, their performance was canceled due to lead singer Michael Angelakos seeking ongoing treatment for bipolar disorder. Yeasayer was chosen as the replacement for Passion Pit's performance.
The 2012 schedule (artists listed from earliest to latest set times): Friday, July 20
Firefly Main Stage: The Wallflowers, John Legend, Jack White
The Lawn: Heartless Bastards, OK Go, Bassnectar
The Backyard: Blind Pilot, Mayer Hawthorne & the County, Silversun Pickups
The Porch: Turf War, Matt Costa, Walk the Moon
Saturday, July 21
Firefly Main Stage: The Felice Brothers, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Young the Giant, Modest Mouse, The Killers The Lawn: Ra Ra Riot, Poliça, Grouplove, Cake, Yeasayer The Backyard: Imagine Dragons, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaries, The Knocks, Chiddy Bang, Lupe Fiasco The Porch: Moon Taxi, Kids These Days, Cults, Graffiti6, Trampled by Turtles
Sunday, July 22
Firefly Main Stage: The Head and the Heart, Cold War Kids, Death Cab for Cutie, The Black Keys The Lawn: Penguin Prison, Awolnation, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Flaming Lips The Backyard: J Roddy Walston and the Business, Bombay Bicycle Club, Tinie Tempah, Girl Talk The Porch: Lower Case Blues, Reptar, Mariachi El Bronx, Allen Stone
2013
The headliners for the 2013 festival included Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Other notable acts included Vampire Weekend, Foster the People, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Avett Brothers, Calvin Harris, and Passion Pit.
Imagine Dragons was scheduled to be the only returning musical act between the 2012 and 2013 Firefly Music Festival. However, due to a scheduling conflict they had to cancel their performance and were replaced by Jim James. The Lumineers and Earl Sweatshirt were also scheduled to perform, but cancelled for medical reasons. Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite replaced The Lumineers while Schoolboy Q replaced Earl Sweatshirt in the lineup.
The 2013 schedule (artists listed from earliest to latest set times): Friday, June 21
Firefly Main Stage: The Neighbourhood, Django Django, Dr. Dog, The Avett Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers The Lawn: Leagues, Wild Belle, Atlas Genius, Ellie Goulding, Calvin Harris The Backyard: JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, Twenty One Pilots, The Joy Formidable, Public Enemy, Grizzly Bear, Krewella The Porch: The Spinto Band, Conner Youngblood, Action Bronson, Foxygen, Dragonette, Schoolboy Q, Dan Deacon
Saturday, June 22
Firefly Main Stage: Japandroids, Jim James, Alabama Shakes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers The Lawn: Kopecky Family Band, ZZ Ward, Kendrick Lamar, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, MGMT The Backyard: Young Empires, Blondfire, He's My Brother She's My Sister, A Silent Film, Chvrches, Youngblood Hawke, Azealia Banks, Big Gigantic The Porch: Imaginary Cities, Hey Marseilles, St. Lucia, Lord Huron, Crystal Fighters, Manufactured Superstars, The White Panda