A Look Back on Firefly 2021

by Joyce Lee

In honor of Firefly announcing their 2022 festival lineup, we took a look back at when WMUC attended back in 2021. Here's the recounting:

UMD’s very own WMUC College Park Radio had the opportunity to cover the 2021 Firefly Music Festival! Quinn and I entered “The Woodlands” of Dover, Delaware with three days’ notice, two sleeping bags, and no idea of what to expect. Fortunately for us, we can say that we came out with new friends, an interview with Almost Monday, and a one-of-a-kind experience.
Wondering what it was like for a first-time festival goer? Here’s a recap of our weekend:

FRIDAY NIGHT: Dover was expecting us.

On the way to the festival, every other sign on the highway consisted of good wishes for Firefly-goers and cordial invitations to visit a variety of tourist destinations and restaurants. Ideally, Lizzo would also have been waiting for us when we picked up our media passes by the artist check-in tent, but I can settle for being able to say I’ve stood in the same parking lot as her.

It was a dark, chilly night when we first arrived at South Camp with our Mcdonald’s in hand, and we were surrounded by people in tents and pickup trucks. The RV area was the farthest away from the bridge leading to the festival, but it was closest to the Dover Mall.

Firefly (like many other music festivals) has shuttles that take campers to-and-from places like the mall, North Camp, and South Camp. The only time we used them during the weekend was to go get *reasonably-priced* food and charge our stuff before the Press Lounge opened up at 12.

(TIP: If you go and plan on walking instead [one of our buses only had space for 20 people at a time], make sure you avoid any vehicles along the way picking up dust!)

We had just missed Cage the Elephant, but we did get to experience Sylvan Esso’s dreamy techno-pop performance at the Wonder stage. We ended off our short night with The Killers on the main Firefly stage, which was everything classy. Yes, the crowd went wild when they seemingly ended off with “Mr. Brightside,” but the crowd went WILD when they came back a second time to end with “When You Were Young.”

PERFORMANCES: SYLVAN ESSO, THE KILLERS

SATURDAY

After a cozy night sleeping in Quinn’s car, we got up, got ready, and took a shuttle to charge my dead phone next to the bathroom of a TJ-Maxx. Chipotle was also good, and refilling our water bottles was even better.

After walking back to South Camp, we made our way to the Press Lounge within the VIP area of the festival to interview Almost Monday. The lounge had everything we could ever want: water and charging ports.

Quinn and I made friends from North Carolina during the Glass Animals performance! Along with some mutual friends, we all went around to the other acts that night, with a stop at Silent Disco before Tame Impala’s set.

PERFORMANCES: ALMOST MONDAY, REMI WOLF, DOMINIC FIKE, GLASS ANIMALS, MADEON, TAME IMPALA

SUNDAY

I am sad to say that I spent a large part of Sunday mostly sitting in the Press Lounge and listening to whoever was on the Firefly Stage next to me while working on my Excel Homework. It was truly a wake-up call that yes, I was a college student covering this festival, and no, I am not yet able to function as an adult. Got it done during Portugal. The Man’s performance though! I ended off my weekend watching Megan Thee Stallion dancing with fans on stage, and Gracie Abrams singing softly in a pink wig.

PERFORMANCES: PORTUGAL THE. MAN, MEGAN THEE STALLION, GRACIE ABRAMS

FIREFLY: MY THOUGHTS

Disco Man by Remi Wolf

Silent Disco changed my life. You went in, put on a headphone set, and could change the color (and consequently the DJ) by tapping its side. Three DJs stood next to each other on a stage, and everyone was going crazy, regardless of whoever they were listening to. One played remixes of classic pop hits, another hip-hop, and the last one pure EDM. Big thank you to the guy on the balcony across from us that acted out Taylor Swift music videos with me!

The Bazaar

The Bazaar was a huge tent with a bunch of small vendors within it selling everything from clothes to jewelry to bags and blankets. I ended up buying two pairs of earrings (both of which I have now lost), and two rings for friends! There were signs simply asking guests to not steal, and almost everything was out in the open. The prices felt reasonable, and the bohemian aesthetic of it all was comfy, warm, and inviting. The Bazaar’s environment, alongside Silent Disco and the open fields of the festival grounds, truly made Firefly attendees feel free and surrounded by friendly faces.

Sorry. Food? Sorry. Food? Sorry. Food?

The food at the festival was very pricey. Although it’s common to upcharge at events like these (and amusement parks, for example), it was abhorrent to see vendors charging $54 for pizza, and around $10 for canned, alcoholic beverages. What’s worse is that even if we did bring food for ourselves, the long walk back to the car would have cost Quinn and me the ability to see big names like Glass Animals perform closer than 1000 ft away.

Call Me Maybe… Unless You Can’t

Not only did we find one person’s phone on the ground during the weekend, but we found two! It was almost ethereal how easy it was for individuals to lose their things, their people, and their sobriety. Along with the many drinks stands at the festival, Bud Light’s Seltzer Sessions acted as a great recognizable (but low-key) social venue for attendees to watch artists perform without worrying about huge crowds. Were the prices worth it though? We’ll get to that later.

Is VIP Worth It? Ask my Chicken Shawarma.

The VIP areas around the campgrounds of the festival were larger than I expected and very visibly different from the regular GA experience. The seating areas provided great views of each stage, especially the lawn chairs provided for the Super VIP guests. Along with these amenities, there were open bars and exclusive food carts that could only be accessed by those with VIP passes. Just to be able to have water, access to a convenient charging station, and an actual restroom made the VIP for me seemingly worth its price.

Better by Regina Spektor

I think apart from the outrageous food prices, there could also have been better access to sinks at the campsites, along with better access to charging stations. Firefly also failed to live up to their seemingly strict policies regarding what you can bring into the campgrounds and the festival, particularly in terms of “checking vehicles”.

Overall, I had one of the best weekends of my life. Being able to watch so many artists you admire with so many other people is such a breathtaking experience. The post-festival depression was real and watching videos I had taken did not help. Seeing people dress up and live a festival life is short, fun, and sweet. Everyone was suffering from sweat and dirty shoes and dead phones. It was wonderful.