In an on-again-off-again drizzle, masses made their way across the long overpass to The Woodlands where the inaugural Firefly Festival was getting underway.
At about 1:30 there was a substantial line waiting for the gates to open. When they did, the line moved quickly and people spilled onto the grounds to explore the site.
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- Atlanta, Georgia's Turf War kicked off the inaugural Firefly Festival at the Woodlands in Dover.
Turf War kicked off at 2:30 p.m. Friday with a thundering set in front of a smattering of festival goers, but by the time Heartless Bastards came on at 3 p.m. a crowd of a few hundred was gathered.
Ken and Kathie Williams of New Castle were grabbing a bite Friday afternoon near the Porch Stage. They had three-day wristbands, but weren’t camping. They would be driving home each night to sleep in their own bed.
A veteran of the Dave Matthews Band Caravan tour, the couple also planned to go to Farm Aid this summer in Hershey, Pa. The music lovers said now that their children were grown, they were taken advantage of going out to see as much live music as possible.
“I didn’t really think about who I wanted to see here,” Ken Williams said. “The draw for me is that it’s here in Delaware and there are a lot of bands to see.”
Of the thousands expected to hit Firefly this weekend (no hard numbers have been made available as of Friday evening), many of the people there at the opening were campers, in for the long haul, rain or shine.
DFM News joined fans arriving at the Firefly Music Festival to sample their initial reaction to the 3 day event.
DFM News joined fans arriving at the Firefly Music Festival to sample their initial reaction to the 3 day event.
They had ponchos, flip-flops, rain boots and slickers to handle the rain and mud, should it come in full force. It was still a very light drizzle while The Wallflowers played “Peace, Love and Understanding at the Firefly Stage just before 5 p.m.
One group of friends from Delaware and Philadelphia had a long list of acts they were looking forward to seeing including Passion Pit, which Leah Strelzick of Newark hadn’t heard cancelled its appearance a couple of days earlier.
No matter, they said, there were plenty of other acts: Matt Costa, Blind Pilot, Cold War Kids. It was the first time for such an elaborate festival experience for the group.
Malarie Vanyo, of Philadelphia, said they had set up camp at 1 p.m., before the gates opened and in addition to the music, she was looking forward to the “spirit” of the weekend.
“I’m really looking forward to just being here and being a part of it,” she said.
