A few weeks ago I had the chance to go to the annual Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware. It was my first time ever going to a music festival, so I was very excited. My favorite artist, Halsey, was the headliner for the first night on that Thursday, and the reason I got passes to the festival in the first place. Back in June, my best friend, Kiran, and I had tickets to see Halsey on the Love and Power tour in Columbia, Maryland. Unfortunately, the concert ended up being canceled at the last minute due to a severe weather warning. This was extremely disappointing to me, as I had been waiting two years to see Halsey perform live again, since I tried to see her during the Manic tour that got canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. When the news came out that everyone who purchased a ticket to the Columbia show would get free passes to the first day of the Firefly Festival, Kiran and I immediately made plans to go. We ended up also getting passes to the second day of the festival when ‘My Chemical Romance’ was headlining because we’re both big fans.
To anyone going to their first music festival, I have some tips to share. First, it is so important to be prepared. Always check the weather to know what clothes to pack. The temperature in Delaware that weekend was supposed to be in the 60s, so I packed fairly light clothes, which turned out to be a mistake. While it wasn’t insufferable, being outside for hours after sunset left me feeling pretty cold. Also, make sure to check the FAQs on the festival website to know what you are and are not allowed to bring into the venue. It will also give you a good idea of what the parking situation will be like, and how much it will cost. Finally, make sure to check the set times. These were released about two weeks before the festival, which helps you to plan in advance which artists you want to see and determine what time you want to arrive at the festival so you can get to them all. For instance, we stayed in a hotel that was about an hour drive from the venue instead of camping there, so we tried to leave about two hours before the first performance we wanted to see each day. This left time, not only for driving, but also to get through the parking traffic and walk from the parking lot to the venue and check in.
During the two days we were there, we tried to experience just about everything the festival had to offer. Other than the headliners, we made sure to see Willow, Ashnikko, Avril Lavigne and 100 Gecs. In between performances, we rode the ferris wheel, danced at the silent disco and bought a lot of overpriced food, drinks and merch. And of course we took pictures everywhere we could find a cute backdrop. We also briefly checked out the bazaar, where independent merchants sold clothes and other items. Being a witchy girl, I couldn’t resist getting a couple new crystals.
While we had a great time checking out all of the different activities at the music festival, obviously we were most excited for the headlining acts. I joked to Kiran that the first night was my big moment, as I am the Halsey superfan, while the second night was his, as he is an MCR superfan. We made sure to get to the mainstage early for each of these performances in order to get a good spot – and made sure to steer clear of the mosh pit for the MCR performance. In the minutes before Halsey came on, I kept nervously checking the time in anticipation – a small part of me thinking “I’ll believe she’s coming out when I see it,” after my failed attempts to see her live over the past two years. But finally, the lights lowered, the music started and the crowd roared as she stepped on stage. I had the time of my life, and all the inconveniences I endured to see her felt worth it. While I wish I could’ve gotten a full two hour tour set, she still played some of my favorites from all four of her studio albums, like “Colors,” “3am,” “Bad at Love” and ”Honey.” On the second night, my friend and I had a blast seeing MCR, rocking out to many of their classic songs I loved at a young age, like “Teenagers,” “Mama” and “Welcome to the Black Parade.”
We stayed to the end of Halsey’s set on the first night, which made leaving the venue a nightmare. After walking a solid mile back to the parking lot, we were stuck for another hour trying to get through the departing traffic, so we didn’t make it back to our hotel until after 2 a.m. We didn’t want to get stuck like this on the second night, so we left about 15 minutes before MCR’s set ended. After spending two days walking around for hours, we were cold, tired and our feet were hurting. We paid to get a shuttle ride back to the parking lot, and it was well worth the money to get there quickly and painlessly.
By our second day at the festival, I already felt like a pro. Unlike on the first day, we knew what the parking situation would look like, how the check in process would go and where everything was located in the venue. If we had gone for a third and fourth day, I’m confident we would’ve felt even more self-assured. However, I don’t think we would have had the energy! Two full days at the festival definitely wore us out, and though there were some other acts on Saturday and Sunday I might’ve liked to see, we did pretty much everything else there was to do. I would’ve been happy if the only act I got to see was Halsey, but I thoroughly enjoyed the entire festival experience. It’s definitely something I’d like to do again in the future.