The pathways that wound through the massive festival grounds turned back into solid earth on Friday and with all seven stages cranking up on the first full day of music, this was key for crowds to stream from stage to stage. Some of the trails that cut though wooded areas between several of the concert fields were enveloped in shade and still had a lot of gooey mud. The festival had sold out and with 90,000 people estimated to attend; Friday was the first day of the event reaching total capacity. The crowds were noticeably denser than last year; however, with the vastness of The Woodlands at Dover Downs, and music fans spread out over all the stage areas and various attractions, including The Hammock Hangout and The Thicket (Silent Disco), there still remained plenty of room to move about or find a place to lay out a blanket and just chill. The stages this year were expertly placed with minimal sound bleeding over between concurrent performances.
Echosmith provided a smooth soundtrack for music fans still filing in to the venue, as their performance was on the stage closest to the entrance. Sydney Sierota’s vocals soared along with siblings, Jamie, Noah, and Graham’s accompaniment. The young group easily held the attention of the excited crowd with the well known hit “Cool Kids,” while also playing some newer songs such as “Bright”, their latest single.
Canadian 5-piece band Mother Mother brought an eclectic sound to anyone looking for something off the beaten trail. Front man Ryan Guldemond lead the band through an energetic set, an energy that quickly spread over the crowd, which despite the heat were all moving along with the pulsating music. “Get Out The Way”, “Reaper Man” and a Pixies cover drew huge ovations. Colony House, clad in all plain white t-shirts, brought their Nashville, TN style of Indie Rock. They powered through a tenacious set to a small but enthusiastic crowd. Their setlist, including “Waiting For My Time To Come” and “Silhouettes” appealed to a wide range of music fans.
Much anticipated band, Walk The Moon, was up next on one of the large stages and quickly got the crowd rolling with their popular song “Anna Sun”. Upbeat songs like “Tightrope” and “Different Colors” smoothly fit into the summer music festival atmosphere and were perfect lead ups to astronomical hit “Shut Up And Dance”. It was a long but worthwhile trek back up to the Firefly Main Stage to see Cage The Elephant who drew one of the largest crowds of the afternoon. “Aint No Rest For The Wicked”, “Come A Little Closer” and “Shake Me Down” were all powerfully performed by the band, which always bring massive energy to their performances. Lead singer Matt Shultz covered every inch of the stage and beyond, surfing into the crowd.
If the Dismemberment Plan and Minus The Bear had an illegitimate love child, they might sound like Bear Hands, who drew a nice crowd even though they were pitted against Cage The Elephant. Front man Dylan Rau’s vocals fit perfectly with their post- punk sound. Bassist Val Loper switched from bass to percussion and added rapid rim shots to “Blood And Treasure”. First song on their new record “Moment of Silence” had Rau switching from guitars to keyboards. Drummer, TJ Orscher came out from behind the drum kit and played electronic percussion. A highlight of the set was a song they described as being about another world called “Party Hats”.
Heading into a slightly cooler evening, the festival again showed a diverse menu by offering goers the choice between Big Data and AWOLNATION. Big Data drawing a much smaller crowd than the tenured rock group, AWOLNATION, who played many of their hits including “It’s Not Your Fault” and “I Am” which was special requested by Paul McCartney. Ending the set with bass heavy beats of “Sail” the band was successful in keeping the energy high as the day wore on.
On the one of the smaller stages, Manchester Orchestra geared up for their second set of the day, in an intimate Coffee House performance. The small tented stage was jam-packed as dedicated fans pushed their way up to the stage to hear the mellow set. English band Glass Animals came out of left field with a super funky set that drew an increasingly larger and larger crowd as the songs poured out. Lead singer David Bailey, starting on the tambourine and then switching to the guitar, was a riveting entertainer, putting his entire body into the performance. The band smashed through many of their original songs including “Hazy” as well as tackling Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown” during which Bailey surfed and eventually disappeared into the crowd, leaving a stage hand to feed him additional microphone wire as he delved further and further.
As the masses started gathering at the Main Stage to see the long anticipated headlining set by Sir Paul McCartney, they could stop by the various stages to check out performances by Modest Mouse, Kygo and Run the Jewels. Having just celebrating his 73rd birthday the day before, Sir Paul McCartney entered the Main Stage to an expected enthusiastic reception from the thousands gathered for the show. McCartney opened with the fitting Beatles song “Birthday”. The production level for the show was higher then any Main Stage show played previously at Firefly.
Amazing lights and screens larger then preceding years enhanced the legendary musician’s set that spanned both The Beatles and Wings classic catalogs. McCartney energetically switched from guitar, bass, piano, keyboards and even ukulele as he tore through the show that also included a newer song dedicated to his wife called, “My Valentine”. McCartney played tribute to the late John Lennon with “Here Today”, and George Harrison with “Something”. McCartney also paid homage to Jimi Hendrix with “Foxy Lady,” and Linda McCartney with “Maybe I’m Amazed”. Huge fire balls and fireworks shot into the air during an incredible version of the Paul McCartney and Wings classic, “Live and Let Die”. The legend led the audience in a huge sing-a-long for “Hey Jude”. Both older and younger fans seemed to find a common ground as most of the audience danced, swayed and sang to the elder statesman of rock and roll’s huge hits. Anyone from younger generations who may have balked at the scheduled two and half hour set, was left screaming for more by the end. McCartney obliged for a few encores including “Hi, Hi, Hi”, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, and “Helter Skelter” finally departing the stage with a few words of wisdom that “all good things must come to an end”. However, in terms of Firefly 2015 we are merely in the middle of what is proving to be an unbelievable weekend of music and festivites, something felt by the crowd as they wandered back to their cars, tents, or to the late night dance sets put on by Zedd and Marian Hill.
