Entering The Woodlands at Dover Downs on Saturday, the festival was noticeably mellower than it was on Friday. There were far less music fans gathered at the first stage people come to after crossing the bridge from the International Speedway to The Woodlands section of the property. The day began with pleasant weather, but ended with the evacuation of the festival grounds due to an impending electrical storm that was also predicted to contain heavy rain, that canceled headliner Kings of Leon’s set.
Alternative hip-hop artist Lizzo garnered a decent size crowd at one of the smaller stages. One of her most memorable performances was “BusPasses and Happy Meals”. Perhaps Firefly’s best-hidden gem is the Treehouse sessions. What started as a series of recorded live-in-studio intimate mini sets that Firefly used to introduce emerging artists via their website and social media has become a feature at the actual event. No more than 200 passes were handed out for the Dirty Heads session held that afternoon. Just to the right of one of the festival’s Hammock Hangouts, lucky receivers of the passes gathered into the small shaded clearing cut into the woods that contained a small rustic stage. For this intimate set, drummer Matt Ochoa and guitarist/vocalist Dustin Bushnell both played acoustic guitars with David Foral on electric bass. All five members sat on wooden stools facing the small crowd as they started the first song “Your Love” with Bushnell and lead vocalist Jared Watson driving the tune with strong vocals and Ochoa, Foral and percussionist/keyboardist Jon Olazabal backing up the set. They played only a few songs including acoustic versions of “My Sweet Summer” and “The Sound of Change.”
Jon Bellion and Zella Day went head to head during the late afternoon, both high energy sets with sizable crowds drawn in. Bellion, a versatile artist who sings, writes, produces and raps, surprised the audience by breaking out a harmonica during his set to fill in for a missing keyboardist. Indie pop artist Day was a stark contrast to Bellion’s rap set next door, and performed many songs off her new album “Kicker” including “Sweet Ophelia”.
Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, better known by her stage name, Halsey, which is an anagram of her first name, played a smooth set of atmospheric Indie-Pop that was perfect for fans seeking a chilled out performance before the barrage of more boisterous sets slated for the evening. Highlights of the set included “Hold Me Down”, and the song that put her on the musical map, “Ghost”. Picking up the energy level spirited Australian musician Betty Who played a set of up-tempo Indie-Pop tunes designed for dancing.
More than likely, the 200 people who were fortunate, enough to get passes to the Dirty Heads intimate acoustic performance were among the crowd assembled for the groups full set that was up against veteran rock band Spoon’s show one stage over. In addition to most of the songs the band played during the Treehouse session, they also played such tunes as “Burn Slow”. As amazing as the intimate Treehouse session was, it was during the full stage performance that the band really showed their true calling, performing to large audiences, as the band’s energy poured into the crowd making it an excellent music experience. The last band on the main stage slotted before the headliner, Foster the People, was moved up a half hour due to a predicted storm. The abrupt time shift did not deter crowds from gathering and enjoying the set put forth by the group including their mega-hit “Pumped Up Kicks” and newer work such as “Coming of Age” off their latest album, “Supermodel”.
the Foster the People set, some music fans lingered at the main stage for the start of headliner Kings Of Leon, while others scurried off to catch the rest of Kid Cudi or The Chainsmokers performances. As an anxious crowd waited to hear the start of Kings of Leon, instead they heard an announcement over the P.A. to evacuate the concert grounds as soon as possible for safety due to a dangerous electrical storm bearing down on the immediate area. In additional to missing Kings of Leon, other performances that were cancelled included late night sets by Steve Aoki, Matoma, Rustie, and Lettuce.
Sunday
Despite the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill dumping a huge amount of rain during the electrical storm that put an early end to Saturday night’s performances, the festival grounds were in surprisingly good shape for the final day of Firefly. Festival workers did an amazing job getting the site cleaned up and making pathways to the stages scattered around the property passable. The early afternoon schedule was adjusted to allow for performances that were canceled or cut short to play on Sunday. Steve Aoki and The Chainsmokers were the only artists who were able to reschedule.
Steve Aoki’s DJ set with special effects, lights and screens that would have looked amazing at night, still looked cool during the bright sunlight of Sunday afternoon. The large crowd was surprisingly energetic considering the heat, but Aoki’s special effects of confetti cannons, streamers, smoke and champagne sprays did much to make on-lookers forget anything other than the music and just dance. Aoki’s remixes included Oasis’ “Wonderwall” at which point he invited the other rescheduled performers, The Chainsmokers, onto the stage.
Southern Californian indie-rock veterans The Cold War Kids attracted a sizable crowd for an explosive afternoon set on the mammoth Main Stage. Lead singer Nathan Willett led the band through a set of older and newer songs, while switching between guitar and a battered upright piano. They began the set with “All This Could Be Yours” from their newest album Hold My Home. The set also included their more popular songs such as “First” and “Hang Me Out To Dry”.
The huge crowd that was already gathering for the anticipated set by Hozier was joined by fans of alternative-rock band Bad Suns, who were on the stage right next to the stage where Hozier was scheduled to perform. Bad Suns got more exposure than they may have expected with the mass of people who flowed by their stage. Bad Sun’s set included songs from their album Language & Perspective such as “Cardiac Arrest” and “Salt”.
Fans swarmed onto the Lawn Stage concert field, which had received the most amount of effects from the storm, and they had to assemble amidst giant puddles. Some would say that they wished Hozier were at the main stage to accommodate the large crowd; however the close quarters gave the set a more intimate feel. Hozier did not disappoint dedicated fans as he tore through his set list, songs that are quickly becoming classics in their own right. The performance included “Someone New”, “Work Song” and mega-hit “Take Me To Church” which not surprisingly closed the set.
Pop duo, The Broods, showed their tender, more intricate side with an intimate acoustic Coffee House set that included a cover of Tove Lo’s “Habits (Stay High)”. The Coffee House performance was in addition to their earlier set at the same time as Hozier’s that offered fans a more energetic presentation of their music in a less crowded and mellower atmosphere than the emerging Irish musicians show.
Indie-rock veteran Clarence Greenwood, known better by his stage name Citizen Cope, put on a great set, starting with “Let the Drummer Kick”. Citizen Cope also played other well-known tracks such as “Bullet and a Target” and “Sideways”. The set ended with Radiohead’s “Karma Police” as an Encore. Empire of the Sun was pitted against Snoop Dog, offering a very diverse choice to festivalgoers. A huge number chose the rap legend who put on an outstanding show that included a mix of Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” with Joan Jetts’ “I Love Rock and Roll”. Shortly after that song, a man was arrested for climbing up one of the speaker towers; however, attention was only slightly diverted as the rapper got back into his set without missing a beat.
Those who chose Australian electronic duo, Empire of Sun, were treated to what can only be described as a true spectacle. The visual impact of the show was impressive and featured stunning costumes by front man Luke Steele and a large supporting cast of dancers. Steele and Empire of the Sun collaborator, Nick Littlemore, served up songs from the 2013 album Ice on the Dune and the standout album, Walking on a Dream from 2009, including both title tracks. In addition to the eye popping screen presentation and stellar light show, the performance included bursts of smoke, streamers, and sparkling confetti that reached amazingly far into the crowd, adding to the sensory overload.
Sin City rock band, The Killers’ headlining set started about 25 minutes late, leaving fans wondering if it was a prima donna rock star move or the festival allowing fans time to travel from sets ending at far off stages time to reach The Main Stage in time for the last big performance of the event. Lead vocalist/keyboardist, Brandon Flowers, fresh off the release of his most recent solo album, Desired Effect, kicked off the set with one of the group’s most recognizable songs, “Mr. Brightside”, from the hugely successful Hot Fuss album. Other highlights of the set included, “Spaceman”, “Smile Like You Mean It”, “Human”, “Runaways”, and “When We Were Young”. The band also played some choice covers, including Credence Clearwater Revival’s, “Bad Moon Rising”, and perhaps to ease the disappointment of some music fans, they played Kings of Leon’s “The Bucket” and “Use Somebody”, whose set was sadly canceled the night before. The Vegas group would return amidst the roar of the crowd for “This Is Your Life” and “When You Were Young” as an encore.
The Firefly Music Festival attracted music fans as diverse as the line-up that was assembled for 2015 version of the event. Old and young music lovers shared an experience that featured older and newer performers. Despite a few hiccups, the organizers handled the weather emergency relatively well and did amazing job getting the site ready for the onslaught of people on Sunday.
2 Responses
Amazing acoustic rendition of Halsey’s “Ghost”: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XizJx3DxtcU