Walking into Firefly, we were greeted by rows upon rows of tents. The energy everywhere was high before even entering the festival grounds. In the distance, bass boomed and the music became more and more distinct until reaching the main stage, where Halsey, MCR, Green Day, and Dua Lipa would later perform.
Thursday started off with performances spread across 5 total stages— the Firefly Stage, The Pavilion, The Backyard Stage, The Treehouse, and The Nest. At night, the grounds transformed to reveal luminescent art installations, including glowing dandelions, mushrooms, a house you could actually walk through, and a colossal archway. Walking further into the woods revealed the intimate treehouse stage, on which Renforshort was the first artist we saw play. Her performance was electric, quickly establishing the treehouse stage as home of some of our favorite performances at the festival. The first day ended off with Halsey who, clad with a bright pink wig, threw herself around the stage with incredible energy and vocals that could only leave your mouth wide open in awe.
Friday started off with performances from Spill Tab, Ashnikko, and Indigo De Souza. Despite not being the headliner, Avril Lavigne drew one of the biggest crowds of the four days. She brought out her fiance, Mod Sun, who had performed earlier in the festival. Not a single person couldn’t be heard singing along when she played hits like “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi.” The crowd only grew bigger when My Chemical Romance took the stage, speaking to their die-hard fan base.
Saturday, we started off seeing performances from Jordana, Wolf Alice, and Princess Nokia, who sang “Jesus Loves Me” to the crowd in between flashing her boobs. Haim, Yungblud, and Bleachers all followed with electric performances, topping the night off with Greenday.
Sunday started off to a rough start when severe thunderstorm warnings forced attendees to evacuate festival grounds and head to their vehicles. This wasn’t before Max and The Regrettes could take the stage, though. There was only a little sprinkle of rain and everything resumed not too far behind schedule with Conan Gray kicking things back off. Followed then, by Charli XCX, who commented on the largely LGBTQ+ fanbase present to see both herself and Dua Lipa headlining the festival. This brought to mind the inclusive nature that Firefly cultivates by catering to a largely LGBTQ+ audience. Those fans weren’t disappointed when Dua Lipa took the stage and not a single person in the audience couldn’t be seen dancing, a satisfying end to an already robust festival lineup.
