Festival Vibes

Ever since Jack Johnson headlined the Firefly Music Festival a few years back, I’ve been trying to get myself to attend. Once the headline for the June 2016 festival was announced, I was not passing up my opportunity to finally go and see some of my favorite singers and bands. So for my birthday this year that’s all I wanted to do, and so the countdown began way back in December to Firefly and my summer of concerts… We started our musical weekend experience with the upbeat and funky Fitz and the Tantrums. Their songs always put me in a good mood, especially or dancing. The Walker basically got me through my knee surgery. After a morning of traveling, it was great way to kick off the festival. My first day was basically complete once I saw Of Monsters of Men perform. Aside from Mumford and Sons, they were the other major band in my decision to finally come to Firefly, and man were they soo worth it! Like a little girl in an ice cream shop. J finally show the inner hippie music lover that I am. Every video taken features me in the background, sorry not sorry, I was just too excited. 

I loved my tassels this weekend. From my pretty new bucket bug, to these DIY leather ones I made for my {very old} adventure sandals. My other go-to accessory, my official Firefly Music Festival mason jar cup, which kept me hydrated during the hot sunny afternoons with cold water and one the signature drinks, the Watermelon Mule. It’s become my new favorite summer drink, and I can’t wait to recreate it. I’m thinking grilled watermelon!

If you are a music enthusiast, like me, then you understand the amazing feeling of seeing a favorite singer or band perform one of your beloved songs, the one no matter how many times you hear, it doesn’t get old, it still makes you feel something, that strong emotion that makes you love it every time you hear it. Then you totally understand how there’s nothing like being in crowd of fellow fans dancing, singing the words along with the artist, sometimes so loudly it drowns out the singers on stage, and getting completely lost in the lyrics and melody of the music. 

From funk, to pop, to indie folk and folk rock, to dance electronica, to country rock, and 90’s punk rock; Blink 182 #tbt that weekend was all you. There were so many different styles of music that pulled into one of the many stages and areas throughout the festival. I think the coolest place was the treehouse, where you could relax in one of the many hammocks and watch smaller music sessions amongst shady trees. It was the perfect spot to escape the sun and have a quick picnic with J.

Other favorites included of course Of Monsters and Men, Kings of Leon, Florence and the Machine {their performance of Dog Days are Over was just beautiful, there was so much love in the performance and in the crowd}, Death Cab for Cutie and just about everyone I was lucky enough to watch.

Aside from the actual festival itself, traveling to Delaware was fun! J and I decided to make it a nice long weekend away to celebrate my birthday, and kick off the summer. We drove by so many farms, every so often smelling the same scents of the fields in Portugal. If we come back to the festival in the near future, which we definitely will, we plan to camp near the grounds since commuting back and forth to our hotel did become tiring. And we’d also extend our trip a bit longer to actually enjoy the Delaware beaches, lakes and fun outdoor activities I hear so much about. By far best moment was watching Mumford and Sons. I had seen them last year for my birthday in Coney Island, oh but this time was much much better! Not only did J and I camped out our spot as close as we could get over an hour before the show was supposed to begin. But goodness they are amazing live, and the best part, the one I could barely contain myself for was when Abba Duba came out for their new song I’m obsessed with, “There Will Be Time.” It took a few years, but I finally celebrated my birthday by heading to Firefly Music Festival and living out my music loving roadie self. On a side note, is anyone else interested in seeing the new show Roadies on Showtime? They had a booth at Firefly and I keep seeing commercials for it that it’s kind of sparking my interest.

Are music, food or other festivals in your plan for this summer? I hope so, there are so many great ones to experience!