Firefly: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Red Hot Chili Peppers to headline
The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will perform at Firefly Music Festival, the three-day concert that will return to Dover for its second year in a row. The festival will be held Friday, June 21 to Sunday, June 23 at The Woodlands of Dover International Speedway.
Tickets are available at fireflyfestival.com, at $258 for a three-day pass.
Firefly will offer a number of camping options for festival-goers, including “glamping,” which offers catered food, a private bar and a private entrance to stages at The Woodlands.
The festival lineup was announced Feb. 19. Artists also include Public Enemy, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ellie Goulding, Alabama Shakes, Foster the People, The Lumineers, Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend, Kendrick Lamar, MGMT and more. See the website for the complete list.
Firefly Music Festival Director Greg Bostrom said, “We couldn’t be more excited to add to last year’s success as we bring Firefly to life for a second year."
Thirty-year-old funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers released its tenth album, "I'm With You," in 2011. Firefly and Indio, Calif., festival Coachello are so far the only two U.S. performances Red Hot Chili Peppers have scheduled for spring and summer 2013.
Likewise, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' only summer tour dates so far are Firefly and the Hangout Music Festival, which begins Saturday, May 17, in Gulf Shores, Ala.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers formed in the band's hometown of Gainesville, Fla. The group's debut self-titled album has sold more than 60 million copies worldwide since its release in 1976. "Mojo," the band's most recent album, released in 2010, was Petty's first album with the Heartbreakers in eight years.
New York art rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, also scheduled to appear at Firefly and Coachella, will release a fourth studio album, "Mosquito," Tuesday, April 16.
Formed in Athens, Ala., by high school friends Brittany Howard and bassist Zac Cockrell, Alabama Shakes added Steve Johnson and guitarist Heath Fogg and dubbed themselves the Shakes in 2009. Influenced by artists spanning soul, blues and hard rock, the quartet began performing live with sets that featured covers of songs by AC/DC, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, and Otis Redding, among others.
Changing their name to Alabama Shakes as an ode to their home state, the band released a four-song self-titled EP in 2011, which garnered the attention of several record labels and media, including NPR who named them one of the best groups of 2011. Their debut album Boys & Girls was released in 2012 and features 11 tracks penned by Alabama Shakes, including the title track and "Hold On" which garnered a 55th Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance and propelled the album to peak at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. Alabama Shakes is also nominated for Best New Artist at the 55th Grammy Awards. The group was featured musical guest Feb. 16 on "Saturday Night Live."
The Lumineers, a folk rock three-piece, hail from Denver, Colo. The band’s first full-length, self-titled album was released in 2012 on Dualtone Records.
Vampire Weekend, a four-piece, based in New York City, released its first full-length album in 2008. The band’s latest album, Modern Vampires of the City, is scheduled for release in May.
Last year’s headliners included Jack White, The Killers, Cake, The Black Keys, Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse and John Legend. Thousands attended the event.
Dogfish Head Brewery created Firefly Ale for the inaugural festival. The brewery is expected to return as a sponsor. Several bands in this year's lineup played at Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth Beach in the last year, including The Spinto Band, J.C. Brooks and the Uptown Sound, Delta Rae and Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds.
Firefly producer Red Frog Events has been a partner of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital since 2010. According to the event website, last year’s festival raised more than $4.6 million for the charity.
