Firefly Music Festival Hosts Local Bands and Vendors

Delaware pride was abundant throughout Firefly III weekend, from Gov. Jack Markell live-Tweeting his concert itinerary to Dave Grohl name-dropping Grotto Pizza in front of 80,000 people. Local musicians and vendors, sprinkled throughout the Woodlands and campgrounds, only enhanced the Delaware flavor.
 

Great 2 hear @foofightersdave of @foofighters say he loves grottos and Rehoboth #netde @liveatfirefly #firefly2014 jm

— Gov. Jack Markell (@GovernorMarkell) June 21, 2014

Regional faves New Sweden brought their charged-up mountain folk to the Big Break Stage Saturday afternoon, twanging their way through a 45-minute set, swapping banjos, guitars and mandolins between songs, and graciously thanking the Foo Fighters for “opening” for them the night before. Newark’s Mean Lady—led by the eminently soulful Katie Dill—hit the secluded Big Break stage Friday afternoon.

Left: New Sweden (photo by Ben Fournier); Right: Mean Lady (photo by Eric Anderson)

Left to Right: Frankie’s, Grotto Pizza and Caffe Gelato (photos by Ben Founier)

Inside the Woodlands, local restaurants like Caffe Gelato, Greenman JuiceBar, Dover Downs’ own Frankie’s and Doc Magrogan’s, and a handful of Grotto Pizza took their place among the seemingly endless string of storefronts and beer stands that lined the festival perimeter. To the south, nestled between Dover International Speedway and a maze of dusty campsites, was The Hub, where the I Don’t Give a Fork food truck parked for the second consecutive year of slinging mac-and-cheesesteaks to the hungry throngs. Joining IDGAF in the Hub were the fashionistas of Grass Roots, and Camden-Wyoming’s Fifer Orchards.

Fear not: The Fifer crew brought enough doughnuts this year. Though Mike Fennemore and his pack of employees and volunteers had to make a few extra trips to reload, the family farm’s delicious, in-demand doughnuts did flow to all corners of the Firefly campsites, as well as freshly picked peaches, homemade pickles and beef jerky, apples and more. 

Left: I Don’t Give a Fork (photo by Ben Fournier; Right: The Roaming Raven (photo by Matt Amis)

Fifer rocked a second location in the North Hub, where it joined the Roaming Raven food truck, and Tin Lizzy. The Raven, a mobile spin-off of Newark’s heralded The Deer Park Tavern, pumped a steady supply of cheesesteaks, tater tots and breakfast sandwiches to Northern campers.