US news: AEG buys into fastest growing American festival

Firefly Music Festival (USA) 2015

Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st June 2015
Dover International Speedway, Dover, Delaware, USA MAP
$299 (approx £200) for 4 days

Daily capacity: 80,000

The USA festival market has in recent years seen a massive explosion in numbers of festivals, and is in a boom period. Firefly Music Festival, founded by Red Frog Events in 2012, is one of the fastest-growing music festivals in the country, selling 30,000 tickets in its first year, 65,000 in 2013, and 80,000 in 2014.

Their rapid growth has drawn the interest of Coachella founder and promoter Goldenvoice (and its parent, AEG) who have entered into a joint venture with Red Frog Events to promote and produce the annual event, according to Billboard (here).

In the article, Coachella founder Paul Tollett explained that “Red Frog will still operate Firefly, because that’s what they’re best at, and we will assist in any way we can, such as helping access talent, sponsorships, and any tricks that we’ve learned along the way to help a festival get to the next level.”

Firefly has a lease at it's home the Dover International Speedway in Delaware through 2032, and Tollett says the deal will allow the festival “to put in infrastructure and invest in longer-term capital.” So, it looks as though Firefly is about to become one of the USA's top tier events in future years.

Firefly’s 2015 edition is set to take place from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st June 2015. There are no acts confirmed yet Presale deposit tickets have sold out these were priced at $349, normal ticket prices for this year have not yet been announced.

AEG Live rosta of music festivals, includes British Summer Time, Scotland's RockNess, and American events Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Bayou Country Superfest, Edgefest, Rock on the Range, Rockfest, Rocklahoma, SunFest, Stagecoach Country Music Festival, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, as well as stakes in various festivals including Sonisphere, Bloodstock, and Wakestock.

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