Firefly Music Festival is giving away lifetime passes for 2022. Deadline to enter is June 30

Andre Lamar
Delaware News Journal

Can you imagine going to Firefly Music Festival for free every year without having to pay for a Super VIP Pass – beginning with this year’s event in Dover from Sept. 22 to 25?

This dream will become a reality for a Firefly fan through a new sweepstakes festival organizers are rolling out in celebration of the event’s 10th anniversary. The deadline to enter the contest is 11:59 a.m. EST Thursday, June 30.

Anyone who purchased a 2022 festival pass already or who buys one before that date is automatically entered into the sweepstakes, according to press materials.

Dua Lipa is one of four headliners for Firefly Music Festival in Dover, which runs Sept. 22-25. Lipa performs onstage during The Future Nostalgia Tour at FTX Arena on Feb. 9, 2022 in Miami, Florida.

The grand prize is two lifetime Super VIP passes to Firefly. Other prizes include an upgrade of two passes to Super VIP for this year, one $1,000 prepaid gift card for travel expenses and one 10th anniversary poster to be claimed on site, according Firefly.com.

According to the festival's website, below are the three ways to enter the sweepstakes.

  • Event Weekend Pass Method: Anyone who, prior to the sweepstakes period has purchased or, during the sweepstakes period purchases, an "Event Weekend Pass" (defined as a General Admission, VIP or Super VIP weekend pass to the event) through the festival's official ticketing platform (i.e., Elevate Ticketing) (the "Sweepstakes Website") prior to July 1, 2022, is automatically entered to win, according to promoters.
  • Refer a Friend Method: All Event Weekend Pass purchasers will receive (via the email they used to purchase their Event Weekend Pass) a unique code they (the "referrer") can share with friends and family; each time the referrer's unique code is used by someone who purchases an Event Weekend Pass, the referrer will receive an additional five entries to the sweepstakes, organizers say.
  • Free Alternative Method: To enter the sweepstakes without purchasing an Event Weekend Pass or referring another person to purchase an Event Weekend Pass, festival organizers say you can hand print your first and last name, include your email address and mailing address on a postcard about 3.5 inches by 5 inches in size and mail it to: Firefly Music Festival, LLC Attention: Firefly Music Festival 10th Anniversary Sweepstakes Entry, 425 W. 11th St., Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90015. All postcard entries must be postmarked prior to the end of the sweepstakes period to be eligible for the sweepstakes. You must meet the eligibility requirements as described in Section 1 on the website in order to participate via this method of entry.

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Sean O’Connell, vice president of programming for festival producers AEG, told Delaware Online/The News Journal that the sweepstakes was created because Firefly has so many loyal fans and they wanted to figure out a way to reward their existing ticketholders.

“We're pretty excited about it,” O’Connell said, before reflecting on last year’s festival. “We're coming out of a really crazy time through the pandemic. We were able to pull off probably the best Firefly ever last year in 2021.”

Extra Firefly acts coming

Earlier this month, Firefly announced 20-plus new artists that joined this year’s lineup, including big acts Haim and T-Pain.

A few smaller acts, regional artists, will be introduced in August when they announce the schedule, the organizer said.

"Last year we had some Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland acts play the show and I think you'll see some of those as well [this year].”

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'Best Firefly ever’

Last year’s festival featured headliners Billie Eilish, The Killers, Tame Impala and Lizzo.

O’Connell said that festival was “probably the best Firefly ever” because of the feedback his team received through a combination of sources including fans, artists, sponsors, vendors and workers at the event.

“The biggest takeaway is from our survey. The results that we got back from that were just outstanding,” he said. “We have a pretty robust conversation with our audience and our fans. We're constantly listening to them.”

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A highlight from last year was The Nest, which was like a nightclub that was tucked away in the woods. It was a chill spot where folks danced to DJs spinning tunes in the shade, he recalled.  

The Nest featured an elevated stage with a bunch of lights above the crowd.

“It was almost at capacity the entire time during the festival,” O’Connell said. “During the day, [the stage] looks like a magical tree house, and at night it almost looks like a spaceship floating above the crowd.”  

Coming into 2022 with 'swagger'

O'Connell said he intends to bring the momentum from last year into this year's 10th anniversary festival.

Headliners for September's Firefly are Halsey, My Chemical Romance, Green Day and Dua Lipa.

Some of the other big names tapped for the festival include Big Sean, Zedd, Porter Robinson, Avril Lavigne, All Time Low, Willow, Bleachers, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Weezer and The Kid Laroi.

Firefly fans that purchase a pass before Friday, July 1 will automatically be entered into a giveaway to win a giveaway that includes two lifetime Super VIP Passes. Pictured are festivalgoers enjoying Billie Eilish during the first night of Firefly at The Woodlands in Dover on Sept. 23, 2021

O’Connell is pumped for fans to return to The Woodlands of Dover. He’s also happy to reward some folks with the festival sweepstakes.

Each potential winner will be notified by mail and/or email on or about July 1, unless the time gets delayed by the giveaway sponsor, according to the festival site.

“We're kind of coming into this 10th anniversary with a lot of swagger, a lot of excitement, a lot of energy from our fans,” O’Connell said. “The response has been great.”

For tickets, complete contest rules and restrictions, or more information about Firefly, visit fireflyfestival.com.

Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.