DELAWARE - A Sussex County rock band was promised time to perform at the Firefly Music Festival, but was stripped of the opportunity at the last second.
The band Great Big Liars lost their opportunity to play. They were set to play before another band called Erase Me when that band got stopped mid-performance.
"So many excuses, but the only thing I can surmise is local music isn't a formula in the Firefly formula." said bass player of Great Big Liars, Mike Perfetti.
Code Purple, a sponsor of the event, was coordinating with the bands to replace a DJ that was set to perform in the Good Hub part of the festival where the organization's tent was setup. It wasn't until their performances that Code Purple and Firefly realized the sensory deprivation tent in that same section would be heavily impacted by the noise.
"What I had found out was that there was someone having an anxiety attack in one of the sensory booths who wasn't able to communicate and the rock band that was playing at first was heavy metal. The band that was supposed to follow them was going to be a little bit more calmer and more relaxed of a vibe and so we had planned for a little bit more intense then a little bit more calm but because that sensory tent. We weren't expecting it to be that close to the stage area." said Executive Director of Code Purple, Ennio Emmanuel.
Emmanuel says he has since spoken with Firefly in regards to relocating the tent and bands to avoid conflict next year. He also says that he would like to expand the Good Hub area into a more local inclusive section of the festival.
"And obviously can focus on local. I would push for local and or nearby. Just people who are about Delaware roots and just Delaware kinds like Jimmie Allen should be here and stuff like that." said Emmanuel.
We reached out to Firefly, but have yet to receive comment.
