File this one under “news that surprises absolutely no one,” as it’s just been announced that Paul McCartney will headline this year’s Firefly Music Festival June 18-21 at the Woodlands in Dover, Delaware. It is McCartney’s first ever appearance at Firefly and the latest confirmed date of this year’s Out There tour, following on the recent announcement of April 21-May 2 run through Japan and South Korea.
When the Firefly lineup was originally announced last week, organizers appeared to look to MS Paint to blur out the headliner on the gig poster, presumed to be McCartney as a leaked poster from late January was pretty much the same. The updated one can be seen here.
It’s been a whirlwind couple weeks for the ex-Beatle long considered the cute one, including a surprise intimate Valentine’s Day gig at New York’s Irving Plaza and a performance on Saturday Night Live’s 40th Anniversary prime time special. Yesterday, he was chilling out in New England, skiing at Bromley mountain in Vermont and then dining at the J.J. Hapgood General Store & Eatery in the nearby town of Peru.
The McCartney live experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity; in just three hours some of the greatest moments from the last 50 years of music are relived; music which for many has shaped the very soundtrack of their lives. Recent years have seen Macca and his band perform in a staggeringly impressive range of venues and locations, including outside the Coliseum in Rome, in Moscow’s Red Square, Buckingham Palace, at the White House, a free show in Mexico to over 400,000 people, and even broadcast live into Space. Delaware was the next logical step.
The Killers, Kings of Leon, Morrissey, Snoop Dogg, Bastille, Hozier, Empire of the Sun and Cage the Elephant are just a few of the names filling out the slots below McCartney. This will be the fourth year of Firefly, and it’s grown rapidly in popularity and attendance. 2015 will be the second that spans over four days after the first two were limited to three. The expansion is in no small part due to Red Frog Events partnering up with AEG acquisition and Coachella Music and Arts Festival organizers Goldenvoice. It’s allowed the fest to go after even bigger artists than before which had this year the most anticipated yet as the joint venture was announced last September.
VIP and Super VIP tickets go on-sale this Friday at noon with general admission and camping passes going on-sale Monday at noon. And while the day to day schedule has yet to be set, it’s worth noting McCartney will turn 73 on the first day of Firefly. And speaking of Beatle birthdays, George Harrison would have turned 72 today. Here’s a video of Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne and Harrison’s son Dhani being led by McCartney on “For You Blue” and “Something” at the 2002 Concert for George: