Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Arctic Monkeys & The Killers lead Firefly '18

Nearly 20 years after "My Name Is" launched Eminem's career, the hip-hop fire-breather is headed to Firefly Music Festival for his first-ever Delaware performance.

The Detroit rapper will join legend-in-the-making Kendrick Lamar and rockers Arctic Monkeys and The Killers as headliners of the annual four-day music and camping festival in Dover. It is scheduled to be Arctic Monkeys' first show in more than three years with a new album on the way.

Passes go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. General admission ($269), VIP ($749) and Super VIP ($2,499) will be available at fireflyfestival.com.

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It will be the first time the festival has boasted a pair of hip-hop headliners, and both are currently at the forefront.

Eminem's new album "Revival" was released last month, and he'll be headlining Bonnaroo and Coachella festivals this year. He also tied Fleetwood Mac as the top vote-getter in The News Journal's annual fan Fantasy Firefly poll.

As for Lamar, he's arguably the hottest rapper on the planet, fresh from his performance at the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship halftime show earlier this week.

Lamar is nominated for seven Grammy Awards this year for his fourth studio album, the critically acclaimed "DAMN.," including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album.

Other performers coming to Dover this summer include electronic acts Odesza and Martin Garrix, rappers Lil Wayne and Logic, New Jersey-raised R&B singer SZA (who also once attended Delaware State University) and English indie rock band Alt-J. 

Dover hip-hop/spoken word artist Amillion the Poet is this year's local act on the bill.

If Firefly's organizers are proud of this year's lineup, they aren't talking.

For the first time in the festival's history, representatives from Chicago-based organizers Red Frog Events and Dover International Speedway would not comment about their lineup release.

Once again, the festival lacks a female headliner. Florence + the Machine's 2016 headlining spot remains the festival's only female-fronted headliner out of the 26 that will have fronted Firefly since 2012.

Three of the four headliners – Lamar (2013), Arctic Monkeys (2014) and The Killers (2012, 2015) – have performed at The Woodlands in Dover before.

The Killers, who joined Jack White and The Black Keys to headline the inaugural Firefly, now hold the record for most times headlining Firefly.

Dominick Draper, who covers hip-hop for both Allhiphop.com and The News Journal, says the festival's turn to hip-hop makes sense, citing Nielsen Music's year-end report announcing that hip-hop/R&B has surpassed rock to become the most listened-to music genre in the U.S.

And having the tag-team of Eminem and the socially conscious Lamar topping this year's fest is sure to draw plenty of those fans.

"To get Kendrick Lamar now is huge – it's huge for Delaware," Draper says of Lamar, who also performed at the University of Delaware in 2013. "Everything he puts out is just catching fire, and he really puts on a great concert."

This will be Firefly's seventh year in Dover, brought to Delaware by Red Frog, which has since partnered with Goldenvoice, founder of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Goldenvoice is a subsidiary of AEG, the worldwide concert giant, which is second in size only to Live Nation.

Over its first six years, Firefly has brought a dazzling array of acts to Delaware – injecting music legends, superstars and upstarts into the heart of the First State against all odds.

Whether you were into seeing rock royalty (Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty), hip-hop stars (Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Outkast, Public Enemy) or electronic party-starters (Steve Aoki, deadmau5, Zedd, Calvin Harris), Firefly organizers have poured it on.

As the festival grew from a 35,00-person curiosity in 2012 to a 90,000-person festival rivaling its biggest competitors, it also morphed from a rock-heavy event to a more pop, rap and EDM-orientated festival.

Last year was Firefly's first as a crowd-sourced festival of sorts with fans voting online for what bands, food and activities they wanted.

The result was a younger and noticeably smaller crowd than in years past. Two of Firefly's largest vendors told The News Journal that organizers told them to prepare for 30 percent fewer fans than the 90,000 than organizers said they had in 2015 and 2016.

When launched, Firefly was part of a new wave of festivals, piggybacking on the growing success of the major fests such as Bonnaroo, Coachella and Lollapalooza. Other newbies along with Firefly have included New York's Governors Ball Music Festival and Panorama Music Festival, Philadelphia's Made in America and Atlanta's Shaky Knees Music Festival.

In 2015, information company Nielsen released a report on U.S. music festivals, reporting that 32 million people attend at least one music festival each year with 46 percent of attendees aged 18-34.

With so many festivals – many of which are owned by the same companies – and with only so many major acts on the road to play them each year, it's become harder and harder to differentiate one festival from the other when it comes to the lineups.

Already this month, Bonnaroo and Coachella have announced their lineups, and Eminem will co-headline both. If you dig into the other headliners at those fests, you'll see familiar names because most have already headlined Firefly, including The Killers, Muse and The Weeknd.

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU GO

What: Firefly Music Festival

When: June 14-17

Where: The Woodlands near Dover International Speedway, Dover

Four-day passes: General admission ($269), VIP ($749) and Super VIP ($2,499). On sale beginning at 10 a.m. Friday.

Information: fireflyfestival.com

2018 FIREFLY MUSIC FESTIVAL LINEUP

Alex Lahey
Alice Merton
alt-J
Amen Dunes
Amillion the Poet
Arctic Monkeys
Banners
Berhana
Betty Who
Big Gigantic
blackbear
Charlotte Cardin
Chase Atlantic
Cheat Codes
Chet Porter
Chicano Batman
Chromeo
Cold War Kids
Courtship.
Eminem
Everything Everything
Ezri
Flint Eastwood
Flor
Fly By Midnight
Foster the People
Hotel Garuda
Jade Bird
Jax Jones
Jeremy Zucker
Jimmy Eat World
Justin Caruso
Kap Slap
Kasbo
Kendrick Lamar
Knox Fortune
Lauv
Lewis Capaldi
Lights
Lil Wayne
Lil Xan
Lizzo
Logic
Lophiile
Lord Huron
Loyle Carner
Lucy Dacus
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Marian Hill
Martin Garrix
Melvv
MGMT
Middle Kids
Mike D (DJ set)
Mikky Ekko
Morgxn
Noah Kahan
Northern Faces
ODESZA
Ookay Live
Parker
Party Favor
Phantoms
Pluto
PnB Rock
Portugal. The Man
Rag'n'Bone Man
Reo Cragun
Ron Gallo
Royal Blood
Rudimental
San Holo
Savannah Conley
Shallou
Smallpools
Southern Avenue
Spafford
Spencer Lee Band
SZA
Terror Jr
The Aces
The Glorious Sons
The Killers
The Night Game
The Regrettes
THEY.
Thomas Wynn & The Believers
Trippie Redd
Two Friends
Vance Joy
Warren G
Welshly Arms
Westside Gunn & Conway
Whethan
Yung Gravy