Firefly '19: Super-huge headliners? Nope. Top-tier female acts? Not at all.

When passes for Firefly Music Festival go on sale Friday, will the 119 acts have enough juice to keep the annual party lit in its eighth year?

Las Vegas-born pop/rock act Panic! at the Disco will team up with hip-hop acts Post Malone and Travis Scott to headline the festival, which has been reduced to three nights in 2019 for the first time in five years.

How does next year's festival on June 21-23 stack up against past years? Let us break it down.

Soft headliners

When Firefly announced former Beatle Paul McCartney or Foo Fighters as headliners in the past, it was almost like the ground shook.

Acts that Delawareans never believed would ever play our tiny state were suddenly rocking in a Dover field, drawing up to 90,000 a weekend, due in great deal to major interest in the stadium-sized performers.

But that was then and this is now.

Sure, all three of 2019's headliners can hold their own in an indoor arena, but they aren't quite yet up to the task of filling an outdoor football stadium like some of Firefly's past headliners, which have included everyone from Tom Petty and The Killers to Eminem and Kings of Leon. 

In fact, while Firefly was making its announcement earlier this week, Dewey Beach's 1,100-person Bottle & Cork booked an act that has more Facebook likes than both Malone (2.7 million) and Scott (1.5 million) — Canadian pop/rock act Walk off the Earth (3 million). That act plays Dewey Beach on Memorial Day and tickets ($38) go on sale Friday at bottleandcorkdewey.com.

Even if you're not feeling tingles over this year's headliners, there's good news. Whenever Firefly doesn't bust their budget on super-huge headliners, it means the rest of the lineup is usually better quality.

And that's the case this year.

Other acts on the bill cover many of the bases you would want from a summer festival.

In addition to Malone ("Better Now," "Psycho," "Rockstar") and Scott ("Sicko Mode"), hip-hop fans get performances by Tyler, the Creator of Odd Future, self-described "boy band" Brockhampton and Atlanta-based Gucci Mane. And dancing electronic music fans will hear beats from DJ Snake, Russian/German party-starter Zedd, Norwegian DJ Kygo, Australia-born DJ Alison Wonderland, funk-leaning GRiZ and Chicago DJ duo Louis the Child. 

Rock and pop fans will get sets by New York's Vampire Weekend, Swedish pop/singer-songwriter Lykke Li, Los Angeles-based AWOLNATION, Australian rocker Courtney Barnett, four-piece pop/rock act Walk the Moon, and alternative rockers Young the Giant.

In all, the lineup received mixed reviews from the festival's most ardent supporters: those who lurk on the Firefly Music Festival Fan page on Facebook.

"Is the lineup bad or am I just old?" wrote Baltimore's Tommy Bee. 

Boston's David Helebert shook off the negativity from unhappy fans: "Regardless of opinions on the internet, I can’t wait to get back to the Woodlands & into the vibes that will ensue!"

Where the ladies at?

One out of 29.

Those are the cold, hard facts when it comes to female-fronted headliners during Firefly Music Festival's eight-year run.

Once again, there is not a female face among the top-tier headliners, leaving Florence and the Machine's 2016 headlining set as the only dash of estrogen among nearly 30 official headlining acts over the years.

However, a well-known female act is near the top of each day's lineup, but just not as a headliner. They include Barnett on Friday, Alison Wonderland on Saturday and Li on Sunday.

When global entertainment company AEG Presents purchased Firefly earlier this year from founders Red Frog Events, AEG officials told The News Journal they always strive to curate a diverse talent lineup.

"Certainly, as a woman, I would love the idea of having a lot of female headliners. But if that makes sense. It needs to make sense to the audience," said Melissa Ormond, chief operating officer of festivals for AEG Presents.

"This is not a festival meant to appeal to only women, so we need to think about who the entire audience is," she added. "I wouldn't say we're trying to do any one thing over another thing, other than to create a lineup that's interesting and exciting and hopefully differentiated from the rest of the festival landscape."

The festival has a new talent-buyer this year: Alicia Karlin, a vice president and senior event producer for Colorado-based Madison House Presents, which is operated in partnership with AEG Presents

She has also booked Michigan's eclectic, electronic-leaning Electric Forest festival for years.

When it comes to diversity, Karlin told The News Journal it's important to scan the entire lineup, not necessarily just the headliners.

"Some years there aren't as many female touring acts that are headline available," she says. "I'm female and I'm very aware of it. If you look at the lineups I've developed in the past, there's a lot of females involved and I think that's more important than trying to strategize in some way to make sure there's a female headliner.

"Inclusion and diversity are important across the board, not just on the top line." 

For example, if you dig deep enough, you'll find iconic 1990s girl group TLC on the Firefly lineup for June 21 with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins set to perform without the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.

Returning acts

By the time you reach year No. 8, you're bound for some repeat acts from years past.

But this year has a bumper crop. In fact, 2019 might feel quite a bit like the inaugural Firefly in 2012.

The first Firefly boasted four of the same acts coming this summer: Death Cab For Cutie, AWOLNATION, Young the Giant and Walk the Moon.

And when they appear on stage in The Woodlands, it will be the third Firefly appearance for each of them.

Among the other returning acts this year: New York rockers X Ambassadors, Canadian rock act Arkells, indie pop act Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and electronic music duo The Knocks.

Local flair

After performing on plenty of tiny DIY stages in Delaware, rapper Rakeem Miles will perform on one of Delaware's biggest on Saturday, June 22.

Miles, 25, is among the 119 acts on Firefly's 2019 schedule, and it will be quite a full circle moment for him.

While living in North East, Maryland, Miles's up-and-coming hip-hop collective Weird and Awful started to make waves a few years back with downtown Wilmington shows at spots such as the Film Brothers Co-op and The Queen.

Mike G of Odd Future even came to Delaware to headline one of their shows.

Miles moved to Hollywood last year to follow his musical dreams and will soon be announcing a new project with a new label.

He recently signed with Beverly Hills-based Paradigm Talent Agency, which represents major acts such as Ed Sheeran and Coldplay and got him onto the Firefly bill.

As an added local bonus, Grammy-nominated reggae band SOJA is on the bill. The act counts Seaford native Trevor Young playing lead guitar in the eight-piece.

Before befriending and joining SOJA following the group's 2010 Ocean City, Maryland show, Young fronted Seaford-based band Chowderfoot.

This band is called what!?!

With every lineup announcement comes an array of acts that most people have never heard of — some of which have pretty entertaining names.

A few jumped out at us this time around:

Let's Eat Grandma — A female British pop duo whose name is derived from a grammatical joke emphasizing the importance of comma placement — not a dream to one day transform into Jeffrey Dahmer. (Whew!)

Bumpin Uglies — This Maryland-based reggae/ska/punk act has been bumpin' for about a decade now. 

YUNG BAE — A Los Angeles-based producer that got his start on Bandcamp, his real name is Dallas Cotton. Smart switch.

Thumpasaurus — Funk and punk collide to create this L.A. band, which brings the thump, but leaves the dinosaur at home.

How to get passes

Passes go on sale Friday at noon via www.fireflyfestival.com.

There's an array of options for you to choose from: general admission ($279), VIP ($699), Super VIP ($2,499) and a new Super Duper VIP category ($7,199).

What does Super Duper get you? A pair of Super VIP passes, lodging at the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino for three nights for two people, golf cart concierge service from Dover Downs to the festival site and more.

Camping ($179-$699), glamping ($999-$1,499), RV camping ($299-$1,099) and hotel packages will also be available for purchase on Friday.

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).

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