Firefly Music Festival through its first seven years

The News Journal reported Wednesday that Firefly Music Festival founders have sold the festival to AEG Presents, which runs California's Coachella festival.

A few changes are imminent, such as a later date in 2019, but the move could lead to larger transformations as Firefly fulfills its destiny of becoming Coachella East. 

We take a look back at the festival's evolution through its first seven years.

More: Firefly sold to Coachella producer AEG Presents; news dates for 2019 announced

MORE FIREFLY COVERAGE: DELAWAREONLINE'S FIREFLY HUB

2018

Firefly bounced back with big headlines and a weekend of nice weather. Eminem and The Killers fronted the ticket.

RECAP: 2018 Firefly Roundup

Of the 26 headliners in the festival's history, just one has been female.

2017

An underwhelming lineup led to a noticeably smaller crowd for Firefly 2017. Two of the festival's five headliners, Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd, overlapped with Bonnaroo. It was the first year the lineup was "fan-curated." The lineup, which was heavy on EDM, represented a departure from the alt-rock sounds of the OG Firefly in 2012.

2016 

The Treehouse Stage was reimagined, underwear became outerwear and Firefly became a juggernaut. 

"In just five years, this one event has changed the landscape of the state," the Delaware Tourism director said at the time.

PHOTOS: Firefly Music Festival 2016

Firefly went for quantity over quality to follow up the major headliners of years past.

"Even though Firefly inked four headliners — Mumford & Sons, Florence + the Machine, Kings of Leon, and deadmau5 — it couldn't erase the twinge of disappointment many had when the lineup was released," wrote Ryan Cormier. 

The festival stuck to its weekend schedule in lieu of the two-week Coachella-esque format that had been discussed two years earlier.

RECAP: Firefly 2016: Best & The Rest

2015

Headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers and Kings of Leon roped in a record 90,000-person crowd, establishing Firefly as one of the largest music festivals in the country.

A torrential downpour forced an evacuation on the first night and event organizers had to reconfigure the schedule for the rest of the weekend.

RECAP: Firefly Flashback, a look back at the last three years of the festival

2014

Firefly went big with two headline acts, Jack Johnson and Childish Gambino, to close the four-day festival Sunday evening. 

"When Firefly Music Festival Director Greg Bostrom announced Friday that the theme for the event's third year would be "bigger and better," the first part was obvious," wrote Ryan Cormier.

The top performance of the weekend came from the Foo Fighters, who played a five-song classic rock encore as The Holy S--ts. Imagine Dragons also returned two years after their breakthrough 2012 performance.

A University of Delaware study released in 2014 found that the festival added more than $68 million to the regional economy.

2013

In year two, Firefly's audience more than doubled in size to over 65,000 people. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty, Foster the People & Vampire Weekend headlined the festival, but it was the little known Kendrick Lamar who delivered one of the most memorable performances.  

PHOTOS: Our favorite images from Firefly 2013

2012

Thirty thousand people, about a third of this year's crowd, made their way to The Woodlands for the inaugural year. Jack White, The Killers and the Black Keys served as headliners. 

PHOTOS: Firefly Years 1 and 2

Since, the festival has grown to one of the largest on the East Coast and has become one of Delaware's main attractions.