Firefly lights back up after the storm

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The Killers close out the Firefly Music Festival Sunday night. (Submitted photo by Torey Mundkowsky)

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The Killers close out the Firefly Music Festival Sunday night. (Submitted photo by Torey Mundkowsky)

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The Killers close out the Firefly Music Festival Sunday night. (Submitted photo by Torey Mundkowsky)

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The Killers close out the Firefly Music Festival Sunday night. (Submitted photo by Torey Mundkowsky)

The Killers close out the Firefly Music Festival Sunday night. (Submittede photo by Torey Mundkowsky)

Remnants of Saturday night's thunderstorms were all around the Firefly Festival Sunday. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Gov. Jack Markell braved the hot temperatures, high humidity, and crowds at Firefly Sunday. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Trash cans at the Firefly Music Festival stuffed full with empty beverage containers from spectators. ( Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Benjamin Booker performs on the Backyard State at the Firefly Music Festival Sunday afternoon. Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh

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Remnants of Saturday night's thunderstorms were all around the Firefly Festival Sunday. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Spectators crowd the "Porch" stage area Sunday. ( Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Firefly campers crowd the area southeast of the speedway track. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

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A number of campers packed up and headed home Sunday before the music ended. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

A number of campers packed up and headed home Sunday before the music ended. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

From left, Firefly Music Festival fashionistas from Connecticut Gloriana Restrepo, Victoria Dortenzio, Claire O' Brien and Emily Bean said skin was in at the festival this year.

Kristin Eberts of Colombus, OH had plenty of custom-made Teysha shoes for sale at Firefly Saturday.

Grassroots California manager Michael Kriz of Boulder, CO, left, points out some of the latest fashions he has for sale at Firefly this weekend.

Natasha Ulrich of Point Pleasnat, NJ tries on a pair of cool wooden sunglasses as she browses through the many vendors at Firefly offering a variety of clothing and other fashion accessories.

Rene and Bill McPoyle of Magnolia walk into Firefly Saturday with joy and music in their hearts ready to enjoy another day at the festival.

Fuzzy Mass of Dover dances on the lawn in front of the Backyard Stage Saturday afternoon enjoying the tunes at the 4th annual Firefly Music Festival.

Alyssa Konsko, 18 of Allentown, PA relaxes on a bed of Firefly Saturday.

Allentown, PA residents Alex Murano, 21, left, and Alex Wendt, 21 carry Samantha Fruhwirth, 22, left and her sister Alex Fruhwirth, 20 into the front gates of Firefly Saturday in Dover.

Blue-haired Jo Jo Sosa of Fort Collins, CO wore custom-made temporary tattoos on her face and body Saturday at Firefly.

Carolyne Ferreira, 21 and sister Amanda, 19 of Frederick, MD dance to the music at The Wodlands Saturday as they enjoy their weekend at the 4th annual Firefly Music Festival.

Austin, TX singer-songwriter Joe Pug performs Saturday on the Lawn Stage.

From left, Cari Berkowitz of Philadelphia, Amanda Bloom of Baltimore, Colleen Creamer of Philadelphia and Bonnie McGuire of Boulder, CO, pose for a photo in front of the giant Firefly sign.

Members of the Australian group Intergalactix perform Saturday

Firefly fan Aarika Webb of Dover was ready to enjoy a day of fun, music and friends.

Even security guards like Quintina Cooper of Washington, D.C. can't help dancing to the music at The Woodlands this weekend.

Gov. Jack Markell ran down a short list of musical acts he hopes to see this weekend at Firefly including Modest Mouse, Morrisey, Paul McCartney and Spoon during a press conference at Firefly Friday.

White paper egrets hang over a walkway at Firefly Friday afternoon

Knox Hamilton perform Friday on the Lawn stage

The crowd at one of Friday's Firefly concerts jammed up tight along the photo pit wall.

Wild Party perfoms to applause and cheers from the crowd

The Hunts of Chesapeake, VA perform on the Lawn stage Friday afternoon.

From left, Firefly Music Festival fans Madeline DoNatto, 18, Natalie Bock, 17 and Lucy Mernit, 17 all of Baltimore, MD try to navigate their way across a muddy pathway Friday

Liam Ridings, 18 of York, PA obliviously walks across a soaking wet mud path while on his smartphone.

The recent rain storms have left the grounds at Firefly Music Festival very muddy indeed.

Tom Flinn of Milford relaxes Friday afternoon ready to see one of his musical idols Paul McCartney Friday at Firefly.

Beatles fan Kyle Guzman and Caroline Cardoso, both 19 of East Windsor, NJ, were very excited to see Sir Paul McCartney in concert Friday.

Firefly Music Festival goers react to one of the bands performing on the stages at The Woodlands Friday

Edmund Kingham, 17, and Molly Brenner, 18, both of Danbury, CT, perform a Firefly dance Friday as the enjoy the tunes in the Woodlands.

Michael Natrin and Erin Magnin of Newark cheer on local band Fiance'

20dsn Firefly Friday 004 press conf

Happy to see his Dover friends again, Firefly Music Festival Director Greg Bostrom remarked that Firefly being back was like a big family reunion in the capital of the First State during a Friday press conference at The Woodlands

From right, Marco Dunlap of Newark jokes around with pals Tony Drew of Austin, TX and Marcus Potter of Lafayette, LA.

Nick Wilson, 19 and Emily Taylor, 18, both of Bel Air, MD live the hippie dream lifestyle Friday at Firefly.

From left, Hanging in the Hammock Hangout, Maleeha Ain, Matt Crooks and Lily Hamilton, all 18 of Leesburg, VA, relax in the woods near Dover International Speedway Friday.

Newark-based group Fiance' performs on the Forest stage Friday

Daniel Rottenborn hugs his girlfriend Ella Gambell, both of Yardley, PA, far right, as they wait for the gates to open Thursday evening during the first night of the 4th annual Firefly Music Festival

Firefly concert goers applaud Thursday evening during the set of the first band to play the music festival Cypher Clique, a local Dover based hip-hop group

Dover based hip hop group Cypher Clique featuring Jamal "Relay" James was the first group to perform Thursday evening at Firefly

Andrew Kolakowski of Clayton brought his wife Kelly, sons Roman, 15, and Zarek 11 and daughter Juilana, 15 to their annual musical Firefly pilgrimage

Young Rising Sun members perform on the Lawn Stage

From left, Firefly fans Holly Stevens of Newark, Haily Fontana of Newark, Kaitlin Haras of Wilmington, Jaida Barnes of Newark and Hanna Grabowski of Newark

Campbell King of Richmond, VA searches for friends amongst thousands of Firefly fans Thursday lined up waiting for the main gates to open.

Johanna Marie Matic of Dover, NJ does a roadside dance Thursday ready for the festival to begin.

Pat Clark of Mineola, NY and his pals use a selfie stick and take photos of themselves walking past The Monster Mile towards The Woodlands for the 4th annual Firefly Music Festival.

Macky Trabaudo of Clayton was one of many local people enjoying the Firefly Music Festival Thursday.

Elijah Cruise and Olivia Perdomo of Knoxville, TN entertain themselves Thursday afternoon with a beach ball as they wait in line along Persimmon Tree Road with thousands of other Firefly Music Festival fans.

Firefly fans go berserk as the main gates open at 5pm

Hundreds of Firefly Music Festival fans rush through the main gates Thursday evening at 5pm ready for their fun-filled weekend to begin.

From left, Firefly Music Festival attendees Rhonda Webb of Cleveland, OH; Danny Reardon of Cleveland, Shawn White of Cleveland; Dave Butler and Amy Coyle of Baltimore, MD and Buddy Reardon of Cleveland have an impromptu jam session at their campsite at The Woodlands Wednesday evening.

Tents for Firefly campers sit in a field in The Woodlands

From left, Tyler Lozzi, Tyler Shimkus, Kyle McKane and Katie Ernest of Binghampton, NY play a drinking game with playing cards and ice cold beer after arriving in Dover.

The campgrounds at The Woodlands were active Wednesday evening with campers starting to arrive in Dover for this weekend's Firefly Music Festival.

Rob Hilgefort of Park Hills, KY, right, and Don Honaker of Lexington, KY, walk around the Firefly Music Festival campgrounds with a GoPro camera filming campers.

With their camper, giant American flag and bicycle, 4-year Firefly Music Festival veteran Ryland Shattuck of Hockessin, his girlfriend Shannon Collins and his brother henry Shattuck, 15, were ready to take on the 4-day festival Wednesday evening.

Firefly fan Chris Harris of Smyrna topples the wooden tower during he and his fellow music festival campers' game of Giant Jenga.

Lauren Thompson of Finksburg, MD plays a round of ladderball at her Firefly campsite Wednesday evening.

Kent County Dept. of Public Safety asst. director of Public Safety/EMS Cindy Grygo of Hartly stands insie a trailer on the Firefly Music Festival grounds next to bags of paramedic equipment Wednesday.

Hartly Fire Company members Rob Barnes, left, and Greg Murray pull out their state-of-the-art stretcher from their ambulance at The Woodlands ready for any Firefly injuries.

Good News Natural Foods co-owners Marcia and Richard Collins of Milford hold a basket of fresh produce Thursday in their Governors Avenue store. The couple, longtime Beatles fans, were overjoyed to supply Sir Paul McCartney with 1,100 pounds of all organic produce for his entourage of 65 people to enjoy during the Firefly Music Festival.

A group of Firefly Music Festival party animals drives past Persimmon Tree Apartments Thursday morning on a golf cart.

The traffic was baked up along Persimmon Tree Road in front of Persimmon Tree Apartments Thursday morning with early Firefly attendees arriving being stopped at various security checkpoints.

Dawne Nickerson-Banez, owner of Frankfurt Bakery and Deli along Governors Avenue will be baking cupcakes for Friday's artist catering at Firefly Music Festival.

DOVER — After an abrupt ending Saturday night when a severe storm led organizers of the Firefly Musical Festival to evacuate The Woodlands at Dover International Speedway, the music resumed Sunday amid mud and under mostly blue skies.

On Sunday, Dover International Speedway’s Public Safety reported that, thanks to the cooperation of the artists and festival-goers, the grounds were cleared within an hour of the first alert issued just before 10 p.m. Within 30 minutes, lightning illuminated the night sky, thunder rumbled and rain began falling.

Kent County Public Safety, provider of paramedics and emergency response, reported Sunday there were no storm-related emergencies.

“The evacuation went as well as could be expected and we kept all patients in the public safety compound until they could safely return to their cars,” Cindy Grygo, assistant director of Kent County Public Safety, said. “All patients received care, but there were no injuries or emergencies related to the storm.”

Earlier Saturday Red Frog Events, organizers of Firefly, had adjusted the evening schedule in attempt to get in as many shows as possible before the expected severe weather moved in.

However, around 9:50 p.m. Saturday, tens of thousands fans pulled their cellphones from pockets and purses, not to take selfies but rather to read an alert on the Firefly app to clear festival grounds due to the likelihood of severe weather.

Dover Police Department also took to Twitter to urge people to “seek shelter in your vehicles and NOT tents, take down pop-up canopies, and flagpoles as well.”

The decision was made after forecasts from both an on-site meteorologist and the National Weather Service agreed on the likely arrival of a heavy storm that would bring heavy rain, wind, lightning and possibly hail.

Minutes after the mobile alert, musicians on stage were cut off to allow an announcement urging those who didn’t see the mobile notification to exit the festival.

“The safety and well-being of our patrons is our utmost concern,” said Ed Klima, senior director of the speedway’s Public Safety. Red Frog Events contracted to hold the festival at the speedway’s The Woodlands area. This year’s festival, it’s fourth, was a 90,000-ticket sell-out.

“As the day progressed,” Mr. Klima said on Sunday, “it became apparent that several different weather systems, including the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill, would be affecting the Dover area.”

Red Frog had hopes shows could resume after the storm passed but another alert was issued around 12:30 a.m. Sunday canceling the remaining gigs.

The show goes on — sort of

Of the shows interrupted or canceled Saturday night, Steve Aoki and The Chainsmokers were the only acts able to reschedule to play Sunday. As for Kid Cudi and Sublime with Rome, fans had to make due with a partial set.

Those who had waited for Kings of Leon had the real letdown.

“They’re my sister’s favorite band and she’s waited four years to see them,” Tom Heaney of Smyrna said. “We’ve been excited to see them since rumor came out last summer that they’d be here because they never come to this area.

“It’s a real bummer but we tried to make the best of the situation by hooking up some speakers to our trailer and having a dance party in the rain. We must have been up until almost 3 a.m.”

Thousands of others had a dance party Sunday afternoon listening to electro-house musician Aoki who played dance mixes on the Backyard Stage.

“I’ve been to Firefly every year, but this is my friend’s first time and Steve Aoki was one of four bands he wanted to see,” Tom Massey, of New York, said. “He basically cried himself to sleep last night when we found out Steve wasn’t playing.”

Thanks to an alert from the Firefly app, Mr. Massey and his friend, Jonathan Salvador, found out Aoki was rescheduled.

Steven and Ali Mergaman came from Philadelphia and Aoki was at the top of their list of acts to see.

“Even after they told us to leave last night, we hung around for as long as possible, hoping he would still play but we finally got kicked out,” Mr. Mergaman said.

Aoki’s rescheduled show did not leave any fans disappointed. His full set included a wide range of music including Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” “The Lion King” theme, ‘90s’ rap and hip-hop, Kid Cudi and Oasis’ “Wonderwall” which featured The Chainsmokers.

Aside from the high energy show Aoki put on and the music that kept the crowd on its feet, fans were doused in confetti, streamers, champagne and even cake, all making for a memorable performance.

“We were so glad when we found out he had rescheduled and the show was awesome,” Ms. Mergaman said.

Mud bath

Whether dancing to house music or just walking around the festival grounds, feet were covered in mud. Mud has been a problem throughout the festival but Saturday night’s storm resurrected the wet, sloppy mess Friday’s and Saturday’s sunshine had partially dried.

Many of the muddy areas were filled in with wood shavings to sop up some of the water while vendors laid out plywood so customers wouldn’t sink past their ankles in mud.

The worst areas were close to the main stage where a pool had formed and was actually fenced off and in the walkways between different areas of the festival, especially those in the shade.

The path between the two main portions of the festival was probably the worst with Firefly fans cautiously wading through the mud, trying to figure out the safest path. Some inched along the fence and others held hands not to slip.

Some even went barefoot.

“We saw how bad it was and were just like, ‘screw it,’” said Haley Wagaman from Connecticut with her friend Caroline Nixon. “We decided to go barefoot and I love it, as you can see, my legs are practically covered in mud and I even fell down in it but that’s all right.”

The two were staying to see Sunday night’s headliner, The Killers.

Despite the rain, mud, baking sun and canceled shows, fans still were partying and jamming out to the last bands to perform at the festival.