Which was better: Mondegreen or Firefly? These Delaware music fans went to both festivals

When Phish's Mondegreen music festival opened on Thursday, Aug. 15, at The Woodlands in Dover, some fans who had roamed the same festival grounds for the Firefly Music Festival had an out-of-body experience – no drugs needed.

"It was the same, but different," as Newark's Mike Zenorini put it. "It was kind of weird to see."

For 10 years, starting in 2012, Firefly transformed the wooded area previously used as RV camping lots for Dover Motor Speedway's NASCAR races into a musical wonderland, hosting everyone from Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar to Tom Petty and Eminem.

This time around, Mondegreen festival organizers leaned on all Firefly had learned over the years, shadowing their game plan when it came to organization and infrastructure, taking full advantage of a decade of trial and error at Firefly, which drew up to 90,000 people in 2015.

While Mondegreen's performance stage for Phish was the same main stage used as Firefly's headliners, all of the other areas once home to Firefly's other six stages were dark when it came to live music, mostly used as camping areas for Phish fans.

So for Firefly fans, it was a Woodlands unlike they've ever seen it.

It also was new for Phish fans since the band's 11th festival was coming to Delaware for the first time. In fact, Mondegreen was the first Phish-hosted festival in nearly 10 years following 2015's Magnaball, held in upstate New York.

We spoke to three Delawareans who attended both Mondegreen and multiple years of Firefly to get their on-the ground thoughts comparing the two experiences in this Battle of the Woodlands:

• Zenorini, 43, who attended nine Firefly festivals and has seen Phish 33 times, including at one of the band's previous festivals: 2011's Super Ball IX in Watkins Glenn, New York.

• Brian Lofink, 48, of Wilmington, who attended the first eight Firefly fests and has seen 50 Phish concerts.

• And David Nordheimer, 64, of Arden, who went to Firefly five times and has seen seven Phish concerts.

Here's what they had to say about their say about their return to The Woodlands, which had been lifeless since the final Firefly in 2022.

What was the Mondegreen crowd like?

If festival organizers expected 45,000 people – a final attendance figure was not released – it sure felt it during Phish's performances for Delaware fans, who reported that the grounds got pretty crowded as the band jammed on.

"I really didn't move," Lofink said. "It was crowded to the point where I didn't want to leave to go to the bathroom and then not be able to get back to my spot."

In general, the Mondegreen crowd was older than Firefly, especially its final several years when the musical lineups targeted a younger fan base.

Zenorini estimated the average age for Mondegreen was 20 years older than Firefly. "But the excitement was maybe even better," he added.

What was Mondegreen's vibe

Firefly was a fun scene that cast a wide net, drawing all kinds of fans in terms of musical likes, age and more. It sometimes felt more like a party where the social scene and people-watching in the field was just as important as what was happening on stage.

If Firefly was more of a rager, Mondegreen was more of a fun-filled family gathering. There's a reason why Phish fans call their community a "pham" – there is a familial bond since many attend multiple shows each year, building on the close-knit community and following that the Grateful Dead had established years before.

"I don't want to say family reunion, but it was kind of like that," Zenorini said. "Everyone had a great attitude and was there for great time. I'm not saying Firefly wasn't like that, but it was a more cohesive feeling."

As Lofink put it, "People were really friendly and striking up conversations because of that shared joy."

How was the music at Mondegreen?

Instead of the 40-plus sets from different acts each day sprawled across seven stages at Firefly's height – it shrunk significantly in its final years – Phish was the lone band playing the festival grounds, delivering nearly 14 hours of music across through eight unique sets spanning 75 different songs.

If you were there, it was because you're a Phish fan and you loved it.

If you were camping, there were "pods" – little shacks with makeshift stages – embedded in the campgrounds which hosted live nighttime music and comedy sets by those who didn't want the fun to end.

There was also Leigh Fordham Hall – a circus-like tent and theater on the festival grounds with game shows and live comedy sets – and Heliograph, "a retro-futuristic beacon" that hosted DJ sets, including one by The Roots' Questlove.

With everyone there for one band at Mondegreen, the crowd was focused in unison on Phish's set.

"Everyone was on the same page and in the same mind frame. They knew what they were there for," Zenorini said.

It was unlike Firefly, where its firehose of different musical acts meant some fans knew the band performing in front of them and others didn't.

Fans would sometimes camp out and save a good spot for their favorite act and sit through a few acts they didn't know or even like, leading to plenty of fans talking or not paying attention during sets. (Morrissey famously admonished the audience in 2015, some of whom came early to save spots for McCartney, who performed on the same stage an hour after the former Smiths singer's set.)

How was the camping at Mondegreen?

Lofink and Zenorini stayed in the RV camping site west of Route 1 near the speedway, which was not as close as it had been for Firefly.

Zenorini noticed a lot more RV camping for Mondegreen, a shift from Firefly where tents ruled. That pushed some of the RV camping sites further from the main festival grounds.

"The Phish community is a lot older than the Firefly community, so there's a lot more disposable income, more people spending money for comfort," he concluded.

How were the food and drinks at Phish festival?

The layout for the food and beer vendors at the main stage area was just as it had been for Firefly: food shacks lined up on the perimeter with Mondegreen's large-scale Taste the Beer tent where the Dogfish Head-branded beer tent had been for Firefly.

"The prices for food and drink were mostly on par, but I'd say everything was just a little more expensive. A beer was like $16 to $18," said Lofink, who gave the curated craft beer selection a thumbs-up.

Zenorini agreed that the prices have been creeping up, but it was in line with other festivals he has attended recently.

For Nordheimer, one of the pluses of round-tripping to the festival each day was being able to eat at home before and after. Especially after paying $18 for a falafel at Mondegreen one night and seeing poke bowls were $20.

"I'm not broke or anything, I just have a philosophical opposition to paying that kind of money for fast food," he said.

While some spots offered pizza slices for $12, there were some cheaper options such as $5 spring rolls and $7 hot dogs.

What was traffic and parking like at Mondegreen?

No one reported any major traffic issues getting in and out of the festival – including Nordheimer, who drove in each afternoon and left each night after the music ended.

Although, he admits, the trek from daily parking to the festival entrance was a lot farther than he expected. On the upside, there was less walking inside the festival grounds because it was just one band performing on a single stage.

While Firefly sure had its share of traffic nightmares – largely the headline-making, miles-long traffic jam in 2013 – entry and departure from the festival largely had smoothed out over the years as organizers honed their traffic plan. That carried over for Mondegreen.

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Outside of the festival grounds, Mondegreen had a handful of shuttles that would take fans from the speedway to the northern camping area, but there weren't enough of them with long lines waiting, Lofink reported.

Mondegreen had a lot more pedicabs with bicyclists zooming through the streets ferrying festivalgoers for $15 a person from their campsites to the festival entrance. Good thing. The length of the walk from the campgrounds to the festival site was the most heard complaint of the weekend.

How did the cost of Mondegreen compare with Firefly?

It cost $450 for a four-day Mondegreen pass, quite the jump from $299 for a general admission Firefly pass in 2022.

Undoubtedly, you would get more live music at Firefly pound-for-pound. But if you're a Phish phan, eight sets by your favorite band in four days is worth the cost.

For Nordheimer, it was about the peak he was willing to pay as a casual Phish fan who knew maybe 20 songs out of their sets all weekend: "It was a bit of a stretch, but you'd sort of be paying that money to see them for four nights anyway, just in a smaller venue."

Final verdict: Mondegreen vs. Firefly

For Lofink, choosing which festival was better would depend on which Firefly year he was comparing it with.

"But I really wouldn't say one was better than the other. Both did a great job and I don't see a major difference," he said, adding he would do both Mondegreen and Firefly again ― if Firefly's lineup improved. "It basically boils down to what you're looking for and whether you like Phish."

Nordheimer agrees – it would depend on which Firefly year for him to return.

"Some of those Firefly years were really great," said Nordheimer, who added that he would definitely do Mondegreen again. "But when it stopped being good for me, I just stopped going."

Zenorini said Mondegreen "felt like Firefly but better," even jokingly posting on his Facebook page after the festival: "Best Firefly yet!!"

He said he would also return for Mondegreen if Phish did it again. As for Firefly: "I would depend on the lineup. I'll never rule out Firefly."

For him, Mondegreen wins the overall battle of The Woodlands.

"Firefly was trying to find itself for 10 years, and this festival knew what it was," Zenorini said. "No matter where this festival goes, the fans really make it what it is from the get-go."

Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at [email protected] or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: After 10 Firefly festivals and 1 Mondegreen, fans compare experiences