After the first storm of fall sent the 2021 Firefly Festival schedule into a scatter, fans quickly ran to the Firefly stage with high hopes for another fun weekend on the east coast. girl in red kicked off Delaware’s annual event as the raindrops turned to rainbows. See Thursday highlights in our Firefly 2021 Day 1 Recap:

Phoebe Bridgers

Following a killer performance from girl in red, Phoebe Bridgers took the stage with her merry band of skeletons and filled the air with her angelic voice. laying a silk chiffon blanket atop the already misty autumn skies. From starting off her set with “Motion Sickness,” to covering Bo Burnham and finishing off with “I Know The End,” Bridgers couldn’t have set the stage for Billie Eilish any better than she did. – TK

Turnstile

Baltimore’s Turnstile brought welcomed chaos to an unpredictable night. Over the years, the hardcore punk band has made the leap from local heroes to full-fledged rockstars fueled by multiple EPs and albums. Sparking a sea of mosh pitters at their crowded set, the band delivered cuts from their new album, GLOW ON. – MT

Billie Eilish

Being arguably the biggest artist in attendance at this year’s festival, you could say fans were anticipating Billie Eilish’s performance for quite some time. Considering Firefly was her first festival performance since the global pandemic broke out in 2020, fans weren’t the only ones excited for this moment. Eilish came out with pigtails, high-top Nikes, and incredible energy ready to give fans the “best night of their life.” Singing her hits over hard drum beats, guitar solos from her collaborator and brother Finneas, and fans finishing the lyrics to almost every song, Eilish was truly one with the people. Concluding her set with a grand finale performance of her new album’s title track, “happier than ever,” everyone left the performance blown away and optimistic for the weekend ahead. – TK

carolesdaughter

The pressure of getting slotted at the same time as Billie Eilish could not stop carolesdaughter from unleashing an intriguing, genre-melting set. Beyond the piercings, dramatic makeup, and tats, the hypnotic alt-pop artist creates confessional, guitar-led tracks that are sincerely introspective while delivered with a palatably dark twist like “please put me in a medically induced coma” and ‘Trailer Trash.” While the rising star closed her performance with a fantastic cut of her breakout single, “Violent,” it was unreleased tracks “Target Practice” and “Audrey” that sealed an unforgettable set. – MT

Marc Rebillet

Bringing the strongest vibes and meme culture to Thursday night was Marc Rebillet. Despite the rainy weather, troves arrived robed, with totems, and ready to dance. It’s impossible not to feel absolute euphoria watching Rebillet. He’s charismatic onstage, frenetic, yet hilarious, doesn’t at all take himself too seriously, and you can tell he’s struck a deep chord with fans also just looking to vibe to absurdity and hear oddly catchy music. – MT

That’s a wrap on Firefly 2021 Day 1 Recap! Follow Soundazed on Instagram and Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.