Franz Ferdinand (Photo by Andy Knowles)

Parklife DC previously filled you in on the headliners at Firefly Music Festival 2017, scheduled for June 15-18 at The Woodlands in Dover, Delaware. But as festival revelers well know, it’s the acts that lead up to those headliners that make for a complete day at any given music festival. Here then are our picks for acts you shouldn’t miss at Firefly 2017.

First and foremost, if you were only going to Firefly for one day this year, we would recommend Friday or Sunday, when there is the highest concentration of most interesting acts. At the end of the day Friday, you can catch headliner Twenty-One Pilots. And at the end of the day Sunday, you can catch headliner Muse.

Here are other recommended acts to catch on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the festival.

Friday, June 16

Weezer (Photo by Sean Murphy)

In March, Weezer released “Feels Like Summer,” the lead single from their upcoming 11th studio album, Weezer (“The Black Album”). Rivers Cuomo and company have played at the Firefly Music Festival previously, so this is a welcome return to The Woodlands for the L.A. power poppers.

Watch the official music video for “Feels Like Summer” by Weezer on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efPWrIvzGgc]

Miike Snow (Photo by Nick Zinner, Joachim Belaieff, and Henrik-Korpi)

Neo-psychedelic Swedes Miike Snow have been on fire with their third studio album, iii, which spawned catchy singles like “Heart Is Full” and “Genghis Khan.”

Watch the official music video for “Genghis Khan” by Miike Snow on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_SlAzsXa7E]

Franz Ferdinand (Photo courtesy Press Here)

Franz Ferdinand, the irresistible post-punk Scots, have lost guitarist Nick McCarthy! But they are hard at work on their fifth studio album, and they are sure to clue us in on what’s going down with the band when they hit the United States for a summer tour, which includes their Firefly appearance.

Watch Franz Ferdinand perform “The Fallen” from 2005’s You Could Have It So Much Better on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncSWZHzNoiE]

Benny Benassi (Photo courtesy the artist)

No one says “cool” quite like Benny Benassi. The Italian DJ legend is a fixture at Coachella, so it’s nice to see him appear on the East Coast as well. He’s sure to keep the party going late!

Watch the official music video for “Cinema” by Benny Benassi featuring Gary Go (a personal fave by Benny):

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k01lcSB0-g]

Shaed (Photo courtesy Gold Atlas)

DC trio SHAED released their debut single “Just Wanna See” last year and hit the road on their first major tour. SHAED is multi-instrumentalist twin brothers Max and Spencer Ernst and vocalist Chelsea Lee. Together, they have drawn comparisons to Florence & The Machine, Sia, and Sylvan Esso, and they are certainly one of DC’s most exciting new bands.

Listen to “Just Wanna See” by SHAED on Soundcloud:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/250162179″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Saturday, June 17

Kesha (Photo by Yu Tsai)

Hopefully, Kesha is overjoyed by Sony Music’s confirmation that they have canned Dr. Luke. Now that he’s fucked off, maybe she can be free to make good music. Kesha stole DC’s heart with an intimate sold-out show at Black Cat in 2015, and we hope she’s going to come around a lot more often now.

Watch the official music video for “C’mon” by Kesha on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8A4QVop3-8]

Capital Cities (Photo courtesy the artist)

Jazzy synthpop duo Capital Cities rode their debut album for several strong years of touring before beginning to drop new music in 2016. There have been hints that a new album is in the works, so perhaps we will hear even more new songs?

Watch the official music video for “Vowels,” a 2016 single from Capital Cities, on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2DkJjBiCWY]

DJ Jazzy Jeff (Photo courtesy MN2S)

Philadelphia native Jeffrey Townes, aka DJ Jazzy Jeff, teamed up with Will Smith in 1986 and knocked it out of the park with “Girl’s Ain’t Nothin But Trouble” as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Jeff and Will are set to perform together in Europe for a few dates in August, believe it or not! Meanwhile, we welcome Jazzy Jeff to Firefly solo.

Check out DJ Jazzy Jeff on Soundcloud:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/users/564099″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

Sunday, June 18

Phantogram (Photo by Timothy Saccenti)

In October 2016, Phantogram released their third studio album, Three, and blazed a trail across the country with its infectious songs. The dreampop duo recently killed it in two sold-out shows at 9:30 Club, and it’s great to see them back in the area with Firefly.

Watch the official music video for “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” by Phantogram on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jryzEU7WAlg]

Bleachers (Photo by Daniel Silbert)

Jack Antonoff is having a great deal of fun as Bleachers, which is scheduled to release its second full-length album, Gone Now, on June 2 via RCA Records. Let’s hope he keeps up the new wave vibes.

Listen to second single “Hate That You Know Me” from the forthcoming album by Bleachers on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s__nbrPlCT0]

Hamilton Leithauser (right) with Rostam (Photo by Josh Goleman)

In 2016, Hamilton Leithauser teamed up with Rostam to release the album I Had a Dream That You Were Mine, bringing classic big band stylings to contemporary indie rock and all the while being very suave. When you call for DC to represent, Hamilton will answer! Hamilton’s hitting Firefly solo, so expect some great tunes from his first solo album and perhaps a hint of new material?

Watch the official music video for “A 1000 Times” by Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9FILAkKinQ]

Buy your tickets online. (Single day passes available, starting at $79!)

Firefly Music Festival
The Woodlands (Dover, Del.)
Thursday, June 15, to Sunday, June 18, 2017
Gates @TBA
Single Day: $79 and up
GA: $289 and up
VIP: $699-$2,499
All ages