Dover hip-hop group Trio kicks off Firefly Festival with a much-hyped performance in the campgrounds on Thursday. Jason Minto/The News Journal

Trio performing at the northeast hub stage in the premier camping area at the Firefly Music Festival in Dover.(Photo: Jason Minto, The News Journal)Buy Photo

When they started the hip-hop group Trio three years ago, the goal for Matt "Tribe Beats" Howe,Matt "Meeze" Coston and Samuel "SAM" Carter III was to make it to Firefly as performers.

In 2016, they got a step closer.

"Last year, we worked here (Firefly) selling beer," Carter said.

This year Trio kicked off the festival with a much-hyped performance in the campgrounds on Thursday.

With a 10 a.m. show time at the Northeast Hub stage,campers were eager to get the party started early.

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The campground felt like a morning on the beach, the atmosphere reminiscent of spring break. The weather was warm and sunny with a nice breeze, and Fireflygoers were out and about playing volleyball, cornholeand enjoying a mid-morning beer while relaxing in the sun.

Camps were being set up withunique designs ranging from rows ofconnected canopies to homemade couches, sofasand tables. The dust in the air covered vehicles almost as soon as they parked, but festivalgoers were prepared, wearing bandannas over their mouths to breathe easier.

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Inside the Hub, which houses a stage and vendors, the vibe was completely different.

It was live, with the speakers turned up to the max. The bass could be felt in the air and the ground was shaking. Fans poured into the Hub with smiles on their faces, bumping to the bass as Trio hyped them up.

Trio energized a crowd that grew throughout the concert from about 50 to a few hundred. Fans were on their feet, throwing hands in the airand bouncing beach balls around the stage. Fans roared in response to the group, and when the DJstopped the music and asked the crowd to shout lyrics to one of their original songs, fansresponded, getting louder and louder.

The hip-hop group changed the pace with "I Want it That Way" byBackstreet Boys and the crowd initially laughed -- but then started singing along. The group went from Backstreet Boys to thebeat of Jay-Z's "New York" and straight into "Party in the USA" byMiley Cyrus to re-energize the crowd before jumping back into their originals.

Trio put in their work to perform at Firefly, group members said. It wasn't easy to get a spot.

News Journal producer Jeff Taviano tours his camping site at Firefly Music Festival and shares his tips for surviving the festival and the weather. Jason Minto and Daniel Sato/The News Journal

We sent tons of emails over the year," Coston said. "And they finally got back to us, and here we are.

Now in its sixth year, Firefly has grown from a 30,000-person, three-day indie rock festival in 2012 to a four-day, camping-and-music festival that last year drew 90,000 and genres from rock to hip-hop to alt-country and more. Its reputation has grown, too.

Its great to have this in our backyard, we had to be here," Coston said.

With so many acts on the lineup, even the artists take the time to check out fellow performers. They'll be there when Chance the Rapper, Wale and Twenty One Pilots play, they said.

Trio is aiming to return to Firefly, only next time they want to take their talents to the main festival grounds.

Our goal is to play on the big stage in the festival and we will be back," Coston said.

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Dover's Trio starts the campground party at Firefly - The News Journal