The Ladybug Festival

The Ladybug Festival is a celebration of women in music taking place annually in both Wilmington, and Milford, Delaware. Started in 2012 by Gable Music Ventures, the idea was to offer an alternative to the Firefly Music Festival that was focused on local independent artists, and free for the community to attend. Michael and Debbie Schwartz, owners of the popular Shops and Lofts at 2nd & LOMA, engaged the company to throw a live music block party for their tenants shortly after Firefly was announced. Gable used the timing of the request to put on the first ever “Ladybug Festival”, featuring an all-female lineup of artists local to the Wilmington/Philadelphia music scene. From 2012 through 2017 the event grew to be one of the most popular in Wilmington, with attendance doubling every year. At the 2017 event, the Mayor of Wilmington made a Mayoral Proclamation of Ladybug Day! As the event has grown, Gable Music Ventures has become even more inspired to make an impact for women in the music industry. The Ladybug Festival not only exclusively hires female or female-identifying fronted bands, but we do our best to hire as many women as we can for available positions on festival staff.