When Kevin Lyman, founder of the Vans Warped Tour, announced, “With many mixed feelings, I am here to announce that the last full cross-country run of the Vans Warped Tour will take place in 2018,” the hearts of every emo, goth, pop-punker, and metalhead across the country shattered. How could the Warped Tour, the longest running North-American festival concert tour, be coming to an end?
It’s the tour where bands like Blink-182 had their start. It was the platform for the bands you loved in middle school like Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, Jimmy Eat World, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance to play their music to excited concert-goers in the summers since 1995.
With nearly 2,000 bands having played the Warped Tour, and even some wild cards like Katy Perry and Eminem, so many members of the alternative music scene have a soft spot for the tour.
It’s where bands and concert-goers have always had the “best summer ever.” At the very least, it is has always been a time in the summer where you are just about guaranteed to see someone dressed like Spider Man on a 90 degree day moshing or a man crowd surfing on an inflatable raft. The Vans Warped Tour is no easy feat in the summer. It begins in the morning and ends at night, with six different stages going at once. All the while, concert-goers are trying to make sense of the complicated performance schedule, as it’s released each day when doors open. You have to ward off sunburn, dehydration, heat stroke, and people who are a little too excited for the Warped Tour. I may or may not have seen a coven of witches at a 2015 date. By the time you get home that night, you feel as though you’ve really accomplished something, even if all that was was listening to some music.
It really is now or never. If you don’t catch the Warped Tour on July 27 at the XFinity Center in Mansfield, then you’ll never have another chance to. Even if you don’t think the music is really your scene, going with a group of friends to people watch and explore is almost worth the price of the $45 ticket alone. You’ll definitely have some laughs, or maybe you’ll discover all the free stuff. With so many company sponsors and charities hitting the road for the summer with the bands, you’ll be walking out of the Warped Tour with string backpacks, pens, CDs, and more—even possibly covered in body paint. The Warped Tour is always exciting and unpredictable.
Do you want to jump around listening to “Don’t Trust Me” by 3OH!3? Sing along to “Check Yes Juliet” by We the Kings? Finally see your middle school faves like Mayday Parade and Simple Plan? Or maybe your current favorites like The Maine, Knuckle Puck, and State Champs? This is the summer to do it. And it’s your last chance.