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Chris Demakes (L) and Roger Manganelli of Less than Jake perform during the Vans Warped tour at Pier … More 30/32 on June 27, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
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After a five-year pause, the Vans Warped Tour is making a nostalgic and novel comeback. Marking its 30th anniversary this year, the tour kicked off a three-city jaunt June 14-15 in Washington, D.C. followed by shows July 26-27 in Long Beach, California, and Nov. 15-16 in Orlando, Florida.
Returning artists Falling in Reverse, 311, Ice Nine Kills, Simple Plan, Asking Alexandria and Black Veil Brides join new acts Avril Lavigne, Body Count and Better Lovers on stage. An 88-page Official Vans Warped Tour Guide this year features a foreword by Warped founders Kevin Lyman and new interviews with Avril Lavigne, MGK, Simple Plan and All Time Low. The guide also includes “Warped Memories” comics illustrated by Luke McGarry and stories from Warped Tour regulars Mark Hoppus and Hayley Williams.
In partnership with Z2 Comics, the nostalgic festival is spotlighting comics at performances to engage younger fans. Humor resonates with newer generations seeking out more authentic, immersive live shows built around real-life experiences. This offers artists new opportunities to design creative programming beyond the recent rise in virtual concerts, live streaming engagements, and concerts featuring design installations.
Z2 Comics President Josh Bernstein says, “Warped Tour was an amazing rite of passage for so many bands and fans over those years, and so probably many people’s first concert experience. Kevin built ‘a little festival that could’ back in 1996 with Sublime and others. And we’re talking about it 30 years later; it’s incredible.”
Most Warped Tour attendees this year are first-time festival-goers, illustrating the success of blending tradition with innovation. Festival community engagements like food and blood drives are growing community engagement and new connections among socially responsible fans. More than 250,000 complimentary zines were distributed to attendees wanting a lasting memory of the event.
Jeffree Star performs during the Vans Warped tour at Pier 30/32 on June 27, 2009 in San Francisco, … More California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
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Warped Tour tickets sold out for the first two events before bands were announced. Tickets are fairly priced at $149.99 per two-day event compared to most festivals that cost upwards of $600 for general admission weekend access.
According to Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, personal interactions between fans and artists are vital to the festival brand’s long-term cultural relevance and success. The first show received positive reviews, he says, crediting nostalgia of the tour and its future focus on community and bands.
Lyman says that as a professor at the University of Southern California, he has noticed among his students over the past few years that concepts like zines are becoming important again. He notices that students burned out from constantly scrolling and using social media enjoy slowing down to read and absorb content on paper.
“Those moments and touchpoints like zines are becoming important to young people again. They also serve as a foundation for building community,” Lyman says. “If you can find that microcommunity to relate with, it’s a foundation for rebuilding the things we need as a society to be whole.”
Black Veil Brides founder and lead vocalist Andy Biersack considers the Warped Tour the most significant event in his life and says, “As a kid, it was my everything and my safe haven. As a young teen, it was my dream to be a part of it on stage, and as an adult, it was the single most vital and transformative thing for my career.”
Biersack, who considers Warped Tour production staff and artists his family, also met his wife, fellow musician Lilith Czar, on the Warped Tour. The pair serenaded each other from converted truck stages in amphitheater parking lots and spent evenings walking the festival grounds. Now future generations are carrying on the tradition in a new style.
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