The Final Vans Warped Tour
So here we are, just about a month away from the start of Vans Warped Tour and the feeling this year is a bit of sadness instead of excitement.
The 2+ month traveling music festival, also known as the punk rock summer camp, has been a summer staple in the punk rock music scene for the last 24 years; an annual who’s in and who’s on the rise for bands and fans. And after all this time, tour creator Kevin Lyman announced that 2018 will be the last full cross-country tour for the festival.
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This year's tour is bittersweet for me, really. I have been attending the festival every summer since 2006 and loved every minute of it, but I was not surprised at all when I saw the headline pop up on my phone last year. Let's be honest here, the music scene that bases itself in just isn't the same as it once was; bands put on their own festivals and tours and attendance has been lacking. In an interview with Billboard about the final tour, Lyman had this to say about attendance:
“It hasn’t been fun the last few years. . .
We were doing fine, but we had a pretty big dip last year. It was that younger end of the demo.”
He associates the new generation and their stay at home mentality as a possible reason as to why the younger kids aren't showing up anymore. And after so many years on the road and dealing with everything that comes along with a tour like this, Lyman admits that he is tired and it was just time to close the door on the last remaining major touring music festival.
So why have I continued going to Warped Tour every single year? Because it's something that has been a huge part of my life. Like many kids, I would save money specifically for it every year for tickets, merch, CDs. For many years Warped Tour was my back to school shopping. Going to the tour meant having a road trip with my friends and making new friends. When you get there, sure its hot, but you have the time of your life watching band after band. You find your new favorite band right after watching your favorite band. And like many people, I dreamed of being more involved with the tour and in 2011 I got that opportunity.
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In 2011, it had to be the best Warped Tour ever. Not just because the lineup was amazing (and it was), but because I had the opportunity to be a part of the entire tour; from day 1 to day 43. |
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I had an experience of a lifetime and I met the amazing individuals that have made it possible for me to do what I do today.
So fast forward to 2018, the last year of the Vans Warped Tour. The tour may not have that “going out with a band” lineup, but it's the same tour at its core that I've been attending for 12 years. Take a look at what the tour has managed to accomplish in its past 24 years:
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11 Million tickets sold (over 24 years)
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$2.5 Million donated to MusiCares ($0.25 of every ticket sold)
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1.7 Million lbs of food collected for Feed Our Children Now
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500,000 pints of blood donated to the American Red Cross
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300,000+ lbs of recycling collected and diverted from landfills
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2,612 voters registered via the non-partisan group HeadCount
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1,700+ bands over 24 years
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24 summers of music discovery!
The tour begins on June 21st and will come to a close on August 5th. Bands like All Time Low, Story of the Year, Sum 41, Less Than Jake, and Pennywise will be taking part in portions of the tour; while Mayday Parade, State Champs, The Maine, and Every Time I Die will be a few of the bands on the entire tour.
If you're one of those individuals that has always thought about going but never made the commitment, well this is your last chance. It doesn't matter if you like 1 band or 10 bands on the tour, it's something you’ll have to look back on knowing you never experienced.
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Tickets are available now for all dates on the 2018 Vans Warped Tour: https://vanswarpedtour.com/dates/
And tour dates are as follows:
| 6/21 POMONA, CA 6/22 SAN DIEGO, CA 6/23 MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA 6/24 VENTURA, CA 6/28 PHOENIX, AZ 6/29 LAS VEGAS, NV 6/30 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 7/01 DENVER, CO 7/03 ST/ LOUIS, MO 7/05 BONNER SPRINGS, KS 7/06 DALLAS, TX 7/07 SAN ANTONIO, TX 7/08 HOUSTON, TX 7/10 NASHVILLE, TN 7/12 VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 7/13 CAMDEN, NJ 7/14 HOLMDEL, NJ 7/15 HARTFORD, CT 7/16 PITTSBURGH, PA |
7/17 TORONTO, ON 7/18 CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH 7/19 CINCINNATI, OH 7/20 DETROIT, MI 7/21 CHICAGO, IL 7/22 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 7/23 MILWAUKEE, WI 7/24 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 7/25 DARIEN CENTER, NY 7/26 SCRANTON, PA 7/27 MANSFIELD, MA 7/28 WANTAGH, NY 7/29 COLUMBIA, MD 7/30 CHARLOTTE, NC 7/31 ATLANTA, GA 8/02 JACKSONVILLE, FL 8/03 ORLANDO, FL 8/04 TAMPA, FL 8/05 WEST PALM BEACH, FL |
