Do you recall your first experience at Warped Tour? I certainly do. My friend Mark and I convinced our buddy Sarah to drive us by offering her a ticket. She arrived at my house with this tall guy sporting highlighted hair, baggy jeans, and a sleeveless shirt. He looked about 18, but at 15, I figured he must be in his 30s. He sped us from Provo to the Salt Lake City fairgrounds at lightning speed. What should have been a one-hour trip? We made it in just 30 minutes!
It was a sweltering July, and those mosh pits felt like they were boiling. During the set by the Deftones, I got decked in the face, and that guy with the fancy car left the show looking like he’d fought a bear, clothes all torn and tattered.
Next summer, that wild day will be two decades ago! We thought we were so cool back in 1998, didn’t we? Now, we’re just a few years away from having to schedule our first colonoscopy. How did this happen?
For many of us, Warped Tour was our home. I attended the festival every year from 1998 until 2004, the year I got married. I saw artists like Blink-182, Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas, and Katy Perry before they became mega-stars. I also jammed out to icons like Pennywise, Social Distortion, NOFX, and The Offspring, who provided the soundtrack to my teenage years.
And I know I’m not alone. There’s a reason Warped Tour holds the title of the longest-running touring music festival in North America. If you’re reading this, you probably have fond memories of sweaty mosh pits and the thrill of discovering new music.
But all good things must come to an end. After 24 years on the road, Kevin Lyman, the festival’s founder, is calling it quits. In a heartfelt announcement on the Warped Tour page, he shared, “I have been a very lucky person to have traveled across the country and sometimes around the world as one of the founders and producers of the Vans Warped Tour. Today, with many mixed feelings, I am here to announce that next year will be the final, full cross-country run of the Vans Warped Tour.”
In an interview with Billboard, he pointed to an evolving festival landscape, a dwindling number of bands, and decreasing ticket sales from the teenage crowd as reasons for this decision. Simply put, Warped Tour isn’t as culturally significant as it once was. I’m just as disappointed as you are. My kids will never experience the thrill of plotting their path through a massive lineup of stages, racing to catch their favorite bands. They won’t know the feeling of crowd surfing or the desperation of losing a shoe to a rogue audience member.
While the lineup for 2018 is still under wraps, there’s speculation about bands like My Chemical Romance, Blink-182, and even Katy Perry making appearances. For the sentimental folks, there are final tour packages available, including collectible Warped Tour Vans, although I wouldn’t recommend wearing them to the show if you plan on crowd surfing.
And here’s something for the parents: if you bring your child, you get in for free! That’s right—one ticket for your kid means one ticket for you. My kids are still quite young, so I’m not sure they’ll appreciate the chaos, but if you have a tween or teen who doesn’t find you entirely embarrassing, this is a golden opportunity to relive your glory days. The final tour is likely to feature a mix of nostalgic bands and fresh talent your kids will enjoy.
Now seems like a perfect time to share a throwback photo. It’s therapeutic to mourn a loss together. Below is a pic of young Jamie Thompson post-Warped Tour in 1999. Wasn’t my grunge-inspired hair magnificent?
Share your Warped Tour memories in the comments. Thank you, Warped Tour, for the unforgettable experiences.