After nearly a quarter century of being a hub for music lovers of all ages and backgrounds, Warped Tour is coming to an end. Producer and founder Kevin Lyman announced that the tour will cross the country one last time with an Atlanta stop scheduled for July 31.
Beginning exclusively as a punk music extravaganza in 1995, Warped Tour soon expanded into the music industry’s largest traveling festival, welcoming a variety of genres—from hip-hop and reggae, to pop and metal. As a festival that boldly tours in the hottest months of summer, it produces a diverse niche of dedicated fans that proudly wear their sunburns days succeeding the musical excursion.
“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,” Lyman wrote in a message on the festival’s site in November.
Lyman says there are a multitude of reasons for the tours sudden farewell—the growing number of competing festivals, declining ticket sales and shrinking pools of bands, but is hopeful the positive spirit will live on.
“The long hot days that ended around a BBQ with food, drink and more music are some of the best times,” Lynman wrote. “Enjoying the days off, taking people jet boating, house boating, river rafting and sometimes even skydiving. I witnessed lifelong friendships being made, sparks of romance that led to ‘Warped weddings,’ and unfortunately now, more notices of passings where a proper goodbye was not able to be said.”
The 2018 lineup, unveiled on Thursday, provides a blend of old and new, stacked with seasoned performers who have toured the country while also welcoming up-and-coming bands. Returning to the Warped Tour stage are Colorado natives 3OH3!, metalcore heroes Every Time I Die and the Amity Affliction, and Tallahassee-born quintet Mayday Parade. Other bands include Crown The Empire, As It Is, Knuckle Puck, Simple Plan, State Champs, and Real Friends, with Taking Back Sunday, Less Than Jake, Frank Turner, Knocked Loose, and Underoath signed on for select dates. Check out the festival poster below.
Over the years, the festival has earned its reputation as a place to experience rising bands and give audience members a chance to learn more about local non-profits. Participating non-profits this year include A Voice For The Innocent, American Red Cross, PETA2 and more.
The tour will consist of 38 stops, beginning on June 21st in Pomona, CA and zigzagging across the U.S. before bidding a final farewell in West Palm Beach, FL on August 5th. Although 2018 is the end of Vans Warped Tour as a nomadic unit, Lyman says 2019 will bring “a 25th anniversary celebration.”
In the meantime, Warped Tour will once again take on the summer heat with all the skating, Vans, and punk music they’ve always fostered, and it’s more heartfelt than ever.
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