While punk shows are known for happening in basements, dirty clubs, and run-down venue halls, the summer of 1995 made it a little bit easier for kids to go to shows. Founded by Kevin Lyman, the Vans Warped Tour has traveled all across the United States, with a few stops in Canada, to bring punk rock and underground music scenes to kids who don’t have a local scene. The annual punk rock summer camp has featured artist such as punk rock staples like Bad Religion, NOFX, The Casualties, and Sick of it All to mainstream misfits Katy Perry, Bebe Rexha, Eminem, and the Black Eyed Peas. Recently, Lyman announced that after 24 summers of straight touring, Warped Tour will be hitting the road for the final time in 2018. Although 2018 will be the final tour, Warped will be back in 2019 to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Since its inception, the tour has been held in outdoor venues and mainly in the parking lots of larger venues. This enabled kids to be able to go to shows for the first time as the names of well-known venues were attached to the tour. In 1996, Vans came on as the tour’s main sponsor which brought the punk and skateboarding worlds even closer than they already were. Mini-ramps and halfpipes were set up at the shows and people can be seen skating the ramps as bands played in the background. A picture-perfect summer for any punk rock kid.
The tour became a place where blue hair was not only accepted but encouraged. “It was one of the first places I felt accepted during high school”, said 24-year-old Casey. “I didn’t have to worry about anyone calling my hair weird or my clothes. I could just be myself.” Many young kids who grow up in the punk scenes had the same worries found solace at the Vans Warped Tour. “It was the only place I could see Less Than Jake, The Bouncing Souls, Paramore, and The Devil Wears Prada at one show”, said Daniel about his experience at the tour in 2009. The Van’s Warped Tour has been known for its diverse lineups that have shifted with the trends of underground music.
In its early days the tour was primarily a punk and ska festival with some hardcore acts; however, as the music scene shifted in the 2000s, pop-punk and metalcore soon began to take over the tour. In its early days the tour was primarily a punk and ska festival with some hardcore acts; however, as the music scene shifted in the 2000s, pop-punk and metalcore soon began to take over the tour. The tour started to stray slightly from its punk roots as bands who sold merch at Hot Topic and embraced ethics that strayed away from the DIY ethos of punk began to populate the tour.
Throughout its 24-year run, Warped Tour has done a lot to encourage festival goers to be an active part of their community and scene. Each summer, non-profit groups set up tents at the festival grounds to help spread the word about their charity and organization to Warped Tour’s young following.
However, Lyman has always enjoyed stirring the pot and creating a dialogue, which is what punk and hardcore should be all about. Lyman pointed out that Rock for Life is just one of 73 nonprofit organizations on the tour including Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice. Critics of the tent claimed that the tent created an “unwelcoming environment” to young impressionable women at the concert; however, Lyman asserts that “Punk rock was about welcoming all points of view, you can make your own decisions, and opposing platforms and views are important.”
An anti-abortion tent isn’t the only controversy the Warped Tour has faced in its 24 years. It’s also had its fair share of sexual abuse allegations amongst band members on the tour. The most notable one came when Lyman allowed known sexual harasser Jake McElfresh, a.k.a. Front Porch Step, perform an acoustic set on the 2015 leg of the tour. McElfresh was accused of sending sexually explicit photos to a minor when he was 23-years-old. He also used his status to have inappropriate social media relationships with teenage fans. Lyman allowed him to play an unannounced acoustic set after meeting with McElfresh’s personal counselor who told Lyman that performing was a part of his therapy. Lyman claimed that he wasn’t a danger to anybody and that two security guards were around the stage while he performed. For many bands on the tour, that simply was not enough.
According to Lyman, Warped Tour is coming to end due to many different factors, mainly exhaustion. Lyman has been on tour for 26 years straight, and has been putting together Warped Tour for 24 years. He also cites an evolving summer festival industry, declining ticket sales, and a shrinking pool of bands to play the tour. While the Warped Tour has changed since it began 24 years ago, it’s an important part of the culture of independent music. Its helped countless kids find out about new and exciting bands, as well as encouraging participation in the scene. Despite its controversy and shift in sound, the last year of the punk rock travelling circus should be a celebration of all it did for punks over the years and all it did for bands who may have never gotten popular without it.
Quiet Company 