It has been announced that the Vans Warped Tour will be returning on the 17th of October. The founder of the tour confirmed the return, Kevin Lyman, that the final return of the tour will be in 2025 after a six-year break, which was taken to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the tour.
It was disclosed that the event, which was traditionally a traditional punk rock summer camp when it returns in 2025, will function as a pop-up festival taking place in just three cities over two days each. It was noted that the events will take place in Washington, D.C. (June 14–15) as the first city while it will continue in Long Beach, Calif. (July 26–27), and then conclude in Orlando (Nov. 15–16). The founder noted that if the tour in the cities eventually becomes a hit, the management will consider taking some additional stops on the tour in years to come.
Before the tour took a break for six years, the tour had been under some allegations as members of varying bands have been accused of sexual assault and misconduct, including with minors, at the shows.
Launching the careers of pop-punk, pop-rock and alternative-rock mainstays like Blink-182, New Found Glory, Paramore, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, Warped Tour has a rich legacy of giving up-and-coming bands the platform to share their music and connect with fans across the continent. Genre outliers like the Black Eyed Peas and a 23-year-old, pre-fame Katy Perry have also taken the festival stage.
Some of the fans of the tour who spoke about the importance of the tour explained that the event had given them an opportunity to interact directly with some of their favourite artists. They also noted it gives them the opportunity to take some pictures and videos with their favourite fans and chat with them, too, if they grant permission for that and wait a little longer. It was also noted that the fans will have an opportunity to hang around with the bands after the wrap of the shows, though such events have contributed to the allegations of sexual misconduct that have arisen in the past years,
Kira-Lynn Ferderber, the founder of Safer Scenes, a bystander intervention workshop that was brought to Warped Tour in 2017, stated that the Wrapped Tour was everywhere, and It was said there were people who needed help to do the right thing more often. This has been the reason why the organization has been at the forefront of educating those who have attended the event, which will be a moment to interrupt all forms of sexual harassment.
The founder stated in 2015 that the Warped Tour does not tolerate any form of misbehaviour from the artists, assuring that they will be dealt with if such misbehaviour is seen through evidence. Amidst the allegation, Lyman stated in an interview in 2015 that sexual assault was part of the culture which the people continue to practice; the interview was conducted with Billboard.
In the middle of the allegation, Layman announced a partnership with a now-defunct nonprofit known as A Voice for the Innocent. The partnership was signed with the aim to start educating the members of the band on the best way to conduct themselves on the road, as well as provide a space for those who’ve been affected by sexual violence to share their stories. In another twist, on October 18, Lyman came under fire once again. The official X account for Warped Tour engaged with Falling in Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke, who’s previously been accused of sexual assault.
Lyman and a representative for the Vans Warped Tour did not immediately respond to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment.
Ahead of the Warped Tour in 2017, Ferderber connected with Shawna Potter, the lead singer of the hardcore punk band War on Women, after learning that she wanted to spotlight feminist resources on tour. Ferderber joined forces with War on Women to not only educate attendees but also support survivors of sexual violence at each tour date.
Federer noted that there was a series of stories about sexual violence at the date of the tour, but at live events in every genre, it has been a common practice for such stories. Federer further explained that the extra bummer about Warped Tour and other alt spaces is that the sexist bros are always convinced that they and their fans are somehow being punk and edgy by hating women. It’s so mainstream and boring, but it’s being sold as a rebellion.
Mariel Loveland, who fronted the pop-rock band Candy Hearts from 2009–17 and played at the Warped Tour in 2015, explained her experience at the tour as an unlikely one. She noted that her experience as a woman was really difficult to comprehend she now serves as the lead singer for the band Best Ex. She further explained that there was a difficult trend not just on Warped but on any of those pop-punk tours to shut up and not make a fuss about anything. She explained that the rule was to be happy, pleasant, and grateful amidst any form of harassment from the mates.
She expressed excitement about her participation in the Warped Tour, noting that it was a dream come true. She noted that the challenge of not protecting the females who attended was never the problem of the Warped Tour. She noted that the problem was with alternative music.
She explained that when she was at the Warped she watched bands openly talk about how they couldn’t hire women or have women on their bus because it would make their partners uncomfortable.
