By Kimberly B. Johnson
Longtime Vans-sponsored summer music festival, Warped Tour, will cease to continue after 2019. The news comes from festival founder, Kevin Lyman, in a statement released on the website this week:
"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.
I sit here reflecting on the tour’s incredible history, what the final run means for our community, and look forward to what’s to come as we commemorate the tour’s historic 25th anniversary in 2019."
The festival is regarded as the Punk Rock Summer Camp that helped launch the careers of artists like Sublime, No Doubt and even Katy Perry– who many may forget made a number appearances on the tour back in the mid-2000s.
[post_ads]There are many esoteric memories associated with the festival for a legion of millenials – moshpits during Blessthefall, walls of death during Killswitch Engage – but as a whole, the event felt like a fundamental must for every summer. Lyman writes:
"Though the tour and the world have changed since ’95, the same feeling of having the ‘best summer ever’ will live on through the bands, the production teams, and the fans that come through at every stop."
Even with scandals plaguing the tour – like sexual violence allegations in 2015 and controversy revolving singular acts like claims of sexual exploitation by Jesse Lacey of Brand New – the tour as a whole was a hugely positive and formative event for many.
For those of us who attended – 2, 3 or even 4 times a year just because we had that friend with the car and time to kill – this will feel like the end of an era, and rightfully so.
The tour will end in 2019, marking its 25th year. For more info on the final events, and to read Lyman's statement in full, head to the festival's official site.
Even with scandals plaguing the tour – like sexual violence allegations in 2015 and controversy revolving singular acts like claims of sexual exploitation by Jesse Lacey of Brand New – the tour as a whole was a hugely positive and formative event for many.
For those of us who attended – 2, 3 or even 4 times a year just because we had that friend with the car and time to kill – this will feel like the end of an era, and rightfully so.
The tour will end in 2019, marking its 25th year. For more info on the final events, and to read Lyman's statement in full, head to the festival's official site.
