#RIPWarpedTour: The End of an Iconic Festival

By Karissa Lund • 06 Aug 2018 in News

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Although it never hit our shores, this music festival (that has been around since 1995) has indirectly impacted our lives with everything loud. After 24 summers, Vans Warped Tour–the traveling alternative music festival beloved for its summer-camp atmosphere–officially ended yesterday on 5 Aug.

While many will protest that it will always be remembered as a “punk festival”, we prefer to view it as a celebration of alternative genres. The festival also played an integral part in introducing bands who would later become staples in the alternative scene that inspired many Malaysian musicians and listeners.

Founder of the Warped Tour, Kevin Lymen cited that declining ticket sales and fewer bands participating were a few reasons why the festival ceases to exist, though it might have something to do with exhaustion, too.

“Before Warped I was on three years of Lollapalooza, so [it’s been] 26 straight summers out on the road. Not that I’m completely going anywhere, but traveling around the country with a tour this size in the landscape that we’re in is… to be honest, I’m just tired,” he told Billboard.

He also took to Twitter yesterday to share a few words on the final day.

Wow @VansWarpedTour has just ended and I am watching the last tail lights leave the lot. I have done what I can do and now it is your turn. Do amazing things, much love to those who got it! pic.twitter.com/F3BePvaUX2

— KevinLyman (@KevinLyman) August 6, 2018

Vans Warped Tour gained initial success through rock bands, especially from the late-90s and early-00s, spanning genres such as punk (like NOFX and Pennywise), ska (Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish), emo (My Chemical Romance, From First to Last) and pop punk (Blink-182, Fall Out Boy), and even featured on tour, with some expected-criticism, big names like Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Ice-T, Sugar Ray, Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas (who were a pretty legit hip hop group in ’96), and Katy Perry.

It’s an end of era as musicians and fans are paying homage by tweeting their fondest memories of the festival accompanied by #RIPWarpedTour

THANK YOU WEST PALM BEACH!
We ended the way we began w/@KevinLyman himself & @Pennywise
We now give this tour to the fans. Take the spirit of Warped w/you into your lives and do great things. Build each other up, engage in philanthropic endeavors, and never forget your roots. pic.twitter.com/ZvtSXvS1nj

— Vans Warped Tour (@VansWarpedTour) August 6, 2018