Warped Tour

The performance schedule for the August 10, 2010 stop in Chula Vista, California, giving stages and set times for each act. Set times were determined on the day of the show and were posted for attendees on a large inflatable board.

Band performance times and sets were posted on an inflatable installation and were available in print for purchase from an on-site information stand.

Every year had a "BBQ Band". In exchange for the privilege of playing on the tour, the BBQ Band prepared the post-show barbecue for the bands and crew most evenings. Past BBQ Bands included the Dropkick Murphys, Art of Shock, and "The Fabulous Rudies".[11] Similarly, one band, Animo (formerly DORK), was permitted for four years to play on the tour in exchange for working on the setup crew. The "BBQ Band" for the 2016 tour was Reckless Serenade.

The tour began as a skate punk and third-wave ska tour but later came to feature largely pop punk and metalcore acts. Some hardcore and street punk bands also participated, such as the Casualties, the Unseen and Anti-Flag.

The tour was not set up in a single fixed format; each show venue dictated a different layout. The event was set up in early morning and struck late the same day. Heading into Canada, a bus transported supplies while another bus held equipment not needed during the brief jaunt over the border.[12]

Citing issues like transportation problems for minors and audience demographics trending younger each year, Kevin Lyman decided to let parents attend Warped Tour performances for free beginning in 2013. Parents had their own adult day care,[13] known as Reverse Day Care.[14] Grown-ups could spend the day waiting for their children in the Reverse Day Care tent, which offered ample seating, as well as fans or cooling devices to keep parents occupied during the festival.

The Alternative Press/Advent stage (left) and Glamour Kills stage (right) on the 2010 tour, an example of the tour's side-by-side stage setup. Acts play alternating 30-minute set times on the two stages.

The Warped Tour was created in 1995 by Kevin Lyman and Ray Woodbury, president of RK Diversified Entertainment, in production with the short-lived Warp Magazine and Creative Artists Agency. The tour began June 21 at the Idaho Center in Boise, Idaho, and ended August 18 in Detroit, Michigan.[15]

The tour usually was held at outdoor venues, though on rare occasions it was held indoors. In 1996, due to problems with the event venue, the show was forced to move indoors to The Capitol Ballroom nightclub in Washington, D.C.[16]

1996 was the first year for Vans as a sponsor; they remained the main sponsor for tours ever since.

In 1997, the Vans Warped Tour went international and included venues in Europe, Japan, Canada, and the United States.

In 1999, the tour started the new year in New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii. After a pause, it resumed its North American tour in the continental United States through the summer, before finishing the tour in Europe.

In 2009, the two main stages were condensed into one and bands were given 40-minute sets, as opposed to the traditional 30 minutes across the previous two stages. Despite this, the tour decided to bring back the two main stages concept with 35-minute sets instead for the 2012 tour and beyond.

In 2012, the Warped Tour traveled to London, the first time the tour had left North America since 1999.[17] In the UK and Europe, Warped Tour was operated by English promoter Kilimanjaro Live.[18] The Warped Tour returned to London in 2015.

Warped Tour became a launching pad for many up-and-coming artists. The festival was credited with bringing unknown artists like Black Veil Brides, Avenged Sevenfold, Blink-182, Sum 41, Limp Bizkit, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Machine Gun Kelly, Bebe Rexha, Katy Perry, and Yelawolf to the spotlight.[40]

The Warped Tour gave artists like will.i.am and The Black Eyed Peas an opportunity and venue to perform. Black Eyed Peas were featured on the 1999 Vans Warped Tour. According to will.i.am, the Black Eyed Peas were the first group not categorized as "punk" to play at Warped Tour.[41]

Musicians on the Vans Warped tour gave lessons. Percussive Marketing Council teamed up with the Vans Warped Tour and offered free drum lessons Lesson Lab tent to concert goers.[42] These music lessons were for those who were learning to play drums for the first time.[42] The lessons used electronic drum sets and acoustic drum sets.[43] According to PMC Advisory Board Member Billy Cuthrell, having drum teachers from other percussion stores is the "key" to the free lessons program.[42]

In 2005, the Vans Warped tour incorporated a multiple level stage that consisted of two levels for the band Street Drum Corps.[43]

Music education was a big part of the Vans Warped Tour. Throughout the years, the Warped Tour used the John Lennon Bus to achieve this.[44] The John Lennon Bus, essentially a mobile studio, was started by Brian Rothschild and Yoko Ono in 1968.[45] The goal of the John Lennon Bus was to offer music education from performing artists to people, particularly young people, who attended the Warped Tour. Brian Roschild was executive director of the John Lennon Bus. Artists like Eminem and Bowling For Soup visited the tour bus.[44] Other celebrities to use the bus included Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, Natasha Bedingfield, and John Legend.[45]

The Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands took place at Warped Tour every year. Over 10,000 bands tried out for the battle of the bands in 2005. The bands performed at their local Warped tour date and were judged by music industry professionals. If the bands did well in the competition, they were invited to perform as a side stage act on the Ernie Ball Stage of the Vans Warped Tour.[46]

Artist, record label, and sponsor tents occupy the central area of the tour stops, selling merchandise and holding autograph signings.

"Warped Tour is a place for teenage kids to go and hear all their favorite bands in one day," says Rob Pasalic, guitarist for The Saint Alvia Cartel. "It wouldn't make sense for it to be the same tour in 2007 as it was in 1997. These are the bands that kids like, and the tour is smart enough to grow and adapt to that. You still get bands like Bad Religion playing, so it's not like it's lost all its roots."[47]

Joe Queer of The Queers stated that

You play music because there's something inside of you that says you have to play music. Now you get bands like Fall Out Boy that are basically created in the studio. The Warped Tour changed it. Fuck it. I just don't like that shit. All the guys in the bands remind me of the jocks I hated in high school. To me a punk gig is a small sweaty club with the audience right in your face knocking over the mic stand and boogying off the energy.[48]

Anberlin preparing for a meet-and-greet at the MySpace tent on the 2007 tour. Performers often meet with fans and sign autographs at the various artist and sponsor tents.

Keith Morris said that "These kids that are [playing] on the Warped Tour, they should have no choice but to go into the military, and go off to some desert somewhere and spend some time in the desert, rather than having some big, ultra mega record company giving them lots of money and paying for their hotels and buses, making sure their hair is trendy, and that they are wearing the proper clothes that all the kids like and wear, and all that fun shit."[49] Morris' band the Circle Jerks would later appear on the 2007 edition of the tour.[50]

In 2013, Oliver Sykes, lead vocalist of Bring Me the Horizon, took to Twitter to announce that he was no longer allowed to start a mosh pit/wall of death. Kevin Lyman took to Twitter as well to say that audience members could create mosh pits and walls of death, but that someone in the audience had to initiate them rather than any band member because then they would be taking responsibility for any injuries, which could then lead to costly lawsuits.[51][52]

On 1 July 2015, it was announced that Jake McElfresh's music act Front Porch Step would play the Nashville, Tennessee, tour stop.[53][54] Many bands including The Wonder Years, Senses Fail, Handguns, and Beartooth asked attendees to boycott McElfresh's set. The Wonder Years' lead singer Dan "Soupy" Campbell, who was supposed to perform after Front Porch Step on the Acoustic Basement Stage, asked fans to go see Man Overboard at 1:15 pm, the time the acoustic set would take place.[55] Lyman responded by saying,

He was only supposed to be here long enough to play his show but the weather today has been putting us behind schedule. He wasn't added to the tour, so those claims that he was 'added to sell tickets' are completely groundless.[56]

He also said because McElfresh had still not been formally charged with misconduct, he agreed to have him perform. "If he was a danger to anyone, he simply would not have been here."[56]

On July 11, 2016, Vans Warped Tour announced that Virginia pro-life organization Rock for Life[57] would be among the vendors on their 41 tour dates. Rock for Life were known for co-opting punk aesthetics with their logo of a fetus playing a guitar and T-shirts with the phrase "All Lives Matter".[58] Bands such as Safe to Say[59] and Old Wounds[60] spoke out against the organization, with Safe to Say replying to Rock for Life's tweet, saying

Yes. Everyday. We are a pro choice band. A tent telling young women what to do with their body has no place here.[59]

On June 26, 2017, a video surfaced that showed the punk rock band The Dickies verbally abusing a crowd member after protests against the band, including signs that said "Our teenage girls don't need to be subjected to derogatory jokes by a disgusting old man" and "Punk isn't predatory" took place.[61][62] While Lyman initially said that the band was no longer on the Warped Tour roster,[63] he released a statement on 1 July that said the band had not been kicked off of the tour and that the altercation was between the band's frontman, Leonard Graves Phillips, and a member of the touring party.[64]

I thought it was time to put the facts out since I have watched false information floating around. A video has been circulating of a confrontation between Leonard from the Dickies and a Fan. Fact- it was not a Fan, but a member of the touring party. The member of the touring party was standing next to the PA with a sign protesting some of the things they found offensive about the bands jokes, and props on stage. During one of the last songs they went towards the barricade and directed the sign at the band. After a verbal barrage from Leonard, the member of the touring party threw the sign at Leonard, and left the area. I do not condone verbal or physical violence, whatsoever. The Dickies, last day of the tour was that Sunday, which had always been scheduled. These are the facts of what took place and this is why I ask anyone who has an issue with anyone else on tour, to come sit under my tent with me and express their views diplomatically. On this years tour we have many people who may not agree with each other, but as humans we should be able to express our points of view in a civil manner. If we have any hope to progress as a society, communication will be key in moving forward.[64]

Band conflicts

Athletes perform exhibitions of skateboarding, BMX biking, and other sports on half-pipes and other ramps during the tour. Attendees are often also permitted to participate.

A few bands have left the tour due to conflicts they had with the tour or other bands:

• Both D12 and Esham were kicked out of the 2001 tour. D12 allegedly attacked Esham because he mentioned Eminem's daughter in his song "Chemical Imbalance". Eminem was not present during this incident.[65]
• The band Guttermouth was supposedly removed from the Warped Tour 2004 for insulting Simple Plan. The band later stated that they left on their own because "... '10 or so' unnamed bands didn't jibe with Guttermouth's way of doing business, and in some cases, threatened them with violence".[66]
• The band Islander was kicked off the tour after Mikey Carvajal jumped into a backline drum kit onstage and damaged it during their live set in Denver on July 1, 2018.[67]

The Vans Warped Tour was sponsored by Vans, and in the final years Journeys joined as sponsor. Kevin Lyman was offered sponsorship from Calvin Klein before eventually working with Vans.[68] The tour also was sponsored by Samsung, which enabled the bands and fans to interact with one another. The schedule for the day was sent out to fans on the day of their show. Samsung also sponsored a reverse day care for the Warped tour, which let parents cool off while their children watched their favorite bands.[68] Warped Tour also partnered with other technology companies like Cingular Wireless, Apple Computer and others.[69] This enabled these companies to reach to younger audiences. The communications manager from Memorex said that Warped Tour let them reach a younger demographic because of the music that these people are "passionate about."[69] At one point in time, Warped Tour also provided internet access to attendees while at the festival. Chaos Mobile was formed by Kevin Lyman and John Reese of Freeze Artist Management.[70]

Activism was a major component of the Vans Warped Tour and allowed for non-profit organizations such as Invisible Children, To Write Love On Her Arms, Shirts for a Cure, Keep A Breast Foundation, and Hope For The Day to advocate about their causes.[71] Other causes presented at Warped Tour were Music Saves Lives and Earth Echo. Earth Echo promoted recycling and provided a solar-powered stage.[72] Keep A Breast was another organization on the Vans Warped Tour. Keep A Breast educated women about Breast Cancer and preventative measures against the disease. The organization worked in conjunction with the Girlz Garage on the Vans Warped Tour. People who donated to the cause were given T-shirts signed by artists on the tour to spread awareness of Breast Cancer.[73]

Since 2001, the traveling tour was affiliated with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), including food vendors and booths that distributed information about animal rights and veganism.[74][75]

In March 2016, it was announced that Warped Tour would team up with A Voice for the Innocent to address the issue of sex crimes in the music scene.[76] The Vans Warped Tour contributed 25 cents from every ticket sold to an organization called Hollywood Heart. Warped Tour also gave money to the relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina. Warped Tour and the Taste of Chaos, (a festival) worked together to contribute $500,000.[72]

Bands on the Warped Tour often brought their own musical equipment, but Industrial Sound also provided equipment for band use, according to lead sound engineer Daniel Bonneau. He also said that the bands had to do line checks instead of traditional soundchecks.[77]

Pennywise performing at Warped Tour 2007.

Attendees moshing in a circle pit on the 2010 tour.

An official Warped Tour compilation CD was released annually by SideOneDummy Records to coincide with the start of the tour. Before 1998, official releases were handled by Vans via Uni Distribution in 1996 and Epitaph Records in 1997, respectively. The compilation included songs by numerous artists performing on the tour that year. The first few compilations had varying titles, but starting in 2001 the series used a standard title with the format "Warped Tour <year> Tour Compilation". In 2002, the compilation expanded onto two CDs, totaling 50 artists, a format which the series followed in all its subsequent years. The Warped Tour compilation album in 2002 charted at number 55.[78]

In addition, the digital music service Rhapsody.com released a regular "Warped Tour Bootleg Series", with each entry focusing on a single artist's performances on the tour. Bootleg Series artists included Matchbook Romance, My Chemical Romance, Bedouin Soundclash, MxPx, The Starting Line, Millencolin, Avenged Sevenfold, Gogol Bordello, Motion City Soundtrack, The Casualties, Anti-Flag, Less Than Jake, Rise Against, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Helmet, and The Academy Is...

• List of Warped Tour lineups by year
• List of punk rock festivals
• List of historic rock festivals