This morning I watched my older brother drive away to join the last half of the final Vans Warped Tour with his band. The first Warped Tour started in 1995, making it the longest-running music festival in the United States with the largest total artists performing. I'm disheartened to say goodbye to my adolescence that was wrapped up in the music scene of Warped Tour and the one day of summer every year that I looked forward to. I've seen bands play that are no longer together and ones that have grown as musicians into completely different genres of music than what they started with. The classics like Bayside and Yellowcard, or before PVRIS had such a huge fanbase. This year I'll watch A Band Called The Maine in the summer sun one last time and hug each member at their tent.
Warped Tour is an experience that allows artists to connect, behind the stage and for the people that attend. It's a tour that I never thought I would see end, but the demographic has sadly grown up and out of pop-punk or alternative music. The same year that is the last run is the same year that I am graduating from college. Popular music has changed, people just aren't interested in the scene anymore and the kids that went to the first cross country runs are married or have kids now. Everyone is just over it. Every year the summer lineup was announced there would be a stream of tweets and Facebook posts about the "poor selection" of bands, but now that there won't be another summer of Warped Tour those same people are saying they're sad to see it end.
What I love most about Warped Tour is the experience, the accessibility, and the people that all attend for the same reason as me—for the music. Festivals like Coachella sell tickets that can cost upwards of $500 for only two weekends in California. I paid $45 for my tickets to Warped Tour and the opportunity to meet my favorite musicians was usually free. Most of the time the bands would be walking around the festival anyway to support other acts and interact with their fans in genuine moments. There was hardly a monetary gain for many of the artists but the experience of it made spending an entire summer in the heat worth it. There is no online competition for "best outfits" or who was invited to what party. Instagram posts from the shows usually feature sweaty faces that are beet red but smiling wide. It's not supposed to be glamorous or an event to try to climb some sort of social ladder. People get dirty, smelly and sunburnt. Hair is usually covered with baseball caps or up in disheveled buns. In a time of making appearances and social media presence, Warped tour's demographic has shrunk.
This last summer I'll be attending every Florida date with my brother's girlfriend so we can watch him finally live his dream of spending his summer with Warped Tour, and we will all get to say goodbye together for the very last date in West Palm Beach.
