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This past weekend, I had the opportunity to once again experience the “Return of the Warped Tour. The third and final installment of this year’s historic rock/pop rock/emo festival saw such tremendous successes that they’ve already announced more tour dates. An expansion into other countries next year is planned as well!
“When [fans] came in, we wanted to make sure that it felt like the county fair. The lifestyle county fair, and I think we’ve accomplished that,” Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman explained during our recent conversation. This year the Warped Tour celebrated its 30th Anniversary, and its return after a five-year hiatus.
The return of the festival not only resulted in great ticket sales amidst the rock/rock adjacent genre’s current resurgence, but more importantly, a pivotal and important turning point within the live event music industry.
“One third of people were experiencing either their first concert or Warped Tour!” Lyman continued.
Realize, Pivot, Adapt [Or Die]
Warped Tour’s successes are especially remarkable during the country’s current economically challenged times that so many fans, especially younger ones, are currently facing. With limited disposable income, fans are thinking a lot harder about what they will spend their hard-earned money on. That was something that Lyman made sure was well known before bringing back this year’s festival.
“A lot of kids grew up during the pandemic and they weren’t exposed to live shows. All of a sudden we have ‘Inflation’ being a new word, high percentages on credit cards and more.”
“People might not know the economics behind this, but things got very expensive after Covid. It wasn’t just the artists. It was the staging, the insurance, and the security. There were and are a lot of protocols. To explore [and delve back into the live music event industry] it was hard at first,” the punk rock festival founder continued.
The Warped Tour Return
That is until Lyman spoke with Insomniac live events and productions when discussing the possibility of bringing back the Warped Tour.
“As someone who has always been ‘let’s go for lowest, lowest, lowest price for fans [so they can experience the event],’ when I began speaking with Insomniac, it was the first time in my life that there was a party that said, ‘Let’s do it for $20 cheaper!”
“It was really cool to be approached by Insomniac at first. But we had to make sure that people felt like they were at Warped Tour when they came thru the door. I was even a bit neurotic about it at first,” added Lyman, who can frequently be seen sporting an orange construction vest in the lead up to the music festivals while also helping out where needed – from stage setups to making sure water bottles are fully stocked throughout the weekend.
“I wanted to make sure that this year’s Warped Tour had all the merch booths, the charities, the activations,” Lyman continued.
Insomniac was fully onboard, shared the same vision and needless to say, it worked.
All three of the Warped Tour festivals sold out and had hundreds of thousands of fans in attendance.
Where Experience Matters
One thing that I’ve noticed throughout my 15+ years in music broadcasting and the music world is that this rock/alt-rock/emo music genre, previously mocked and even brushed aside by many radio program directors. The ‘powers that be,’ can’t be denied anymore.
You don’t have to listen to me, just look at what the Grammys did with this year’s nominees!
“We knew that coming back to Warped Tour and playing in Florida was going to be special. We had no idea that it was going to be one of the most memorable shows of our whole career,” Yellowcard lead singer Ryan Key said after the band performed in front of an electric Orlando crowd on Saturday.
“There was definitely an over saturation of bands after the pandemic hit because everyone wanted to tour all the time, however now many bands are being smarter about it,” Workshop Management founder and Mayday Parade / Matt Nathanson manager Josh Terry told me.
“I’ve always said I’m in the band business. I don’t care about the music industry. I’m here to support bands. The music industry [as a whole] is a joke. Over time, the music industry has done a lot of different things that don’t really benefit the artist themselves,” Terry explained.
“There’s lifers about this. There are definitely some people that truly care about the music. When you bring all those people together, success for everyone can be there!”
“I think instead of thinking short term about how much profit you’re going to ascertain, it’s about the longer picture. Think about the merch, people want more for their buck right now. It’s a hard time for the economy. Bands have to approach it that way,” said Terry.
Fans From All Over
While hosting the Warped Tour kickoff party on Friday night, I had the opportunity to welcome fans onstage. They came from Manchester, England, Canada, Savannah, Georgia, New Jersey and Orlando, Florida.
Some had been attending Warped Tour for over a decade. They praised Warped for not only shaping their music tastes, but their culture, friend group, lifestyle and identity. Meanwhile others were just excited to experience firsthand the “Warped aura” that they had heard so much about.
However, despite Warped Tour’s successes, Lyman, who has been doing live shows and productions for over three decades, continues to be realistic in this day and age.
Is LIVE Music Currently in a Good Spot?
“I think the music industry is at a 6 [out of 10] right now as far as the return of the live event industry,” said Lyman.
“Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great festivals out there. Everyone has their own spirit and economic models. And if those models don’t work out, that’s okay. You can be cordial and friendly still.”
“It’s going to take a bit. There are great people that are helping out from the business side, but there’s also the local element of it that has helped make this type of music and live music exciting again.”
“There’s great music and emo music particular nostalgia out there right now. I felt that we need to look forward to the future of the music, the community and what’s next,” Lyman continued.
Gunz at the Warped Tour courtesy of The Gunz Show on X
This year’s Warped Tour festivals were a perfect balance of the best of the old and what I’d consider the best of the new. Lyman’s lineups included massive bands like All time Low, Machine Gun Kelly, Avril Lavigne, Falling In Reverse, and A Day To Remember.
“Bands like The Paradox, Honey Revenge,” have really helped bring in that next generation of fans, Lyman continued.
Throughout their three festival weekend dates this year, one thing has now been proven. Without a doubt, this music is here to stay. Warped Tour specifically is setting the standard for what other festivals [many who are losing money] should try to emulate.
That is, if the other music genres can (Sorry, rap music).
Thoughts? Comments? Tweet me @TheGunzShow or email TheGunzShow@gmail.com.
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‘Gunz’ has been a staple in the music, sports and news industry for over a decade. From his first on-air appearances on MTV and FUSE television as a teenager to broadcasting nationally with Don Imus, to most recently hosting the Vans Warped Tour on Amazon Music, he has become one of the industry’s most insightful and trusted voices. As host of idobi Radio’s ‘The Gunz Show’ (80K+ Weekly Listeners) for the last fifteen years, Gunz has built a reputation for Breaking Bands and Breaking News, including notable debut interviews from bands such as Twenty One Pilots, Cobra Starship, fun., and viral interviews with artists such as Machine Gun Kelly, All Time Low and The All American Rejects. Whether it’s hosting red carpets or exclusive sit-downs with media’s biggest names from Clive Davis to Dana White, Gunz answers not only “What” is happening, but more importantly – “Why?” for programmers, publicists, artists, entertainers and fans alike.
