Rock & Roll in the NEWS: Where New Rock Meets Old Rock...November 16, 2017 (Warped Tour - 2018 Tour Dates)

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Warped Tour: Long-Running Emo Fest to End After 2018 Trek

 

"I am here to announce that next year will be the final, full cross-country run of the Vans Warped Tour," founder Kevin Lyman writes.

The Warped Tour will reach the end of its nearly quarter-century-long road in 2018 with one last string of dates for the roving, emo-centric festival. 

"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," founder Kevin Lyman wrote on the fest's site Wednesday.

"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."

In an interview with Billboard, Lyman pointed to declining ticket sales and a smaller number of bands as factors in ending the festival. “Before Warped I was on three years of Lollapalooza, so [it’s been] 26 straight summers out on the road,” Lyman said. “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.” 

In Lyman's farewell post, he reminisced about the early years of the fest – Sublime, No Doubt and L7 were among the acts on Warped's maiden voyage – as well as the birth of emo and the ascension of one-time Warped acts like Eminem, Paramore, Katy Perry, Green Day and Blink-182.

"The long hot days that ended around a BBQ with food, drink and more music are some of the best times," Lyman wrote. "I witnessed lifelong friendships being made, sparks of romance that led to ‘Warped weddings,’ and unfortunately now, more notices of passings where a proper good bye was not able to be said."

The tour will begin June 21st in Pomona, CA and criss-cross the country before ending in West Palm Beach, FL on August 5th. Although 2018 marks the end of Vans Warped Tour as a nomadic unit, Lyman promised that 2019 would bring "a 25th anniversary celebration" to commemorate the festival's 1995 launch.

Lyman told Billboard of the fest's final lineup, “You’re gonna see a big mix of bands I felt really embraced the Warped Tour lifestyle. I don’t want to say a ‘mature’ lineup, but bands that I think could use one more big push of Warped Tour to help further their careers."

 Warped Tour 2018 Dates

June 21 - Pomona, CA
June 22 - San Diego, CA
June 23 - Mountain View, CA
June 24 - Ventura, CA
June 26 - Phoenix, AZ
June 29 - Las Vegas, NV
June 30 - Salt Lake City, UT
July 1 - Denver, CO
July 3 - St. Louis, MO
July 5 - Bonner Springs, KS
July 6 - Dallas, TX
July 7 - San Antonio, TX
July 8 - Houston, TX
July 10 - Nashville, TN
July 12 - Virginia Beach, VA
July 13 - Camden, NJ
July 14 - Holmdel, NJ
July 15 - Hartford, CT
July 16 - Pittsburgh, PA
July 17 - Toronto, ON
July 18 - Cincinnati, OH
July 19 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH
July 20 - Detroit, MI
July 21 - Chicago, IL
July 22 - Minneapolis, MN
July 23 - Milwaukee, WI
July 24 - Indianapolis, IN
July 25 - Darien Center, NY
July 26 - Scranton, PA
July 27 - Mansfield, MA
July 28 - Wantagh, NY
July 29 - Columbia, MD
July 31 - Charlotte, NC
August 1 - Atlanta, GA
August 3 - Orlando, FL
August 4 - Tampa, FL
August 5 - West Palm Beach, FL