Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States[1] and the longest-running touring music festival to date in North America.[2] The festival visited Australia in 1998–2002 and again in 2013.[3][4]
Warped Tour
Following the first Warped Tour, the skateboard shoe manufacturer Vans became the tour's main sponsor, when it then became known as the Vans Warped Tour.[5] Although Vans continued as main sponsor and lent its name to the festival, other sponsors also participated, with stages or other aspects of the festival being named after them on occasion.
Warped Tour was conceived by Kevin Lyman as an electric alternative rock festival, but later began focusing on punk rock music.[5] Although it was primarily a punk rock festival, it covered diverse genres over the years.[6][7][8]
Lyman said that the 2018 Vans Warped Tour would be the final, full cross-country run. On December 18, 2018, Lyman revealed details for the tour's 25th anniversary, with only three events in 2019.[9]
In November 2019, rumors spread that Chris Fronzak planned to bring back the Warped Tour after Lyman's retirement. On October 4, 2020, Fronzak confirmed his intent to be involved in the return of Warped Tour; however, "for legal reasons it (could not) come back for "three years or so."[10]
Legacy[edit]
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]
Music lessons[edit]
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]
Battle of the Bands[edit]
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]
Sponsorship[edit]
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 and philanthropy[edit]
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]
Musical equipment[edit]
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]