Warped Tour’s Return: The Problem With Nostalgia

There was once a simpler time when knee-high Converse were the coolest shoes you could wear, the more eyeliner the better, punk rock was trendy, and ‘Warped Tour’ meant an entire summer of crisscrossing the country in a camper. The era of rebellious, authentic, pop-punk, emo, and alternative music from the early 2000s that shaped an entire generation of fans is now a source of endless nostalgia for millennials and younger fans who weren’t old enough to experience the punk culture sensation the first time around.

On October 24th what was once considered the largest traveling music festival in the US and longest-running traveling music festival in North America announced that it was going to be making a comeback. “Vans Warped Tour” which took the US and Canada by storm every summer from 1995-2019 will be revived as a 2-day music festival stopping at 3 locations starting in 2025. The tour has yet to release the 2025 line-up but that hasn’t stopped longtime Warped Tour fans from expressing their disappointment on the internet.

This festival's resurgence has ignited the debate between paying homage to the past and making room for new musicians. Many fans are upset with the effect inflation, and nostalgia tax has had on ticket prices which are currently starting at $149.98 for general admission, including fees, and $389.98 for VIP, including fees. In 2019, when Warped Tour celebrated their 25th anniversary tickets started at $50.00 for a one-day pass. Others angered that Warped Tour would call itself a “tour” with only three planned stops – Orlando, FL, Washington, DC, and Long Beach, CA. Founder Kevin Lyman tried to extinguish the fire in an interview with Rolling Stone clarifying that there is “No aim for this to be a nostalgia fest” and "We're getting very, very selective in trying to find some unique twists to the lineup.”

Many old Warped Tour devotees have low expectations, however, as online community discussions make clear. “It's not gonna be cheap like people would want it to be because what people don't realize is back when Warped was $30 to $40 a ticket, the bands featured on the tour, were still building audiences, and growing,” wrote one Reddit user, “They weren't as massive as they are today, those are the bands people want to pay to see live now, and those bands are bigger with larger fan bases. Emo and Punk is the new classic rock and they're selling you nostalgia.” Meanwhile, others have voiced their admiration for Lyman's efforts and their desire for the nostalgic festival. One Reddit user wrote, “Kevin Lyman has said he is tired of people complaining about everything. Warped is a labor of love for him and people come here and post sh*t like they can do it better,” and another added, “We want the nostalgia. INJECT THAT SH*T INTO MY VEINS.”

Warped Tour used to be a place of discovery for young music lovers to see the small artists they knew and enjoyed while also discovering new similar acts that they could take home and become part of that new fandom as well. In 2005, beloved punk band Paramore took the road with Vans Warped Tour for the first time, performing at the smallest stage; the festival ultimately put them on the map and provided the exposure they needed to reach the success they have today- two years later they were headlining the festival. As fans await the announcement of the 2025 lineup, expected to come in January, there is a clear tension between giving the legacy concert attendees a throwback show and allowing new legacies to be built.

Any bands trying to break into the industry now must fight for their spot against the already well-established bands that headline these shows. Although this might have always been the case, the industry today presents new obstacles for unknown artists – they can’t compete with the social media followings and online traction garnered by established acts, which venues and bookers rely on to fill seats. Relying on star acts is a cautious approach on the part of tour promoters, and it has created an imbalance in the industry where nostalgia-driven festivals and tours eclipse the excitement and exposure needed for new bands to break through.

Longtime festival-goer Brandon Peralta, who has been a pop-punk fan since the early 2000s, says “You mean to tell me that there hasn’t been a band making good music besides Blink-182 in the last 15 years?” At the same time, there’s no denying that many fans are excited about the re-emergence of live shows featuring the bands that shaped them into the people they are today.

The recent When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas made clear the payoffs of appealing to nostalgia. When the When We Were Young Festival was first announced in 2022 as a single-day event, it sold out so quickly that two more dates needed to be added. The festival included performances from emo cult classics like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, A Day To Remember, and many more fan favorites, many of whom played the original Warped Tour. In 2023 pop punk legends Blink-182 announced a reunion world tour ‘One More Time’ that would include OG member Tom DeLonge who left the band in 2015- this tour grossed over $85.3 million in North America alone, making it the biggest and most lucrative tour of their careers.

Indeed, the rock music genre (including all subcategories), the industry terrain outside of nostalgia sales has been looking bleak for some time. A study done by Daniel Parris in 2024 found that “Rock music's share of total album sales in the US has declined from over 30% in the 1970s to less than 10% in the 2010s.” The music industry is more saturated than ever with the available technology and countless artists releasing music daily.

In the digital age, virality is key- artists and bands have the possibility of receiving record deals from a TikTok video, the traditional climb to fame is a way of the past. Record labels are relying on social media more than ever before, finding artists with massive followings ready-made fan bases to drive music sales. TikTok break-out star Nessa Barrett was quickly signed to Warner Records in 2021 – she has 19.6 million TikTok followers and 5.7 million monthly Spotify listeners; Jaden Hossler was signed to DTA Records in 2021 with 8.9 million TikTok followers and over 2 million monthly Spotify listeners.

For traditional underground rock bands, performing live provides crucial exposure. Alternative music-focused festivals like “Warped Tour” and “When We Were Young Festival” are key to their success and survival. Many of these lineups are stacked with legacy acts, and marketed as such – it’s called “When We Were Young”, after all. The 2025 When We Were Young Fest will highlight performances from Panic! At The Disco, Blink-182, Weezer, Avril Lavigne, The Offspring, Boys Like Girls, Taking Back Sunday, All Time Low, The Gaslight Anthem, Yellowcard, and Simple Plan just to name a few acts you may well have first heard well over a decade ago. These music festivals risk alienating a new generation of starving artists fighting for their chance to break through. Nostalgia is important, and frankly, the market for it is not going anywhere, but finding ways to elevate fresh talent within these spaces will allow for a whole new resurgence and generation of alternative music listeners and lovers – and experiences for which kids these days can be nostalgic in decades to come.