I Attended 7 Years of Warped Tour
.. My experience, bands I saw, and ranking each one.
With the excitement surrounding the announcement of Warped Tour’s return in 2025, I’m here slightly worried. Is this just a Cash grab from Livenation? If so how overpriced will tickets be? Oh gosh, will I even be able to go and will it be a travelling festival or a traditional weekend-long one?
Instead of stressing out about the details I’m here to relive my favourite moments of Warped Tour and how it defined my late teens, and 20’s. Here I’ll talk about bands I’ve seen, which city I went to for that year and try to rank the best one I attended. So like chatGPT says.. “Let’s embark on a journey” (Lmao), nah, a trip down Emo-memory lane.
7. 2014 in Las Vegas.
Saw - Everytime I Die, Beartooth, Crown the Empire, Four Year Strong, Issues, Mayday Parade, The Used, Bayside, One ok Rock.
The worst on this list does not mean I did not have fun, cause it was still one of the best summer moments that year and I cherish each Warped Tour I attended forever. In this year’s case it was because of the following reasons:
Vegas in July was dangerously HOT. There was no shade aside from the Monster tent which we drank so much of and ended up getting sugar high, just to crash around 4 pm.
Me and my partner brought another couple along who wasn’t as enthused to be there but just wanted to hang out. In turn, I felt like we were babysitting them, as they left around 3 pm (what a waste of a ticket!) without even texting us to go to our shared hotel and fuck. This was a turning point in our friendship.
The Vegas crowd had no Mosh etiquette. I saw a big dude during the Crown the Empire moshpit get hit lightly but a couple of 14-year-old girls just pushing around having fun, proceeded to kick one of them with their back turned right in the spine. The even crazier part, everyone just watched and no one did anything!
Some of the bands such as Mayday Parade and Beartooth were extremely disappointing. Both vocalists refused to sing their own songs instead just kept pointing the mic to the audience to do their jobs for them.
6. 2008 Calgary
Saw - From First to Last, Katy Perry, Gym Class, Heroes, Sky Eats Airplane, Madina Lake, Horrorpops, Protest the Hero. Rise Against.
This one didn’t have as memorable feel as the rest, while I do remember certain acts, just not the day itself. Wild that I got to see Katy Perry when she was still dating Travie from Gym Class Heroes live before she blew up. Seeing Horrorpops with their rockabilly style was a new experience for me, From First to Last had a nasty pit. But also remember Protest the Hero (one of my favourite bands at the time) phoning it in and just having a sluggish performance.
5. 2017 Albuquerque
Saw - Dance Gavin Dance, Trophy Eyes, Silent Planet, Blessthefall, Our Last Night, Sonic Boom Six, Alestorm, Too Close to Touch.
Lineup-wise, I’d say this had one of the most varied. The band I was most obsessed with at the time, Dance Gavin Dance, closed the night which would be a fitting moment to the final warped tour we had attended, at the time pushing 30. Me and my partner left feeling the end of an Era.
Other highlights include the intense performance by Silent Planet, Seeing Trophy Eyes perform what I considered the album of my summer, and the hilariously pirate-themed metal band, Alestorm.
4. 2009 Calgary
Saw - Underoath, A Day to Remember, Senses Fail, Saosin, P.O.S, A Skylit Drive, Attack Attack, Scary Kids Scaring Kids. Shad.
During the year, I was getting into a lot of hip-hop and aspired to be a rapper myself. I was sort of leaving my emo/alternative phase,(which would come back tenfold later as I obviously attended more) and the bands I kept forming to sing for kept breaking up. So I took this as an opportunity to hand out some mixtapes (things we did then!) to the rappers I saw like Shad and P.O.S, which I also got to kick a quick freestyle with!
I finally got to see Underoath, Senses Fail singer who showed such passion on stage I hadn’t seen before at the time, and I saw the rise of “Crunk-Core” with Attack-Attack’s crab core and rave antics that I was not a fan of at the time. It’s what made me start to think this scene is way too different for me as it was the last time I attended a rock concert in quite some time.
The most memorable moment of this year though, was seeing A Day to Remember live. This was the first time I partook in windmills and flying kicks in a moshpit! I did not think pop-punk hooks and Metal breakdowns were a possibility so this was a game-changer for me!
3. 2007 Calgary
Saw - The Used, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Funeral for a Friend, Yellowcard, Chiodos, The Almost, Alesana.
The very first one I attended, with my girlfriend at the time who would come with me to the rest of the 7 before I married her earlier this year in a Warped Tour-themed wedding!
I’d never been to anything like it. Seeing people who liked the same type of music and dressed like me connect for a whole day was special. I was also with a few friends from HS so this made it the most authentic “summer punk festivals with friends” feeling. I was high of the excitement among other things as I recall seeing Funeral for a Friend and Chiodos back-to-back sets. I sang along to every Yellowcard song as the sunsets. And lastly, it rained HEAVY during Alesana’s set. So I participated in my first “mud-pit” where I moshed and wrestled in the mud during it. I remember my friend who had to pick us up was so pissed cause we sat in her car covered in mud. Now that I recall, I think that was the last time I spoke to her oops. Worth it
2. 2015 Toronto
Saw - Pierce the Veil, Senses Fail, Set it Off, Citizen, Memphis May Fire, Hands Like Houses, Carousel Kings, August Burns Red
Out of all the cities I’ve experienced, I still think Toronto is the best place for it. The space was held at an outdoor arena next to a waterpark. This had the perfect weather and brought back that same “summer punk festivals with friends” feeling as we had 2 other friends join us again, but this time, they were as enthused as us! How being with the right people made a huge difference.
This year, they announced the bands once a week since December, so we collectively looked forward to the announcements knowing we had planned to go that summer. We all looked forward to seeing Pierce the Veil the most and they did not disappoint. I saw the best Senses Fail performance, Set it Off was catchy fun and I convinced my friends to join in their first wall of death during August Burns Red. I was a metalcore dude at the time, so that band and Memphis May Fire were a treat.
1. 2013 “Best Day Ever” Toronto
Saw - Bring Me The Horizon, Motion City Soundtrack, Reel Big Fish, Black Veil Brides, The Wonder Years, Memphis May Fire, Letlive, Go Radio, Big D and the Kids Table, The Chariot, Mac Lethal.
The best lineup out of all the ones I’ve attended. I was dabbling into ska that year so Reel Big Fish and Big D and the Kids Table was perfect. I remember a giant joint being passed around during their set and once it finally landed on me, security caught me and told me to put it out in front of him and I was so embarrassed as the crown booed.
During this year, I was burning out from actually BEING a rapper that I aspired to be in 2009 and was constantly around beats and bars all the time. I had no friends who listened to this type of music so I felt alone in my interests. So attending this and having the sound of live punk rock to my ears and being around fellow emos and alternatives was once again a breath of fresh air for me!!
The Chariot held a circle pit that felt like running from a zombie apocalypse with their music. Wonder Years had just dropped my album of the summer which they played live. Bring Me the Horizon was so crazy that I heard ambulances had to be there at the time and it’s what started the “no moshing” rule for future years. Lastly, seeing letlive and Jason Butler go absolutely mental was an experience! P.S. please bring back letlive.
This one was dubbed “Best Day Ever” and to this day might be one of the best days of my life.
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So that’s the story. I’m happy and hopeful for the comeback but I’m also curious as to how much will change. Nonetheless, I’m happy there will once again be a platform like this for bands who strive in this niche, as well as a new generation of kids who will get to experience Warped Tour.
Need to hear more about this Warped Tour themed wedding 😂