The Vans Warped Tour that we've all grown to love will be coming to an end after this coming summer. The tour, which was founded by Kevin Lyman in 1995, became known as the Vans Warped Tour in 1996 when Vans started sponsoring it.
Over the years, I've had the pleasure of seeing many bands on the tour, such as Memphis May Fire, Sleeping With Sirens, We The Kings, Mayday Parade, The Maine, Yellowcard, We Are The In Crowd, Pierce the Veil and so many others.
It's a place where people were able to go to watch their favorite bands as well as discover new ones. Most bands on the tour offered a free meet and greet if you were able to score a wristband or if you bought merch. Usually, though, you were able to find them walking around the venue, and that was one of the coolest parts of the Vans Warped Tour.
Although I did not start attending Vans Warped Tour until 2013, I have loved going ever since. I got a few of my friends to go with me and we enjoyed spending the day together from getting to the venue early to line up, planning out what bands we want to see and, my favorite part, bonding over the bands that we loved the most.
Discovering new artists was also one of the cool things about the tour. During the many hours spent in the amphitheater parking lot, bands with boxes of their EPs and a pair of headphones would come up to you and ask you to listen. If you liked their music, you bought their EP and donated money.
Knowing that a few of my favorite bands did the same when they were first starting out in the music world, I always tried to bring a few extra bucks to buy an EP.
Making new friends in the parking lot and inside the venue is one of the things that I will treasure most about the tour. Ranging from "Hey, I like your shirt!" to "What other bands do you like?" there were many different ways to strike up conversations and meet new people - something that I've preached over and over that music is known for.
Although the Vans Warped Tour is coming to an end after this summer, we will still have the memories, friendships, pictures and videos to remember it by.
Plus, Kevin Lyman hinted that there will be some sort of celebration in 2019, which will be the 25th anniversary of the Vans Warped Tour.
The lineup will be announced on March 1st with tickets going on sale shortly after. There are currently two bundles being offered for the final run of the tour. The "Forever Warped Bundle" includes one GA ticket, one custom pair of Vans shoes, one exclusive Warped 2018 enamel pin, 1 exclusive laminate and lanyard, one exclusive lithograph print and one digital download of the 2018 Warped Tour compilation CD. This bundle is priced at $200.
The second bundle available is the "Best Day Ever Bundle" and includes one GA ticket, one exclusive laminate and lanyard, one exclusive lithograph print and digital download of the 2018 Warped Tour compilation CD. This bundle is priced at $100.
For more information or to purchase a bundle and to view a complete list of dates, go to http://vanswarpedtour.com.
