The End of Warped Tour Doesn’t Mean the End Of Our Home
Warped Tour was a safe haven where we felt accepted when others rejected us. Where do we go now as our long time home disappears?
I remember the car ride to my first Warped Tour like it was yesterday.
A good friend of mine and I raced to the Dallas Fair Grounds to ensure we’d arrive early enough to see our favorite bands. On the way, songs from the bands we planned to see blared over our radio. Barely sixteen and without a care in the world, we left the windows down despite the Texas heat as the music pumped through the car stereo.
Because Vans Warped Tour never releases the day’s lineup in advance, you have to arrive early to ensure you’ll see your favorite bands. Much to our relief, we made it on time to catch our favorite acts. Once the bands took the stage, something happened to us that happens to everyone at Warped Tour. Singing along to the lyrics and getting into the energy and passion of the band, a weight gets lifted. You feel safe and singing among the crowd. You feel… home. And we both felt it.
We weren’t just going to watch bands play — that’s never what the hardcore music scene is about — we were escaping. Both of us were running from depression, chaotic homes, and every day school stress. We were leaving behind unforgiving days that constantly reminded us of our failures or fears. In the midst of the crowd and energy I even remember at one point thinking, “Nothing can hurt me here.”
Ten Years Later
A little over a year ago I started volunteering and writing for HeartSupport as their passion for the music scene and mine intersected. This year, during the final run of Warped Tour I found myself inside the HeartSupport tent they set up every day that gives a voice to those struggling.
Once again, that calm serenity overwhelmed me amid the chaotic festival. Around us cymbals clashed, crowds chanted, and soon dark clouds rolled in to cool off the hot, summer day. Even ten years later, the atmosphere was just as fulfilling as it was when I was a kid. It was home.
It was a bittersweet feeling standing close to musicians I look up to, laughing with my closest friends, and reflecting on the organizations and music that have brought hope to the scene for years. I couldn’t help but think — as my girlfriend stood next to me — that this would be her first and last time at Vans Warped Tour. It would be all of our last time.
A lot of people assume Warped Tour is just about a good time listening to bands or picking up some new merch, but there are tons of organizations on the ground doing their best to help the men and women at the concert. This year, HeartSupport brought out — what Benjamin Sledge, their Executive Director and fellow blogger told me — “a physical version of our online support wall.”
The Support Wall is a place where bands and fans can write encouragement to one another. Think of it like your best friend writing you a kind note of encouragement with proactive next steps when you’re stuck. Every day at Warped Tour, seven people could share what they were going through that day, and hundreds of people would respond with encouragement.
I stood in awe in front of the massive wall as I read painful stories. Next to those stories, was hope and love. There were hundreds of words that cast a new sense of hope on people’s shadows. Many of the stories read: “My mom and dad left me,” “I was sexually assaulted,” or “my anxiety kills me.” Sometimes the response was as simple as “I LOVE YOU.”
It was a beautiful portrait that depicted a flame fighting its way to push through the darkness. I wondered how everyone suffering felt to see that someone loved them… possibly for the first time.
Thinking of how I related to many of the stories on the wall, I realized this outpouring of support would soon be over. For me. And for everyone else.
The End of an Era
The founder of Warped Tour, Kevin Lyman, graduated college in California with a degree in Recreation Administration. His career managing stages for clubs and venues began shortly after which earned him a spot as stage manager for one of the largest music festivals around — Lollapalooza. In a Loudwire interview, he states that after years of enduring the hardship of stage managing — and “burning out in 48 hours” — he began dealing with the bands directly. He started his relationships with bands by doing small things for them on a day-to-day basis, including teaching the Tibetan monks who traveled with the Beastie Boys how to play basketball.
Not long after, in 1995, Warped Tour was born. With a philanthropist mindset, Kevin Lyman threw together a tour of small punk bands that all had things in common — like skateboarding — and travelled to 25 cities in the first year. Since then, Warped Tour has been ripping through cities across America. Many bands got their big break and won fanfare because of playing the festival. Everyone from Katy Perry to Fall Out Boy earned their keep on the tour. With each band that has made it mark, Warped Tour has created a place where fans can get involved with organizations ranging from fighting against the use of child soldiers in Africa (Invisible Children) to awareness about the opioid epidemic (FEND).
Since Warped Tour’s inception, fans have listened to bands speak out against injustice, mental health, or the trials we all face in life. Not only have these bands been in the spotlight, but issues people stigmatize become talking points. People discover help and resources as band and organizations provide a haven people feel comfortable in. Whether it’s been a band wearing a To Write Love on Her Arms t-shirt in the early years of Warped Tour or the hundreds of bands that have shared their stories on HeartSupport, people have found hope in the midst of pain.
Or at least a place to go.
Warped Tour has created an escape from issues many of us face or have faced in our lives — loneliness, bullying, anxiety, insecurity, a bad break-up, depression, self-harm, or suicide ideation.
As summer ends, Warped Tour has ended its long run, closing a chapter of iconic history. Considering all the memories, love, and support provided to millions across its 24 year run, many of us wonder, “what’s next?” Where do we find comfort during hard circumstances we face when Warped Tour provided that outlet?
Torch Bearers
For years we’ve watched bands carry the torch. We’ve watched as they said the things we’ve been too afraid of or too ashamed to say. They gave a voice to the emotions we couldn’t put into words. They shed light on the areas we swore didn’t exist.
To the uninitiated, the underground music scene is about skinny jeans, band tees, tattoos, colored hair, and aggressive music. We stand out among our peers. What they don’t know is the power it’s given to those who’ve felt powerless.
It’s given us the power to face our inner-self, our darknesses, and the struggles that haunt us. But it’s also given us the power to seek hope and redemption from our own chains or the hurt caused by others. As a family in the scene, we’ve seen there are others just like us. We aren’t alone. At any show, you’ll see people cheering, laughing, helping each other out of the mosh pit, and singing with grins across their face despite going through personal battles.
In the midst of the struggle, we’ve been shown what it is to care and love others.
While Kevin Lyman gave us the space to confront the issues that continue to rise in our society, he shouldn’t have to be the one to carry the torch. We should.
Not all of us have to be Kevin Lyman — or rock stars on a stage — to shed light on issues within our generation. We don’t even have to be an expert to help heal people. It begins by having authentic conversations. It continues as we act against stigmas and care for others.
Supporting your local scene or volunteering with an organization you respect are the building blocks to freedom. Become active in schools, churches, or venues in your community. By taking active steps of involvement we can create a voice for the voiceless. The marginalized. The oppressed. The hurting. The lost. That doesn’t have to be the responsibility of a festival or one man. It can be us.
So while the days of bands playing an outdoor venue across America as part of Vans Warped Tour are ending, perhaps this is the beginning of a new generation leading the way.
Let’s forge forward and be the ones to carry the torch.
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