Warped Tour is less than a month away and this year is going to be Respect My Region’s first covering the festival. Luckily, they’ll have me to guide them through this new adventure with this year’s event being my ninth time attending.
Because the Northwest has the best grunge and bass scene in the United States, we are lucky enough to have 3 stops along that tour!
- August 11th – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center
- August 12th – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheater
- August 13th – Portland, OR – Portland Expo Center
This year, Warped Tour is going back in time back to the beginning of what this tour was originally about. They are forgetting about extraneous features and focusing purely on music and the fans.
Although it has primarily been known as a rock festival, it has included a few hip-hop acts over the years. This year the lineup features over 75+ bands and even includes Waka Flocka Flame!
One thing that is really great about Warped Tour is that the festival is set up to allow you to stop and watch at least 1 band that you’re guaranteed not to have heard of. This year Warped has a bunch of new bands playing for their first time on the tour. You’ll definitely want to check out Oceans Ate Alaska, Wage War and Assuming We Survive!
Something else to look out for is the local band stage. Typically found right in the front when you walk in to the amphitheater grounds, the stage showcases some local bands that have earned a chance to play after competing in a battle of the bands.
With Warped Tour trying to go back-to-the-basics, they are also bringing a lot of throwback bands along for the ride. Some of these include New Found Glory, Less Than Jake and Yellowcard. These are some of the bands that inspired many of the bands we listen to now. Other Warped Tour veterans you’ll see include Sleeping With Sirens, The Word Alive and my personal favorite, Real Friends.
This year’s festival does feature plenty of change and you’ll notice them right away. If you have gone to Warped in the past, the Youtuber tent, where some of the biggest youtubers in the scene would travel with the tour and meet their fans is gone. They have also done away with the Comedy tent and the Acoustic Basement tent.
One big thing they have added this year was another Monster stage! These two stages are primarily focused on heavier music and features bands that are on most of the tour. There are also two main stages: Journey’s Left and Right foot stage. I like the idea of encouraging people to actually walk around the venue instead of just staying at the main stage.
I don’t know if you’re going to Warped Tour, but I sure as hell am.
Tickets On Sale At: VansWarpedTour.com
