Warped Tour is Back Next Summer, But Longtime Fans are Conflicted About New Format

Warped Tour announced their dates and venues for next year, and while the return of such an iconic event should be met with excitement, the new format left some fans conflicted. What used to be a unique, multi-city tour has now become a series of two-day dates, just like any other festival.

The iconic tour is celebrating 30 years in 2025, and will be hitting three cities—Washington, D.C. from June 14 to 15; Long Beach, California from July 26 to 27; and Orlando, Florida from November 15 to 16. The lineup has not been released yet, but tickets go on sale on October 24 at 12 p.m. local time.

There are many fans who are excited about Warped Tour’s return. They shared their thoughts on social media, reveling in the nostalgia from days gone by. However, there are many more fans who bemoaned the new format.

“Maybe unpopular opinion but that’s not warped tour. That’s just a fest,” one person wrote on Twitter, via a post by Spin. Another person commented, “What was so loved and cherished about warped tour was that it was a touring festival. A cheap, one day show full of all the bands you wanna see. Not a whole weekend event. We already have s–t like this and we don’t need anymore lineups of the same recycled bands.”

[RELATED: Warped Tour Potentially Confirmed for 2025 Return]

Warped Tour Fans Conflicted About New Festival-Like Format, Call Out “Exploitation of Nostalgia”

In the comments of Spin‘s Instagram post, many readers shared their thoughts about the revamped Warped Tour. One person simply wrote, “Warped Tour 2025 ‘The exploitation of nostalgia.’”

There has been a run on nostalgia lately, with festivals like When We Were Young bringing emo back to the forefront. Coincidentally (or not), Warped Tour announced its returning dates right before When We Were Young, which kicks off on October 19.

One person commented, “Warped is trying to pull a Lollapalooza 2 decades later,” while others shared that they wouldn’t buy tickets until they saw the lineup. There is also the concern that the new Warped Tour will be the same old bands as always, which would be fun in some capacity. However, there are so many new punk, hardcore, and emo bands emerging today.

Will this new iteration of the cherished Warped Tour scratch the nostalgic itch we’ve all been feeling? Or will it simply try and chase the high of years past, maybe succeeding, maybe not? The question is—can Warped Tour live up to its own name again, or will it fly too close to the scorching summer sun?

Featured Image via Warped Tour