When We Were Young: Nostalgia at its finest
With the cancelation of the popular Warped Tour, When We Were Young hopes to fill the hole in emo hearts.
Written by Tina Brice
Every summer for over 20 years, Kevin Lyman had punk rock, emo, scene, and alternative kids spending an entire day in the heat, chugging Monster energy drinks, and singing along to their favorite songs. Kids would save up all year long for one day at the infamous Warped Tour.
From Coachella to Lollapalooza, and Bonnaroo to Slam Dunk Fest, music festivals have become a way of life for Millennials. The generation of Elder Emos and Scenior Citizens looks back on these shows with fond memories. The newest fest, When We Were Young, hopes to corner the market on alternative music festivals since the end of Warped Tour in 2019. In it’s second year, When We Were Young took place Oct. 21 and 22.
When We Were Young logo displayed on the screen backdrops between acts. These screens broadcasted the performances for the entire venue to see. Lighting rigs line the top of the stage. Photo Credit: Christina Brice
“It was fun interacting with people and sharing our love and and attachment experiences to the music,” said Tim Silas Morgan, festival attendee who traveled to Las Vegas, NV specifically for the event. “The music put all of us in the same head space and attracted us like a magnet.”
The line-up would average 70 bands per tour stopping at more than 40 venues across the United States and Canada. It was the tour that every alt kid looked forward to every year. New bands played local shows with larger names such as Blink-182, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, and MxPx headlining the entire festival. The tour was also genre bending, featuring acts such as rap-rock band Gym Class Heroes and pop artist Katy Perry. Even multi-award-winning rapper Eminem performed in 1999. No matter the lineup, there was an act for everyone to enjoy.
When Lyman announced that the 2018 run of the “punk rock summer camp,” would be its last cross-country trek, hearts across the nation broke. The end of this tour, for many, was the end of their adolescence. There was no other tour like it, and nowhere for these kids to turn. Warped tour, their main solace, had been ripped away leaving nothing but emptiness in its wake.
In 2022, LiveNation announced a concert that could only be dreamt of in the minds of those all but forgotten alt kids: When We Were Young. At first, many thought the lineup was too good to be true, and that the concert would end in one of two ways. Either they would cancel and keep the money to pay off the lawsuits from Travis Scott’s AstroWorld or the event would crash and burn leaving attendees more heartbroken than before. No one expected the success of When We Were Young, at least not at first.
The first date in 2022 was canceled due to weather just an hour before doors were set to open. This caused the rumor mill to start churning again.
It’s just a cover-up.
They got in over their heads.
How foolish to believe this could actually work.
These are just a few of the speculations surrounding the sudden cancelation.
Fans began to question the fact they announced the 2023 lineup two weeks before the first show even happened.
But then the doors opened on the second day and every nay-sayer was proven wrong. The show went off without a hitch. Emo kids felt like they did back in the early aughts, sweating along with people they had never met but became family. The “punk rock summer camp” was no more, but the emo invasion had just begun. They had found a new home.
Set It Off performs for fans. Photo Credit: Christina Brice
This year, When We Were Young boasted a lineup that could rival even the best years of Warped tour bringing back bands such as Blink-182 with their original band members, and Something Corporate who had not performed or put out new music in 20 years. Older bands like Green Day, Yellowcard and Say Anything played alongside newcomers like Magnolia Park, Game We Play, and KennyHoopla. It was a trip down memory lane with rose colored glasses drenched in nostalgia.
“It was incredible,” said Morgan. “Part of my motivation was never attending Warped Tour. At 36, finally the stars aligned for it,” he said. Morgan, from Texas, was finally able to attend an alternative music festival for the first time this year.
Each day saw 18,000 attendees from all over the world. One concert goer was grateful to have spent the extra money for a GA+ ticket.
Fans crowd together on the Las Vegas Monorail going to the festival. Photo Credit: Christina Brice
“It was more crowded than most festivals I’ve been to at that location,” said Teresa Ruiz, another concert goer. “But I loved the line-up and basically the blast from the past. These artists don’t usually tour anymore, so it was nice to see them all over in one place.”
“It’s just too much,” said Madeleine Chapman. Chapman attended specifically for Blink-182 and was using the GA+ rest area as a place to regroup. “I have social anxiety so I can’t go out there,” she said.
Just outside the rest area, swarms of fans made their way to their respective destinations.
“It was crowded, like unmovable crowded,” said Ruiz. “But people were good with letting people through.” The crowd was intimidating at first glance, but everyone was there for the same reason: the music.
The people who were raised on this music were bringing their children to experience the wonder that is an alternative music festival. Children wearing ear protection were being toted along on shoulders or napping in their parents’ arms unaffected by the raucous environment around them. There was a sense of pride emanating from the parents, getting to share such a special event with those they love the most.
Blink-182 was Morgan’s favorite performer of the night because of nostalgia.
“I’m Feeling This got me through high school in the early 2000’s,” he said.
Fans stood shoulder to shoulder, screaming along at the top of their lungs. No one judged another. If someone fell, the crowd pulled them back to their feet. Conversations between strangers standing next to each other was normal. Friends were made, numbers and social media exchanged. Sweat spread from one person to the next until the audience was one. This was what the scene was meant to be. A safe space to simply exist. To be a part of something bigger.
The Stratosphere provides the backdrop to the festival grounds as fans wait in line to purchase merchandise. Photo Credit: Christina Brice
“Literally so magical to experience this as an adult,” said Jené Stefaniak on a drone video recap on Yellowcard’s Instagram page. “Teenage me dreamed of something like this, I was such a huge YC fan. Seeing them play for so many people and put on such a solid show is just awesome.”
“We will all remember it forever,” said Jill Fajardo on an Instagram post by Something Corporate. “I will be chasing that high indefinitely.”
If these past two years are a sign of what is yet to come, When We Were Young is here to stay.