Founder Kevin Lyman on the Final Year of the Vans Warped Tour
The Vans Warped Tour will be hitting the road for its 24th — and last — year in 2018.
Tour founder Kevin Lyman told Billboard that after suffering “a pretty big dip” this year, he and his partners felt it was time to pull the curtain down on the annual summer fixture. Lyman said that the attendance decrease came from “that younger end of the demo” but maintained that “the bands didn’t feel the dip because the fans that were there were super engaged…But that casual fan that’s learning how to go to a music festival — they were not there last summer. It was really a great show, sponsors were happy, but our attendance was down.”
The 2018 Warped Tour kicks off June 21 in Pomono, Calif., and plays 37 dates before wrapping up August 5 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Lyman said that, “I’m looking to bring everyone a great show and have a great summer and connect with a lot of people…For me, the saddest thing is I’ll be seeing sunrises and sunsets for the last time in a lot of those parking lots.”
But in a statement Lyman also indicated we may not have seen the last of the project: “The enduring spirit of the Vans Warped Tour remains as bright as ever, continuing to inspire creativity and ambition in new and exciting ways as we prepare for a 25th anniversary celebration in 2019. I truly look forward to seeing as many of you as possible during this final cross country run, and getting to thank you for your support on this wild adventure.”
Acts for the 2018 Warped Tour are being lined up now and will be announced in the future.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
