Vans Warped Tour, the annual punk music festival started in 1995 will come to an end next summer. Founder Kevin Lyman released a statement Nov. 15 announcing the tour’s end after next year’s run.
“Today, with many mixed feelings, I am here to announce that next year will be the final, full cross-country run of the Vans Warped Tour,” Lyman said in the statement. “I sit here reflecting on the tour’s incredible history, what the final run means for our community, and look forward to what’s to come as we commemorate the tour’s historic 25th anniversary in 2019.”
The Warped Tour has grown and evolved drastically over its 22-year run. It started as a showcase of and ska bands like NOFX, Sick of It All, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and became a multi-million dollar operation that incorporates more than 70 punk, hip-hop, metalcore, and pop acts, and boasts an annual attendance around 500,000.
Bands like Quicksand, Sublime, L7, No Use for A Name and No Doubt were part of the inaugural Warped Tour, which helped solidify the careers of groups ranging from Eminem to Katy Perry to Avenged Sevenfold. The tour has seen more than 1,700 bands and 90 non-profits throughout its storied history.
“Though the tour and the world have changed since ’95, the same feeling of having the ‘best summer ever’ will live on through the bands, the production teams, and the fans that come through at every stop,” Lyman said in the statement.
Read Lyman’s full statement on the Warped Tour website at http://vanswarpedtour.com/2017/finaltour/.