Words: Juliet Kozlow

If you were to play a word association game with Warped Tour over the past two years, a few phrases used would be controversial, huge, and “Kevin Lyman sucks.” While the first two certainly ring true, the (wrong) final phrase’s repetition led Lyman to take a step back from this behemoth he’s created and weigh each of its components. Last year, there were comedy tents and YouTube stars parading around the country for the summer, the latter of which as rife with controversy as the handful of musical scandals that were revealed.

Cue 2016’s theme- back to basics: “the fans, the bands, and the philanthropy.”

With most ticket prices within a dollar compared to last years, Lyman relocated that money from bringing the overwhelming variety of entertainment into one of the strongest line ups that the tour has announced in years. From Warped veterans Less Than Jake to new bands like Wage War, there’s something for everyone.

Yearly, there’s always complaints about the lineup, especially ones from that metal kid who always comes to Warped for the two heavier bands that plays. Lyman took heed and this year, he’s introducing two Monster Energy sponsored stages with acts such as Atreyu, Ice Nine Kills, The Word Alive, and Crown The Empire in the mix. Now, those heavier fans can ignore the general masses and spend all day at a stage that more closely caters to their musical taste. Can even the most hardcore make it nine hours there? We’ll find out.

The addition of a second Monster stage isn’t the only change to the festival. The Full Sail Stage (formerly the Kevin Says stage) may be a new name to the stages, but Warped and the university have a longstanding relationship. In fact, the live webcast was held at the university, with many of the university’s students working the announcement whether through videography, sound mixing, or organizationally. Featuring all the bands Lyman said could play Warped, even if he was joking, it’s set to be a great mismatch of sounds highlighting up and comers.

(Speaking of Full Sail University, press took a tour of the campus. Featuring recording rooms, back lots, and a hall of fame meant to inspire students and show what alumni and professors have worked on, this is a college to look into if working in the entertainment industry is a goal. Full Sail has a hands on learning style and aims to push every student to their fullest potential.)

Additionally, Lyman announced a whopping list of over sixty nonprofit organizations that will be on the tour this summer, including longtime collaborators Keep A Breast and newer organizations such as Hope for the Day. Lyman is particularly passionate about Voice for the Innocent, a program working to educate and support those who have suffered from sexual abuse and assault– and believes in their message enough to waive their bus fees to ensure they’ll reach the widest audience possible.

Support for such an organization and Lyman’s stance on ensuring to continue community outreach at each date of Warped Tour through food drives surely will change some of that negativity into apologies and praise.

Participating in the live announcement were four bands: Dash Ten, Real Friends, Less Than Jake, and Wage War. Two repeats and two first timers, each band played a pair of songs as a sampler of what would be coming to parking lots across the country. While Less Than Jake have spent well over a year of their lives on the tour and have played it in two separate centuries, Wage War are gearing up for their first run around. However, vocalist Briton Bond is definitely excited- “Ever since I was a kid going to Warped Tour, I always had a fun time so being on the other end of that and seeing other kids having fun – seeing myself in other young kids – I think that’ll be really cool.”

The move to simplify and do what Warped Tour does best – create an affordable festival for the 13-19 age demographic to attend, connect with, and feel safe at – is one of the best calls that Lyman has made. That ethos of punk rock in an accessible, fun environment is what attracted me to Warped Tour my first years of attending, and you can bet I’ll end up walking the parking lots again this year to catch some of my favorites.

The stages and the bands playing Warped Tour this year are:

Journeys Right Foot Stage: 3OH!3, Mayday Parade, The Maine, Pepper, Tonight Alive, Sleeping With Sirens, State Champs, Real Friends, The Story So Far

Journeys Left Foot Stage: Four Year Strong, New Found Glory, Set It Off, Sum 41, Falling in Reverse, Good Charlotte, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, The Summer Set, We The Kings, Yellowcard

Poseidon Stage: Emarosa, I See Stars, Knuckle Puck, Masked Intruder, Proe, Roam, Secrets, The Heirs, The Interrupters, Young Guns

Cyclops Stage:  Against The Current, Assuming We Survive, Ballyhoo!, Chunk! No Captain Chunk!, Ghost Town, Sykes, Teenage Bottlerocket, Too Close To Touch, Waterparks

Monster Energy Stages: Atreyu, Bullet For My Valentine, Chelsea Grin, Coldrain, Crown the Empire, Cruel Hand, Every Time I Die, From Ashes To New, Gideon, Ice Nine Kills, In Heart’s Wake, Motionless In White, Oceans Ate Alaska, The Color Morale, The Word Alive, Vanna, Veil of Maya, Whitechapel

Full Sail University Stage: Avion Roe, Bad Seed Rising, Broadside, Cane Hill, Capsize, Dash Ten, Hail The Sun, Like Pacific, More To Monroe, Mother Feather, Old Wounds, Palaye Royale, Reckless Serenade, Safe To Say, SayWeCanFly, Silent Planet, The New Low, Wage War, With Confidence