Is Warped Tour already a wrap?

With months to go until the festival takes place, it may be too late for Warped Tour 2025 to correct course and maintain its popularity.

By: Michael Doyle

After a long hiatus, Vans Warped Tour announced in late 2024 that it would make a return, marking the 30th anniversary of the inaugural Warped Tour in 1995.  

The first major announcement revealed that Warped Tour would take place in three cities, Washington D.C., Long Beach, California and Orlando, Florida, a stark contrast to the tradition of touring across the U.S. and Canada. Following the announcement, tickets went up on sale before any bands were announced, starting at $230 for the two-day event in each city.  

Many fans, including myself, questioned what they could expect out of the festival’s return. Would it capture the excitement of showcasing the biggest rising stars like Warped Tour’s past, or would it try to mimic the nostalgia of When We Were Young (WWWY)? Additionally, fans were purchasing tickets before any artists were announced, compared to When We Were Young with artists being announced immediately.  

On Feb. 26, many artists were announced for each of the three cities, sparking a mixed reaction from fans who had already purchased tickets and planned to travel across the country for the event. Missing are notable bands like Fall Out Boy, Paramore and Green Day, causing a noticeable difference in stardom between Warped Tour and WWWY.   

A topic of discussion for fans online have been the direction the festival has taken, such as including controversial artists like Ronnie Radke of the band Falling in Reverse and MGK, while still lacking a presence of female artists.   

While Warped Tour must put on bands people will see regardless of controversy, their inclusion  of artists like Radke have made some fans reconsider their ticket purchase. Radke’s X account is full of his transphobic and ableist attacks towards others, and Warped Tour’s decision to give him one of alternative music’s biggest platforms is questionable in my opinion.   

MGK has been a controversial artist since his jump to pop-punk in 2020, notably for his resurfaced comments about black women, his razorblade-shaped guitar, which some claim is the glorification of self-harm, though he makes claims of his authenticity in the genre in his 2022 album “mainstream sellout.” 

Both Falling in Reverse and MGK have a strong following despite controversies and Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman’s decision to include them is at best understandable from a financial point of view.  

Although it was an issue at previous Warped Tours, the lack of female musicians at the 2025 Warped Tour is a misrepresentation of both the consumers and the scene itself. Artists such as No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Paramore’s Hayley Williams are synonymous with Warped Tour’s peak in popularity. 

Roughly 16% of artists performing in Washington D.C., 22% in Long Beach and 21% in Orlando have a female member. While alternative genres have seen a rise in popularity of female artists such as Poppy and Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox, women still face a level of discrimination in an industry that has put them at a disadvantage with many of the issues also being tied to past Warped Tours, with sexual assault occurring in the crowd.  

Perhaps the most common complaint from fans has been the lack of tour dates. Previously, the festival traveled throughout the U.S. and Canada, with occasional years traveling internationally to Europe, Asia and Australia.   

Lyman emphasized the accessibility of affordable tickets in an interview with Rock Sound, but how financially accessible is Warped Tour if many fans must travel across the globe to attend? One of the most enticing qualities of Warped Tour was that it would come to you. Fans from across the country could see dozens of artists without traveling far, but the lack of tour dates forces the majority of fans to travel.  

The unfortunate reality of Warped Tour 2025 is that it appears to have been overtaken by When WWWY. Some of the alternative music scene’s biggest acts can be found performing at WWWY, and while tickets are more expensive, there are more headline artists per day. 

There are still a select few mystery artists not yet revealed for Warped Tour. The proverbial nail in the coffin cannot be hammered until the festival concludes in November, but as it stands currently Warped Tour is bound to continue making the same mistakes that have taken down other festivals like Sick Nu World.