Is Warped Tour coming back in 2025? Here's what we know about the famed festival's supposed return
It may be time to bring the Vans out of retirement — Warped Tour is speculated to make a comeback in 2025. Although the festival's return is yet to be confirmed, one source has reported that the beloved touring festival is returning in time for its 30th anniversary.
Recent reports from YouTube rock news channel Rock Feed allege that the festival will be making a celebratory return for its 30th anniversary under the leadership of live entertainment company, Live Nation. Up until now, there has been no official statement or confirmation from event organizers or Vans about the festival's return. Live Nation did not respond to the Tennessean's request for comment.
"The Vans Warped Tour, according to multiple sources, will be making a triumphant comeback in 2025," said Rock Feed host Brian Storm in a video. "And while things will look a little bit different next year, I'm sure many of you will be very, very excited."
News of the festival's alleged return has been met with both excitement and concern, mainly surrounding ticket prices. During the festival's heyday, fans were able to snag tickets priced anywhere between $20-$40.
"Can they keep those ticket prices down like they were in the past? Probably not, times have changed, things are a lot more expensive now," added Storm. "There's no way that you're gonna be able to do that and then also have the number of bands on the bill that you do."
Here's everything to know.
What is Warped Tour? When did Warped Tour end?
Warped Tour was a touring, rock festival that took place annually in the United States and Canada from 1995-2018. Known as the the longest running, touring music festival in North America, the tour is credited for launching the careers of multiple rock artists like Blink 182, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, and even pop superstar Katy Perry.
In November of 2017, festival founder Kevin Lyman announced that the 2018 tour would be the festival's final cross country run. However in 2019, the festival returned for its 25th anniversary with just three festival events taking place in Cleveland, Ohio, Atlantic City, New Jersey and Mountain View, California.
Warped Tour allowed fans not only to connect with their favorite artists, but it also introduced many smaller, up-and-coming acts to audiences, thus growing their fanbase. According to Storm, many bands have struggled to engage with fans in the post Warped Tour era, due to the absence of impassioned crowds the tour would attract.
Fans express skepticism due to Live Nation's involvement with alleged Warped Tour return
Although fueled with a nostalgic eagerness for Warped Tour's potential return, many fans have also expressed doubts regarding Live Nation's involvement, specifically concerning ticket prices.
"Live Nation? So we're going to pay RAVE prices? The whole point of warped was having a whole experience for under 100$ - GA and parking," said one Instagram user. "If they don't try to keep it that way I'm not attending, these companies and music festivals are getting money hungry and don't do it for the sake of music anymore."
"Hyped until I saw Live Nation was involved," said another.
In May, The Justice Department sued Ticketmaster as well as its parent company Live Nation for allegedly monopolizing the live entertainment industry. The lawsuit claimed that the companies were engaging in “a variety of tactics to eliminate competition and monopolize markets" as well as engaging in "numerous forms of anticompetitive conduct."
Live Nation has also faced fierce criticism in recent years for various controversies including high ticket prices and its role in high-profile incidents, for example the fatal Astroworld tragedy of 2021 and the Ticketmaster crash of 2022 which left many fans without tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
Contributing: USA TODAY
Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Is Vans Warped Tour coming back in 2025? What we know so far