Aw yes, the Vans Warped Tour. Otherwise known as the misfit Super Bowl, punk rock summer camp or the longest-running touring festival ever, Warped Tour is easily the biggest and the best thing we look forward to all year long.
With 60-plus artists hitting the Journeys Left Foot and Right Foot stage, the Mutant North and South stage as well as the Skullcandy, Full Sail and Hard Rock stage, we wanted to do our best to highlight the must-see bands this year.
Now obviously, people’s opinions on this matter vary by the kinds of music they like. While some showgoers might be excited to see acts like Neck Deep, Too Close To Touch and Boston Manor, others might be gearing up to see heavier acts like the Acacia Strain, After The Burial and Emmure.
In order to keep our list as pure and genre-free as possible, we thought it’d be best to remove ourselves from the decision process and instead go directly to the source asking the bands playing the Vans Warped Tour this year – makes sense, right?
So, to check out the must-see bands according to members of Anti-Flag, Memphis May Fire, Movements, Microwave, The White Noise, Sworn In and Sylar, be sure to look below. Afterwards, if you’ve yet to pick up tickets to Warped Tour, you can do so here.
Chris #2 - Anti-Flag
Stick To Your Guns
Recent friends after a brief run of European shows together. They’re amazingly positive and beyond intense. Hoping to catch them as much as possible.
War On Women
I love War On Women. Their agenda, their delivery, their ability to convert unsuspecting bystanders will undoubtedly be a strong suit this summer. If you don’t know, you will.
Big D / Suicide Machines
Tie. Both come into the tour for a brief moment but thankfully it’s while we’re there. Some of our oldest friends, some of the best humans, some of the best songs.
Sonic Boom 6
It’s been so long since we’ve seen SB6 and it’s only ever happened in their homeland of the U.K. Can not wait to see them on US soil, some of the best vibes of summer for sure.
Bad Cop/Bad Cop
A band that I love but have never seen. A testament to the influx of women in punk rock, it’s LONG OVERDUE. Really hopeful to become friends with them!
Honorable mentions:
Silverstein - Excellent band, excellent homies.
Beartooth - New friends!
Trophy Eyes - Old tour mates, excellent Aussie folks.
Creeper - Met them a few times, excited to see them play.
GWAR - The best! What are they gonna do?
Matty Mullins - Memphis May Fire
Hatebreed
Beartooth
The Ataris
Save Ferris
Sylar
This year’s Warped Tour lineup is so exciting! Such an eclectic group of modern and throwback bands. I’m personally excited to watch Hatebreed because they are an iconic band that I’ve never had the chance to see live. Beartooth is sure to have awesome shows and I’m stoked to get to hang with those dudes. You can count on seeing Jake [Garland, MMF drummer] and I at The Ataris set every day singing along and reminiscing on our high school days. Save Ferris is another band I’ve never seen before and am stoked to watch! We recently brought Sylar out on an American tour and they were great; I’m excited for them to experience Warped Tour for the first time!
Patrick Miranda - Movements
Knocked Loose
I’m really excited for this band because their latest record is phenomenal. Their shows are full of so much energy and they’re really talented dudes, so I’m stoked to get to know them.
Trophy Eyes
Chemical Miracle was one of my favorite records of last year, so it’s safe to say I’ll be watching them every single chance I get.
Neck Deep
I’ve been wanting to tour with and get to know these dudes for a while. Their music speaks for itself and I’ve heard nothing but great things about them as people.
GWAR
Who could pass up checking out a band as legendary as GWAR? I can’t wait to see what they bring to the table.
Hatebreed
Duh.
Nathan Hardy - Microwave
Creeper
Municipal Waste
T.S.O.L
Boston Manor
Knocked Loose
We’re stoked to be sharing a bandwagon with Knocked Loose because they’re a dope band. Tito is going to be filling in on drums for T.S.O.L. so you can’t miss that. We met some of the dudes from Creeper and Mikey from Boston Manor when we were over in the U.K./Europe last March. They are both great bands and we’re excited to pal around with them. I’m looking forward to being able to watch Municipal Waste eat food (and shred) and hopefully we can befriend our local Atlanta boys in Atilla. Chris Fronzak is the Fred Durst of our generation and I envy that.
Shawn Walker - The White Noise
Anti-Flag
I listened to them growing up and I’ve never got to watch their whole set before.
Beartooth
They’re good dudes and I like what they’re doing. Great live show.
Streetlight Manifesto
I enjoy good ska music and my brother-in-law actually showed me this band a while back, so I’m excited to see them live.
Emmure
Very excited for their new lineup and new songs.
Knocked Loose
From what I’ve seen, their shows are insane so I’m excited to see it in person.
Sworn In
The Acacia Strain
Bad Seed Rising
Anti-Flag
Tillie
Movements
We chose these artists because the emotion and feeling they translate and convey through their music resonates clearly and honestly.
Jayden Panesso - Sylar
Beartooth
Attila
Fire From The Gods
Bad Omens
Hatebreed
The main thing I really like about this year’s Vans Warped Tour is the diversity in the line-up. I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it this year as it’s Sylar’s first appearance on the festival.
