As the 2017 concert season approaches, the Van’s Warped Tour has once again kicked off their tour by announcing the 2017 artist line-up at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.
This year’s line-up comes amid some controversy surrounding the line-up being leaked early. Not only was the actual leaking a problem but there were even objections from fans regarding the line-up that had been leaked.
“No one is forcing you to come,” said founder Kevin Lyman in response to detractors.
This year is the 23rd year of the tour. As with years in the past it is completely different than the year that preceded it.
“We picked some of the mentors of this business and the young bands to bring you a history,” Lyman said during the kickoff.
While last year featured many older bands from the early 2000’s, including Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, Yellowcard and Good Charlotte, 2017 has definitely been a shift to include more modern groups while still mixing in old favorites such as CKY, Hawthorne Heights, Bowling For Soup and The Ataris.
One of the bigger announcements to occur early in the show was the plan to have at least 14 international dates, including Mexico City and Japan. This year will mark the first year Warped Tour has had international dates.
During the line-up announcement, several bands performed live including Julevera, Microwave, Stacked Like Pancakes (the band with the self-proclaimed worst name in Warped Tour), Bless the Fall and Memphis May Fire. Live music wasn’t the only thing to show up this year
Lyman was also joined on stage by Beebs from Beebs and Her Money Makers for some advice on how to handle Warped Tour this year. Apart from just seeing bands they like, she encouraged people to see new bands and “meet some new friends. Take the opportunity to have an actual human interaction.”
Also included was the announcement of two new stages on the tour: the Hard Rock stage and the Skull Candy stage, replacing the Cyclops and Poseidon stages. The return of the Full Sail stage was also announced.
The focus for the Full Sail stage is to give many of the artists who were featured last year another shot at Warped Tour this year. Warped Tour will also continue to provide internships for students from Full Sail University.
Another artist to speak for the evening was Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed, who will also be returning to Warped Tour this year on the Renamed Mutant Stage (formerly the Monster Energy Stage). Hatebreed will be joined by Stick to Your Guns, The Acacia Strain, Silverstein, GWAR and many others.
Anyone who has been to a Warped Tour will attest to the number of charities and foundations present at the events. This year is no different and will include stands for A Voice for the Innocent, Farm, Can You Hear Me, Music Cares, Service Life and Truth.
The final announcement for the evening was the Journey’s Right Foot Stage line up which includes bands such as Goldfinger, Streetlight Manifesto, Dance Gavin Dance and Memphis May Fire. The bigger portion of this announcement was that workshops at warped this year will feature members from many of these bands.
Warped Tour starts on June 16 in Seattle, WA and ends August 6 in Pomona, CA. Tickets went on sale this morning. A full line-up of bands and dates can be found at vanswarpedtour.com.
