MIAMI (WSVN) - The Vans Warped Tour, a music festival traveling across the U.S. for the past 24 years, has announced its 2018 stint will be its last.
In an interview with Billboard, Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman said he’s “just tired” and will end the tour in 2018. Lyman said several factors went into the decision, including declining ticket sales, an evolving festival industry and a shrinking number of bands that fit Warped Tour’s brand.
Lyman said to Billboard, “Before Warped I was on three years of Lollapalooza, so [it’s been] 26 straight summers out on the road. Not that I’m completely going anywhere, but traveling around the country with a tour this size in the landscape that we’re in is … to be honest, I’m just tired.”
With the final tour on the horizon, Lyman said he’s still searching for bands to fit his line-up. “You’re gonna see a big mix of bands I felt really embraced the Warped Tour lifestyle,” he told Billboard. “I don’t want to say a ‘mature’ lineup, but bands that I think could use one more big push of Warped Tour to help further their careers.”
Facebook users commented on the Warped Tour’s official post, and many expressed their sadness over the news. One user, Tiffany Assiniwe, said:
How tragic. I mean I stopped going b/c music isn’t what it used to be. I can’t get into the newer bands personally. But I will say Warped Tour ’07 was the best one ever! Glad I snuck out of my moms and drove 6 hours with my friends to attend
Others, like Brittany Cole Desantell, are hopeful for an amazing final run:
Please tell me this will be the best warped tour ever with the best line up ever?! With bands like, A Day To Remember, Green Day, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, Hawthorn Heights, Paramore, New Found Glory, and more.
The Vans Warped Tour was founded in 1995 and featured bands like Blink-182, No Doubt and Paramore.
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