Concert Reports

This year the Vans Warped tour came steamrolling through Ventura’s Seaside Park on June 23rd and proved to be a bombastic way to jump start the Vacation Season as the tour Kevin Lyman started 18 years ago has become as much a Summer time tradition as Baseball, Hot Dogs and Sun Burns. America’s premiere music and lifestyle festival of the summer is now on the road performing to record crowds during the day

www.WarpedTour.com

All Photos: Ray Soto / Central Coast Rocks

Special Thanks: Libby Coffey, Bethany Watson

The 40-date VANS WARPED TOUR®–well established as America’s premier music and lifestyle festival tour of the summer–kicked off June 15 in Auburn, WA at White River Amphitheater and wraps up August 4 in Houston, TX at Reliant Park. A music lover’s playground, the VANS WARPED TOUR has been breaking up-and-coming indie talent as well as both creating and showcasing major established artists since 1995. The nationally-renowned touring festival is bringing the “Best Day Ever” to fans across the U.S. and Canada.

“Each year as the tour takes shape it is exciting to see it when it comes together. It would be impossible to put on a tour of this size and caliber, for a fair price, if we did not have the support of this wonderful group of sponsors,” VANS WARPED TOUR founder Kevin Lyman. “We’re able to bring the best show possible and in 2013, I’m convinced we will not let the fans down.”

The VANS WARPED TOUR 2013 multi-stage line-up includes Go Radio, Black Veil Brides, We Came As Romans, Motion City Soundtrack, The Wonder Years, Bring Me the Horizon, Reel Big Fish, Never Shout Never, Echosmith, Mc Lars and many more. A mix of hotly-tipped and established artists, the summer trek is the most eclectic traveling festival tour on the planet featuring rock, punk, pop, EDM, hip-hop and rap, metal, indie rock, alt-country, folk-punk, reggae and rockabilly. For the full list of confirmed acts, visit: www.vanswarpedtour.com/bands

Every summer, the VANS WARPED TOUR has consistently offered a wide-range of lifestyle attractions onsite for a traditionally low ticket price.

Warped Tour is not only a Summer time tradition that music fans of this genre expect their favorite bands to play, but a rite of passage for young musicians who have attended the tour growing up and now are living out their dreams playing the festival. “I think it’s definitely a Milestone that you always want to achieve, for sure,” Alex Reed of Go Radio told us when asked about being on Warped Tour. Check out his band’s latest single “I Wont Lie” from Go Radio’s latest CD “Close The Distance”. “It’s like one of the last vestiges of this kinda fringe culture,” MC Lars told us before he brought his unique style of Rap to the Spotify Stage. His latest release, the Edgar Allen Poe EP is out now. “We’re super stoked to be doing this,” Jamie Sierota of Echosmith told us after performing on the Ernie ball Stage. His band which consists of four siblings from L.A. is offering a free download of their Summer Sampler on their Website which includes the tunes “Cool Kids,” “Come Together,” and “Talking Dreams.”

Other Main Stage highlights included Never Shout Never, whos frontman Christofer Drew seemed genuinely happy to be back on Warped Tour. Anyone who’s seen the documentary No Room For Rock Stars which chronicled the 2010 Warped Tour knows Drew’s feelings were mixed at best towards the end of that outing. But this is 2013 and the screams of “I Love You Chris” from the front row were instantly met with “I Love You Too” from the singer. Never Shout Never’s new CD “Sunflower” drops on July 2nd.

We Came As Romans lit up the Main Stage with enough electricity to power the entire town of Ventura while August Burns Red turned in one of their most intense performances ever. August Burns Red singer Jake Luhrs founded HeartSupport, a non-profit organization built to encourage, inspire and bring a message of hope. A place to talk about struggles and difficult issues. To find healing and strength in this community. Over the past years, HeartSupport has worked with multiple artists such as Austin Carlile, Stephen Christian, and Beau Bokan to share their stories to fans. At Warped Tour, Luhrs is speaking to fans every day about his struggles and allowing the fans to share their stories. In addition, Luhrs has also paired up with Beau Bokan as the official ambassador for Warped Tour, who will be onsite meeting with fans and selling his clothing line, Golden Hearts Shine Forever.

Over on the Tilly’s Stage, New Years Day treated fans to an early Halloween. In fact, the group fronted by femme fatale Ash Costello treats the Holiday more as a lifestyle. Mixing catchy guitar driven songs with a high energy visual stage show makes New Years Day a must see on this year’s Warped Tour. The band recently released their latest album, Victim to Villain, on June 11, through Century Media Records

About the Vans Warped Tour: The VANS WARPED TOUR® is well established as America’s premier music and lifestyle festival of the summer, breaking up-and-coming indie talent as well as both creating and showcasing major established artists since 1995. The nationally-renowned festival is the most eclectic traveling tour and features a diverse array of artists–with hotly tipped acts in every genre from punk, metal and indie to rock, hip-hop, rap, EDM, reggae and pop; as well as a variety of lifestyle attractions for its traditionally low ticket price. The tour has cemented its place in history by bringing punk rock/skate/action sports culture from the underground to the forefront of global youth culture, while at the same time helping those in need and being the first tour to consistently use groundbreaking environmental concepts every year on the road. The Warped Eco Initiatives (WEI) focus on making the tour more environmentally friendly whether it is through eco conscious catering for the artists and crew courtesy of Tada Catering or a solar-powered sound system on the Kevin Says Stage. Further, www.vanswarpedtour.com even showcases public transportation options for every tour date and carpool social media apps as well as exotic eco travel contests. For more information on the tour that Alternative Press readers voted the “Best Tour/Festival” of 2009/2010/2011/2012 and Rolling Stone called “America’s most successful festival” (2005) go to: www.vanswarpedtour.com. Now in its 19th year, the 40-date tour commenced June 15 in Seattle, WA and finishes August 4 in Houston, TX.  

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