Warped Tour

Warped Tour is back for its 17th year and is sponsored by none other than Vans. Headlining the 2011 tour is 3Oh!3, Against Me!, Asking Alexandria, Attack Attack!, August Burns Red, Gym Class Heroes, and The Devil Wears Prada. Warped Tour will of course feature the bands who have become a staple on the tour in past years, along with some newcomers.

The Warped Tour was created in 1994 by Kevin Lyman, who was a veteran of the skating scene as well as a three-year Lollapolooza veteran. Seeing how many Southern California punk and ska bands were apart of the skating and surfing scenes, Lyman had the idea to take these bands with similar styles on tour. So, he did what anybody would do: Cram a bunch of punk and ska bands on a bus (including Sublime and No Doubt) and set off on a revolutionary, financially disastrous tour. With serious doubts about the possibility of making the tour an annual event, Vans approached Lyman about putting on a skating festival. A spark flashed in Lyman's mind and decided to incorporate the two ideas: Thus the longest running, annual North American tour was born.

While the following '95 and '96 tours only featured a handful of bands, the popularity has grown to such that there are sometimes nearly 100 bands playing on any given tour date. Bands that played the first few years of Warped Tours like Less Than Jake, Nofx, Pennywise, Reel Big Fish, and the Vandals have returned to play the tour in recent years, becoming staples on the tour. As the tour evolves with the ever changing tastes of youth, there are also plenty of bands that, each year, play the Warped Tour for the first time; and depending on the success of the band, sometimes one time. Another thing that's changed over time is the genre of music that can be found on the tour. While the Warped Tour started out featuring strictly punk and ska bands, the festival has opened up to a number of related genres, including metal, hardcore, pop-punk, rap, hip-hop, and emo acts, not to mention the dozens of cross-over genres. An interesting side-note: There is always a "BBQ Band" that is allowed to play on the tour in exchange for serving all the other bands on the tour at the nightly barbecue.

It wouldn't be a Van's Warped Tour without the addition of skating, BMX, and extreme sports demonstrations. The Warped Tour is always held in a large, outdoor area to accommodate the numerous ramps and bowls that are brought in to feature local, up-and-coming, and professional athletes. There are also various vender booths run by both commercial companies and bands, selling a variety of clothing, accessories, and other merchandise. It's also worth mentioning that, in recent years, the Warped Tour has become more environmentally friendly. The production buses run on a biofuel, the stages are solar powered, the various silverware and plates used at food booths is all biodegradable EarthWare, and there's a recycling program where whomever collects the most trash at any location wins $100.

If this year's Warped Tour 2011 line-up is any indication, the tour will be pretty amazing. There are five stages this year, with the main stage featuring all the headliners mentioned above, plus D.R.U.G.S., Jack's Mannequin, Less Than Jake, Paramore, and Pepper. The Alternative Press/Advent Clothing Stage will feature The Aggrolites, The Expendables, Lionize, and Middle Class Rut. Some of the bands playing the Skullcandy Stage will be Big B, Foxy Shazam, illScarlett, MC Lars with Weerd Science (Josh Eppard of Coheed and Cambria), and Yelawolf. Performers on the Ernie Ball Stage include, but are not limited to Eyes Set to Kill, Madina Lake, My Arcadia, Terrible Things, There For Tomorrow, and We're Doomed. Featured acts on the infamous Kevin Says Stage will be The Bots, The Dance Party, Good Guys in Black, Larry and His Flask, The Mezingers, Places and Numbers, Sharks, and Windsor Drive. Remember, not every band is playing every tour date, so check the schedule to see when your favorite bands are playing.