Emily Laurich
Van’s Warped Tour was back at it again with over 100 artists traveling across the United States all summer long. Last Sunday, the tour arrived in Shakopee, Minnesota. Thousands of Minnesotans of all ages came to celebrate this array of artists coming together at Canterbury Park.
Upon entrance, one can easily become overwhelmed; hundreds of people surrounding you, pushing towards the entrance, tents filled with band merch as far as the eye can see, signs being held in the sky of various bands’ set times.
For my fifth year attending Warped Tour, this year’s lineup was far heavier than years past. Although “heavy” bands were the focus this year, there were still plenty of other genres. Varying from Punk, Pop Punk, Ska and Rap, there were enough artists there for everyone. Stacked Like Pancakes made their first appearance at Warped Tour this year, proving that Ska is still alive and well.
As always, there were a couple throwback bands on the tour. CKY and Anti-Flag proved that age is nothing but a number. Although both bands have been around for decades longer than anyone else on the lineup, they proved they were just as deserving to be there.
As for Pop Punk, this year’s lineup had much fewer bands than the years before. However, Neck Deep and Boston Manor rose up to the challenge and each put on killer sets–making up for the lack of Pop Punk bands in attendance.
No matter what genre people came to see, it’s always fun to discover new bands as well. Being in an environment surrounded by thousands of people with similar tastes in music, supporting one another; there’s nothing else like it.
