Forever Warped

Introduction

Muddy, brown, disgusting water shot up our legs – geysers - as we entered the venue for Warped Tour 2025. Yes, we, like many others, were personally victimized by the white tiles. After 20 years of Warped experience, I thought we had seen it all. Yet here we were experiencing something new immediately upon entry - gross, but new. For better or worse, there would be many brand-new experiences had this year; The tiles - hiding liquid that I would generously call questionable - were only the beginning. Over the next two days, we would be physically and emotionally tested in ways for which we were not prepared.

Warped Tour 2025

Firstly, being in D.C. was way different than Charlotte, North Carolina. It was the first time I had been on a subway; what they call the metro. It was also the first time that Warped Tour had been a multi-day concert. The most apparent difference was needing to make use of the ADA accommodations this year – something that became increasingly frustrating and annoying as the days wore on.

The crowd at Bowling for Soup was absolutely incredible. Insane. Looking at it after the fact, I should have known it would be packed. I mean, they did the Phineas and Ferb theme song for fucks sake; That is iconic. Yet, somehow, my brain was trapped in the mid-2000s, acting as if they were still the same little band I saw at The Lincoln Theater back in the day. This was to the detriment of my mother and me since we ended up stuck behind the back of the ADA viewing platform after fighting tooth and nail to even make it that far. With a wheelchair. Shout-out to the man and his wife/girlfriend/significant other for your kindness and assistance getting up to the viewing platform, even though it ended up being full.

On that note, thank you to everyone who helped my mom, and my family navigate the venue using the most cumbersome pain in the ass wheelchair imaginable. To the guy who strong-armed the front wheel back on when it popped off the rim, to the two guys who helped us make it to the bathrooms – you are all rock stars, legends. The kindness and understanding you all extended to us, to total strangers, was truly moving.

Motion City Soundtrack, Silverstein, 3OH!3, Simple Plan, and Hawthorne Heights were welcome sights filled with nostalgia. They were also among the sets I was most looking forward to among “the classics,” if you will, and I was not disappointed. Motion City Soundtrack will forever have my heart, and I will be the first to admit that I am biased toward them, but they put on such a great show! Jesse brought boundless energy, as always, along with the rest of the gang. Silverstein was incredible, the rain began during their set, which was apropos, and I danced so hard I got a little lightheaded. Also, to the people around me shouting, “I love you, Shane!” – you guys are awesome, and same here. Hawthorne Heights brought the love and togetherness, and a strong dose of emo sadness. While 3OH!3 turned the dance energy up to eleven, and Simple Plan played the What’s New Scooby Doo? theme song which was perfect and had me so hyped.

Among the newcomers, Magnolia Park, Scene Queen, Honey Revenge, and Yung Gravy were the most exciting to me. Magnolia Park and Scene Queen brought the screams and the hardcore vibes I have grown to love in my adulthood. Honey Revenge was so fucking catchy I cannot get it out of my head. Yung Gravy looked like he was having a fantastic time on stage, and I had a booty-shaking, damn good time. Even in the rain.

Warped Memories

Warped Tour 2005 – my very first. At 12 years old, I had no idea how this would change my life forever. My mom, brother, sister, and I travelled three hours from Raleigh to Charlotte. My sister used MapQuest to print out the directions from home to the hotel and from the hotel to the venue. As we drove down I-85, we joked about the construction, which would turn into a yearly dig. It felt like they would never finish working on that damn road. We passed the Pilot truck stop, waving at Bill the Lumberjack as we did. Another moment that would become a core memory and a yearly ritual during our travels. I will never be able to pass that truck stop without yelling, “Hi, Bill!”

My mom’s van – a burgundy Ford Aerostar – popped a tire on our way to the venue, and we were all in a panic thinking we were going to be late, but the tire shop next to Jack in the Box and 7-Eleven saved the day. I choose to blame the highway construction for the delay.

When we arrived at the show, it was as if we had entered another world. A punk rock world. The lot was jam-packed with people waiting for the doors to open, sheltering under trees to beat the growing heat. People with mohawks, spiky hair, fishnets, platform shoes, knee-high Converse, band tees. It was incredible, mind-blowing, life-changing. I was 12 years old, a preteen. My dads took me shopping for clothes at department stores back then, and they didn’t sell clothes like what I was seeing. I was not dressed like the people around me; I did not look like them, but none of that mattered at all. It was a welcoming community, a place where we all could belong, brought together by a love of music. Especially back then, when the music we loved sparked judgement or concern from so many parents in the “mainstream.” (Looking at you, Hawthorne Heights.)

Throughout the day, the heat was sweltering, an oven. The temperature itself mixed with the body heat of so many hundreds of people, swirling together to cook us all. But Warped Tour knew what was up, and they had a misting tent - essentially just a line of sprinklers showering down on your head, but it was heaven. There was no better way to cool down, and we would stand there until we were soaked before heading back out into the searing sun. It was not without consequence, though; I have never had a worse sunburn in my life. And I was not alone. My mom, brother, and sister fared the same. Showering was painful, cold water felt hot. Hell, my own skin touching was painful. In the hotel room at the end of the night, we were all waddling around like penguins with our arms held out so as little skin as possible was touching. And sleeping? Only from extreme exhaustion did any of us manage to get any sleep. The sheets could have been Egyptian cotton of the highest thread count, and they still would have felt like sandpaper. Looking back, at least one of us probably got sun poisoning, but no one died, so I’ll consider it a win. On top of the heat, it rained just long enough to drop a blanket of sticky humidity on us.

I would like to say we learned our lessons after that, but I would be lying. The sunburn, like so many things, became a feature of our Warped Tour experience. Our go-to phrase became a variety of “Is it even Warped if [insert thing here]?” – if it does not rain, if it is not hot, if you are not sunburnt, if it is not humid.

As the years passed, others joined us in our yearly Warped Tour adventure. Family friends, cousins, best friends, and even one of my biggest loves. It became a cherished tradition.

My best friend joined us in 2006 when the Warped Tour stopped in Raleigh. Aiden performed on a small side stage, and Wil stood out on top of the crowd, fans holding his feet. He had black eyeliner and white face makeup on, and his eye makeup came down to a point on his cheeks. What a cutie.

We met some of the members of Paramore before their set as they were walking around the venue, passing out fliers, advertising the time of their set, and what stage they were on. We watched them perform from close-up on the same stage on which Aiden played. Then, by Warped 2007, Paramore were megastars. Fans were grouped around the fences for a chance to see Hayley; They were screaming and waving, over the moon excited. I may not have been up on the fence, but I was definitely screaming and yelling. I wanted to look like her, sing like her, everything. Meanwhile, Aiden never managed to hit it big in that way – a damn shame, too.

I am not sure which year it was, but there was a torrential downpour – surprise, surprise – and my best friend and I sheltered under the tables at a merch tent.

Many wonderful years waiting in line to get in the doors, and little-known bands went back and forth selling their CDs, CD player or iPod and headphones at the ready to play a sample. I have a stack of CDs from bands that no longer exist, like Split Fifty

I celebrated several birthdays at Warped Tour, and my family made sure everyone knew it. Meg & Dia wished me a happy birthday one year because we had made a big sign saying it was my birthday. Oh! And Escape the Fate’s lead singer, Craig Mabbit, dedicated a song to me called Ten Miles Wide. My 16th birthday. I still have that sign, too.

Feelings, WOAAH, Feelings

Warped 2025 brought back so many feelings and emotions: freedom, joy, community, belonging, peace. When Warped Tour ended, my life shifted, and I did not notice; I did not notice until I was back there and those feelings flooded through me again, wave after wave. Other concerts/shows can bring these feelings to the surface, but it is fleeting. Other concerts are like being in a wave pool; Warped Tour is like swimming in the ocean. The wave pool can lift me up and carry me for a time, but the ocean can hold me up and carry me far away. I can get lost in the ebb and flow. Even from the back of the crowd, the metaphorical water lapping at my feet, the pull of the tide is palpable. No matter where I float off to, I am in Warped waters.

Bittersweet

I am not old. I know that. Thirty-one going on thirty-two does not count as old in probably anyone’s book. Yet, like Bilbo Baggins, “I know I don’t look it, but I’m beginning to feel it in my heart.” 20 years is a long time. So much has changed. Not only for me, but for everyone alive. Technology has advanced so far that it is practically unrecognizable from what was available in 2005. I do not even think my cell phone back then had a camera (and I felt fancy because I had a cell phone to begin with). From twelve to thirty-one years old is huge. I barely remember 2005.

Part of me wishes I had been older back in 2005 so that I could remember having seen sets like The Offspring or so that I could watch bands that, at the time, I did not listen to, but that I dig now, like Less Than Jake or Scary Kids Scaring Kids.

Family Ties & Supportiveness

I am not sure why it is sometimes difficult to explain how I feel when I am at Warped Tour. Other concerts sometimes elicit a similar response in me, but there’s just something wonderful about being surrounded by awesome music and people, and being there with my mom, brother, and sister, that is so special to me. No matter the changes we have gone through emotionally or life events we endured, the four of us will always share something special. Something irreplaceable. I have such a deep and abounding love for music, and so much of that stems from my mother and siblings sharing their love with me. I was a little girl, and it would have been easy to say that I was too young to go, or that they didn’t want to have to look out for me the whole time. They let me in, shared their music with me, and it changed my life forever. If not for my mom and my sister, I don’t know if I ever would have found Motion City Soundtrack, or Bowling for Soup, or Paramore. If not for my brother, I might never have listened to Pennywise, or Less Than Jake, or Anti-Flag. Who would I be without them?

If not for my two Dads’ support, I would not have been there in the first place. Especially in those years when Warped fell right on one of their birthdays. I thank them both for the sacrifices that they made so that I could create lifelong memories with my mom, brother, and sister. I know it is not the kind of music they like, but they were still super cool dads who supported their weird emo daughters even when they did not understand why in the hell we wanted to be out in the heat all day surrounded by noise.

Mom – the coolest person I know. The punkest punk rocker who has accompanied her chaotic children to the Warped Tour and helped to make it a yearly tradition. Your love and support were priceless, and without you, I would not have even half of the pictures, autographs, or kickass memorabilia that I have amassed.

Conclusion

The more I think about it, the more memories that swim to the surface – an ocean, indeed. An endless collection of moments, memories, and experiences that could have only happened at Warped Tour and have helped make me who I am today. I am not the same as I was in 2005, and neither is the Warped Tour, but the ocean of memories is eternal. I am forever warped.

Warped Tour 2025 was not the same as the Warped of my memories, but of course, it was not. Everything changes. The white tiles sucked, wheelchair accessibility was not great, and the port-a-potties that passed for bathrooms were the stuff of nightmares. It was stupid hot on day one and then sopping wet on day two. My feet sloshed in my Converse. But, with all that, I was in the happiest place on earth. I love you, Warped Tour.

See you all in 2026.