The Warped Tour at Sixteen Years Old

Online, July 21, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The Warped Tour, brainchild of Kevin Lyman, is in its sixteenth year of running. The festival has grown and changed over the years, barely resembling the core values it set out to portray those many years ago.

Launching in 1995 with sixteen bands and three stages, the Warped Tour has inflated to seventy three bands and seven stages. What was initially started as a festival for diverse up and coming acts, with the emphasis on music has morphed into an action sports and music trade show of sorts. And while the bands that make up the 2010 lineup retain that diversity and motivation, it is hard not to notice the formulaic styles of the bulk of the young bands possess.

Like a cantankerous teenager, the Warped Tour at sixteen is not short on angst, energy and drama. One only needs to look at the blog post of Every Time I Die front-man Keith Buckley (http://www.bloginity.com/blog/2010/07/20/keith-buckley-every-time-i-die-warped-tour-update-hilarious-wisdom/) to get the clear message: the bands that have been cutting their chops for several years to earn their stripes have no reservations about letting the newish, greener acts what they think of a perceived lack of originality, musicianship and authenticity. Similar feelings were aired by Face to Face's Trevor Keith during their set yesterday at Merriweather Post Pavilion. "We're a legacy punk band, so we're probably new to a lot of you kids out there," Keith stated. "And I gotta tell you, I really love your high 80's shorts, neon shirts and great hairstyles," with no shortage of sarcasm in his voice.

The festival has plenty of stories of dissension between bands every year, so it was noticeable that tour organizers grouped bands by style on different stages, keeping feuds and co-mingling of conflicting bands and fans to a minimum.

But as the more seasoned acts call out the younger artists for various reasons and beefs, the kids will ultimately lead the way to the future, whatever form that may take. And it may not sit well with the more mature acts; but like old-timers eschewing the new-fangled habits of kids these days, they can either like it and find a way to embrace it, or risk becoming irrelevant and outdated. After all, for better or for worse, the kids are the future.

For a full gallery from the Warped Tour at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 20th, please visit http://music.mtkmd.com/services/photography/warped-tour-gallery