“This is… incredible.”
Me to my childhood best friend as we descended into the sea of denim and black t-shirts that was the Vans Warped Tour 30th Anniversary in Washington, DC this past summer. For the first time since 2019, droves of music fans descended upon the festival grounds for a weekend of music (loud… music), sweat, and the bizarre, communal catharsis that is the mosh pit. The crowds were dense, the days were long, and you know else they were… peaceful. In the truest representation of the punk rock community, everyone in attendance treated one another like family. It was beautiful.
‘You went to a music festival and nothing bad happened… so what?’
Sure, the same can be said of most festivals and fandoms across contemporary culture, but there’s something special about the way this particular community shows up. A stubborn drive towards authenticity, an endless pursuit of truth and honesty, and an unwillingness to give in to the day’s societal pressures. A philosophy of resistance through peace, community, and of course, through music.
I should disclaim that I am no authority on the subjects of either music or philosophy. I am, however, a lover and consumer of both, and have been deeply moved in recent months to feel and observe the way the values upon which punk rock culture is founded have re-emerged and begun to drive real, positive change in the world at large.
Lofty claims, I know.
Here’s the thing, punk rock* has always been about resistance. The heart of that resistance is honesty; brutal, unapologetic honesty. The music speaks of life as it actually is; bringing forth feelings and thoughts usually reserved for the backs of minds right out into the open. It demands that listeners accept and respect themselves and their compatriots as whole humans and leaves no room for judgement or comparison. Punk rock refuses to divide along artificial lines. That’s not to say it is entirely apolitical, but rather that the emphasis is on doing what is actually right, instead of what looks right on the surface. The intentions are pure, the language is unfiltered, and the energy is unstoppable.
*To include sub genres such as alternative, emo, hardcore, post-hardcore, pop-punk, and a few others in between, for the purposes of this essay.
It’s all well and good to sing the praises of our beloved community, but what does that have to do with cultural revolution? Imagine, if you can, how it felt to exist in the world twenty years ago; now, do the same for just five years ago. The contrast is stark, isn’t it? The ‘90s and early ‘00s weren’t exactly utopian; politics were tense enough, culture was rapidly changing, and there was plenty to worry about on the world stage. However, it is also true that we were all vastly more free at that time than we have been in recent years. We were encouraged to celebrate our differences, not to weaponize them; we talked about issues with passion and respect; we learned from one another. Conversely, current times have been fraught with division, cultural performance, and the advent of the abhorrent concept of “cancelation”. I’m sure, reader, that you have felt the unrelenting pressure to align with your societal in-group just to survive. The effort it takes to follow the rules, play the right part, and keep up with rapidly changing tides is nothing short of exhausting.
It is this near-universal sense of exhaustion that brings us back to Warped Tour. The legendary shoe-sponsored festival is only one among many which celebrate the broader rock, alt, and punk rock genres; you could easily argue it isn’t even amongst the largest. It is, however, massively symbolic. Since its inception the Vans Warped Tour represented so much of what defines its target audience; with lower ticket costs, broad and eclectic lineups, stage time granted to emerging artists, and the infamous inflatable schedule wall, the tour long served as a rite of passage for culturally misfitted teens and young adults.
Then it went away.
The end of The Warped Tour in 2019 was publicly credited to low attendance and waning interest in live music. Interestingly this coincided with a radical shift towards digital culture, the emergence of social echo chambers driven by attention-seeking algorithms, and the most politically divisive era in modern memory. Global society turned rapidly away from humanity and authenticity, and settled, however uncomfortably, into habituated tribalism fueled by social performance and a healthy dose of manufactured fear. The trauma of the COVID pandemic only served to intensify this divide; keeping people physically distanced for years, requiring us to look to virtual spaces to find something that felt like connection. We all know how well that worked.
Five years later, the tides are shifting. Folks are beginning to (cautiously) shed their false virtual identities and opt out of the hostile digital sparring matches that had previously filled so much of their time. As the fog clears, we find ourselves standing on our own small, desolate islands; devoid of culture, connection, or anything that remotely smells of humanity. It is in these moments of clarity and loneliness that we look for our community; our desperation for authenticity drives us towards spaces where we are invited to be ourselves. For so many of us that means returning to the last place we found those things; the community we knew in our youth which is rooted in music, and which speaks the truth to anyone who will listen. While this return to punk rock culture has been happening slowly over the past few years, the return of The Warped Tour signifies the beginning of a full-fledged revival of the scene. The revival is further evidenced by the success of countless other music festivals, a torrential pipeline of new music releases, and steady stream of tour announcements coming from long-beloved scene anchors and newcomers alike. This modern cultural renaissance represents more than just a search for authenticity; it is evidence of authenticity in action. Each of us participating in this movement, be it through attending festivals and shows, sharing music-centered social content, or even streaming our favorite songs (old and new), are part of the most important cultural revolution of our time. Simply by choosing to be our truest selves, we are actively changing the world. Optimistically I choose to believe this is only the beginning; I believe in the power of our community to continue pushing back against the oppression of the artificial and replacing it with something real and beautiful. All we have to do is keep on listening.
Cheers, music lovers; don’t stop listening.