Being that this will personally be our fifteenth year attending the Vans Warped Tour (eleventh as a fan and fourth as a member of the media) we’d like to think we have a pretty good feel for which bands will be playing Kevin Lyman’s longest-running touring festival.
Of course, with this being the very last Warped Tour ever, there’s no doubt Lyman probably has some exciting surprises up his sleeve. Nevertheless, we still think we have a pretty good guess as to who we might be seeing out there this year.
Now by no means do we have any sort of insider information as to which bands will or won’t be performing this summer. These are purely our educated guesses. Let us repeat that: THE BANDS ON THIS LIST ARE STRICTLY OUR GUESSES AND MAY OR MAY NOT BE PERFORMING ON WARPED TOUR THIS SUMMER.
With that now out of the way, to check out a list of bands we think will be playing the last-ever cross-country Vans Warped Tour, be sure to see below. Afterwards, make sure to grab tickets to Warped Tour 2018 here.
The Wonder Years
Okay, we’ll be honest here: This could be an absolutely wrong guess, but being that The Wonder Years have been kinda MIA since releasing 2015′s No Closer To Heaven – aside from last year’s acoustic EP – it would make total sense for Warped Tour 2018 to be the place that kickstarts things for the Philly pop-punk act. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re teasing this on their Facebook page, too.
[UPDATE: The Wonder Years announced their new album Sister Cities and we’re thinking that’s a good sign for the summer!]
The Story So Far
Let’s make this simple: Generally with Warped Tour, if you’re a “Warped band“ and have a new album coming out (or one that was just released), you’re going to play the punk rock festival in some capacity. The Story So Far has been working on a new album for quite some time and it wouldn’t surprise us to see them promote it out on Warped this year.
Story Of The Year
Seeing as how Story Of The Year not only played the Warped Reward cruise last year and just released their first new full-length album in over six years, we think it’s safe to say the St. Loius, MO outfit has every reason to make a comeback out on Warped Tour. “Until The Day I Die” 2018 coming at cha!
State Champs
With hopefully a new album to promote, or at least a lead single, why wouldn’t one of pop-punk’s biggest main stage acts make one final trip out on Warped Tour? Plus, there’s usually a two-year turn-around with Warped’s roster (generally due to two-year album cycles) and seeing as how State Champs last played Warped Tour in 2016, signs are looking pretty good here.
3OH!3
3OH!3, aka one of Warped Tour’s first true electronic/hip-hop acts to make a splash on tour, released their break out sophomore LP Want back in 2008. For all those non-math majors reading this, that was 10 years ago. What better way to celebrate a 10-year-anniversary than by taking it back to where it all started for the Colorado duo? Maybe they can get Katy Perry to come out for “Starstrukk” or at least another epic crowd surf.
Real Friends
Similar to fellow pop-punk acts The Story So Far and State Champs, it’s been two years since Real Friends last played Warped Tour and they should have a new album coming out this year. So it’s simple, the math all adds up folks.
Every Time I Die
This is a no-brainer. When the founder of Warped Tour drops your name as a band he wants to see out on the final year of tour, why wouldn’t it happen? Plus, Every Time I Die never turns down a touring opportunity so let’s just go ahead and pencil them in for the final lineup already.
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake has literally played more than a year’s worth of dates on the Vans Warped Tour (meaning, they’ve played over 365 dates spanning more than 10-plus years). Do you really think they’d miss the last ever Warped Tour?
Reel Big Fish
Similar to Less Than Jake, as one of the few ska bands to survive the 90s, Reel Big Fish has been a staple out on Warped Tour for years. That said, with this being the last hurrah for Kevin Lyman and company, do you honestly think Reel Big Fish isn’t going to play “Sell Out” to a bunch of skanking showgoers one last time?
Good Charlotte
As one of the bands to help put pop-punk on the map by receiving love from the likes of MTV, the Madden brothers should 100% be out on Warped this summer. Considering they did about a week’s worth of dates back in 2016 and played the Warped Rewind cruise last year, that’s a pretty good sign they should be ready for a few more weeks on the road this year.
Waterparks
For those not keeping track, we’ll repeat the formula one last time: New album + two years since last Warped Tour performance = you got it, a Warped Tour appearance. While we aren’t gamblers by any means, we’d like to think there’s a pretty good chance you’ll hear some Entertainment tracks this summer on Warped Tour 2018.
Simple Plan
According to their Wikipedia page, Simple Plan played on the Vans Warped Tour every year from 1999 to 2005 – that’s seven years in a row! With that considered, who’s to say the Canadian pop-punkers won’t be feeling a little nostalgic after celebrating 15 years of their No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls album and want to do Warped one last time? They did just play the Warped Rewind cruise last year, so there is hope.
The Used
While this may be one of the bigger stretches on this list, why wouldn’t Bert McCracken and company want to make one last stop on Warped? Sure, it’s been nearly six years since The Used stepped foot on the Vans Warped Tour but with Kevin Lyman’s festival making such a huge impact on the band’s career, why not help push their new album The Canyon by making a special appearance or two?
Senses Fail
This, like a few bands we’ve mentioned today, is a pretty obvious choice. Senses Fail, in their 16th year as a band, is still very active and has a new album dropping in February. Combine their deep Warped Tour roots with a new album to promote and voila, a 2018 Warped Tour slot should be on its way.
Motionless In White
While Motionless In White may have left a very Warped-friendly label in Fearless Records for a not-so-Warped-friendly label in Roadrunner Records, something still tells us we could be seeing Chris Motionless performing a few new Graveyard Shift songs this summer. Even if it’s just a few dates, it’d be a shame to see Motionless In White miss the chance to play the festival that helped launch their career.
Knocked Loose
Generally, it’s a pretty good rule of thumb that if a band did Warped Tour the year before, they won’t be out the very next summer (as we pointed out a few times already). However, in the case of Kentucky hardcore outfit Knocked Loose, when you played one of the smaller stages but still drew some of the largest, most-engaged crowds, there’s a very good chance you’ll be back on Warped sooner than later.
Beartooth
As one of the younger yet most experienced members of the Warped family, we’d be shocked not to see Caleb Shomo out on the last ever Vans Warped Tour. The guy’s been doing Warped since he was about 15 or 16 in Attack! Attack!. And now, at the still very young age of 25, Beartooth should have a new album to promote here in 2018 so it only makes sense to see Shomo grace the Warped Tour stage one last time.
