VANS WARPED TOUR^® 2009

JUNE 30

The Vans Warped Tour^® Presented by AT&T; the annual punk rock extravaganza celebrates its 15^th anniversary this year, and organizers are promising the most memorable jaunt yet for North America’s longest-running touring festival. The 46-date tour commences June 26 in Pomona, CA and will once again make a stop in Phoenix for a full day of fun at Cricket Wireless Pavilion on Tuesday, June 30. The festivities will begin at 12NOON.

The 2009 incarnation of the VANS Warped Tour–affectionately known as “punk rock summer camp”–will host a distinct and diverse lineup of the hottest artists on the scene, as well as a full concourse of lifestyle attractions and vendors. Even better, it all comes at a traditionally affordable ticket price.

Five stages located both inside and outside of the Pavilion on the east side of the venue, will find a plethora of artists performing throughout the day. Fans can enjoy music from artists including 3OH!3, A Day to Remember, A Skylit Drive, Aiden, Alexisonfire, Anti-Flag, Attack Attack!, Bad Religion, Bayside, Big D and the Kids Table, Black Tide, Breathe Carolina, Breathe Electric, Brokencyde, Dance Gavin Dance, Escape the Fate, Gallows, I Set My Friends on Fire, In This Moment, Innerpartysystem, Ivy League, Jeffree Star, Less Than Jake, Lights, Longway, Madina Lake, Meg & Dia, Millionaires, NOFX, Outernational, Red Car Wire, Saosin, Senses Fail, Shad, Shooter Jennings, Streetlight Manifesto, TAT, The Architects, The Ataris, The Devil Wears Prada, The Exploited, The Maine, The White Tie Affair, There For Tomorrow, TSOL, TV/TV, Underoath, VersaEmerge

There’s another change to the tour’s landscape this year–the tour will feature one main stage instead of two. This tour evolution will allow artists to give fans a full 40-minute set as opposed to 30-minutes in past years. Ten bands will rock the main stage at each date, and set changes will run like clockwork at only 20 minutes, encouraging fans to check out side stages as well.

Tour founder and producer Kevin Lyman comments, “We went to one main stage for a couple reasons.  Many of these bands have been around for a long time and have lots of songs to choose from, so this year, instead of limiting them to five or six songs, they will have 40 minutes to play all your favorite songs from the past and a couple of new ones. This year’s lineup is a great mix of the old and the new and continues our attempt to keep the lineup as diverse as possible. Since times are tough, it was also important to me to figure out how to keep the ticket price low this year. This way we can accomplish that AND still put on an awesome show.”

Plus, Keeping our environment in mind, the WARPED ECO INITIATIVES (WEI) continue to be a big part of the tour in 2009. Facets of WEI range from biodiesel fuel for touring trucks and buses to environmentally friendly catering for bands and crew courtesy of Tada Catering. There’s even a solar-powered sound system on the Kevin Says Stage. WARPED will again collaborate with Philippe Cousteau’s environmental organization Earth Echo International to cultivate environmentally-friendly programs that encourage awareness through action, and to bring these initiatives to into the collective fan consciousness. Furthering WEI’s online presence, the WARPED website (WWW.WARPEDTOUR.COM) showcases pages for each tour date, including public transportation options and carpool message boards as well as eco contests and initiatives. WARPED TOUR and EarthEcho International will again organize a volunteer watershed cleanup at NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Monterey, CA.

In addition, the VANS WARPED TOUR has partnered with the TJ Martell Foundation once more. For each tour date, the TJ Martell Foundation will auction pair of tickets and the opportunity for fans to watch their favorite band from the side of the stage. Plus, the second annual Vans Warped Tour/TJ Martell bowling event has been scheduled for June 29 in Phoenix, AZ. Bands will square off in a rock n’ roll bowling competition of epic proportions. Working in conjunction with KEDJ (The Edge), WARPED will auction off a spot on every band bowling team, allowing lucky fans to roll alongside their favorite rockers.

It will no doubt be another year to remember for this summer tradition. See what the press has said about past installments of the tour:

“Best Tour/Festival Of The Year”

–Alternative Press, February 2009

“Trends pass. Rock festivals come and go. But the Warped Tour marches on.  Warped hasn’t just survived–it continues to thrive: Fourteen years after quietly premiering as a celebration of the teenage skate-surf-punk culture, one decade after expanding to a massive multi-stage event, the traveling music party remains one of the summer’s perennial draws…”

–Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, July 17, 2009

“…the ultimate sampler platter for what’s hot and rising from the underground or has already arrived…”

–Darryl Morden, Hollywood Reporter/Reuters, June 22, 2008

“The festival isn’t just a bunch of bands playing music, it’s about the shared experience between everyone, whether you’re a band member, roadie, vendor or ultimate fan.”

–Kellie Hwang and Nicki Escudero/AZCentral.com/Arizona Republic, June 26, 2008

“…the Warped Tour has managed to stay relevant and vital while the music industry withers away into the broadband ether. The touring festival stays alive by reacting to the fickle tastes of its suburban teen fan base–it’s flexible.”

–Ryan Dombal, Blender.com, July 28, 2008

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