Do you smell that? No, it’s not the smell of your skin burning in 100-degree weather (we’re looking at you Arizona), it’s the smell of fresh air, tank tops and sunscreen – aka the smell of summer.
And, as the days of summer draw closer, you should all definitely know what that means: Warped Tour, duh.
While most of you are probably beyond stoked to see bands like Pierce The Veil, Asking Alexandria, August Burns Red, Memphis May Fire and more as they return to the coveted mainstage, today’s focus will be on the newer up-and-coming acts you may or may not be familiar with.
So get ready, as we’re about to introduce you to the eight new school artists you must see at Warped Tour 2015.
‘68
There should be no surprise that this well-documented, Noise-loved act came in first on our list. Besides the fact that this list is alphabetical, this grunge rock duo out of Atlanta, Georgia is hands down one of our favorite new acts to hit the scene in a long time. We mean, you heard In Humor And Sadness right? Yeah, point proven.
Warped Quote From ‘68 Vocalist/Guitarist Josh Scogin: “Warped Tour was one of my all time favorite tours I did in The Chariot, so I’m very excited to be doing it this year with ‘68. Since we don’t use set lists in '68, I can’t tell you what to expect but we will do our part to make it terribly, terribly loud. So you can expect that.”
Alive Like Me
Being on one of metalcore’s biggest and most successful labels can be intimidating for younger up-and-coming bands – especially when your band isn’t considered metal or hardcore. However, for Rise Records signess Alive Like Me, the term “intimidation” isn’t in their vocabulary. Impressing crowds all across the globe while sharing stages with acts like Issues, Crown The Empire and The Color Morale, Alive Like Me will without a doubt bring that same eye-opening energy to this year’s Warped Tour.
Warped Quote From Alive Like Me Vocalist Jairus Kersey: “If warped tour didn’t exist, we wouldn’t exist. Going and seeing our favorite bands when we were younger really solidified who we wanted to be in our minds. Our dreams have come true now that we are playing the tour. We only hope to inspire other kids to follow their passion for music just like we did ours.”
Being As An Ocean
Call us crazy, but sometimes when it comes to hardcore music, the idea of art can be lost in the shuffle of sweat-riddled mosh pits and anger-induced walls of death. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s refreshing to see an act like Being As An Ocean take the time to put the word “art” back into “artist.” Out of Southern California, fans should be excited to see this noisy five-piece act as they demonstrate both their intensity and delicacy all across this year’s Monster Energy Stage.
Warped Quote From Being As An Ocean Guitarist Tyler Ross: “Being As An Ocean is fired up to play Warped. We have two new songs that we’re going to hit hard with out of the gate and I think between Beartooth, Hundredth, '68 etc. you’re not going to have a boring day at the Monster Stage."
Mod Sun
Greeting listeners with chilled out, weed-influenced lyricism, Mod Sun – aka the hippy-hop extraordinaire, aka the purveyor of pure positivity – is in no way new to the Warped Tour scene. However, on a tour dedicated to typically heavier acts, the Minnesota emcee can sometimes get over looked. That said, we decided to make a point to acknowledge the Did I Ever Wake Up author as he will without a doubt put a smile on your face this summer; no matter how sun burned it might be.
Warped Quote From Mod Sun: "I’m being totally honest when I say I’ve never been so excited to play on stage. We released our debut album this year called ‘Look Up.’ I’ll be playing a bunch of songs off that and even a brand new song that I wrote specifically to premiere on Warped Tour. I also have a full band performing with me too! See you all soon, things are looking up!”
New Beat Fund
Similar to Mod Sun, New Beat Fund can serve as an escape at this year’s Warped Tour – and by escape, we not only mean from the handful of breakdown-leaning acts playing throughout the day, but also an escape from life itself. Bursting out of the busy Los Angeles scene, these rad cats will be bringing a steady dose of fun, dance-oriented tunes bound to free your mind and get your rump shaking. Don’t believe us? Why don’t you give “Sunday Funday” a listen above.
Warped Quote From New Beat Fund Vocalist: “We’re StOkeD 4 a Good VibEz beach party all summer long! Last Warped Tour we got caught moshing in a hurricane at a Nü Metal party. We’ll see what happens this year!”
Our Last Night
Known to some for their impressive YouTube covers of acts like Imagine Dragons, Katy Perry, Adele and more, New Hampshire natives Our Last Night are ready to show Warped-goers what they’re all about. After being a band for over ten years now, the independently run four-piece is finally gearing up for their first full Warped Tour experience. With a brand new album on the way, you can bet for sure these guys are going to take full advantage of their summer out on the road.
Warped Quote From Our Last Night Vocalist Trevor
Wentworth: “We are beyond excited to play this year’s Warped Tour. We plan on bringing something different to the table than the other bands on the tour and we have been waiting for this opportunity for 10+ years! We are stoked to have the chance and cannot wait for this summer.”
Palisades
Now, this may show our age a bit, but we remember the first time we saw Enter Shikari out on Warped Tour. They had just released Common Dreads and were in the process of scrambling people’s brains with their kooky-yet-impressive concoction of dubstep and hardcore. Fast-forward to 2015, and here we are with a group of New Jersey natives who we think might just have the same effect on unsuspecting listeners. Constructed with a party-first-think-later attitude, Palisades will not only get you off your feet with their hip-hop/edm inspired stage presence, but they’ll also get you going in the pit with their frenzied post-hardcore breakdowns.
Warped Quote From Palisades Vocalist Lou Miceli: "I know all of us are so stoked to play Warped this year. It’s going to be our first time playing so we’re excited to play in front of fans and people that have never seen nor heard of us before. Our live show is definitely our x-factor for sure. We bring this immense party to the stage that you can’t look away from haha. It’s so insane to think back to the first time I went to Warped Tour. My family friend at the time was tour managing Taking Back Sunday and he brought me side stage for them and that was when I knew that I wanted to be in a band and one day, play Warped Tour.”
PUP
While unfortunately not all of us will be lucky enough to catch the clamorous Canadian crew known as PUP out at Warped this year (playing from July 1-July 29), that doesn’t mean we still can’t point out their impressive new-school tuneage. Repping an array of different influences, PUP offers a brand of punk rock fans both new and old can get down to together. With tracks like “Reservoir” and “Back Against The Wall” bound to create a raucous in the pit, be ready to get knocked on your ass by some radical riffage and no-holds-barred energy.
Warped Quote From PUP Guitarist Steve Sladkowski: “We’re super excited to see some homies from Canada – The Dirty Nil, Seaway and Silverstein – as well as bands like Moose Blood and Lee Corey Oswald that we’ve gotten to know from touring the UK and US. Also Riff Raff. We have so many questions for Riff Raff. Questions that include: Does he make people call him Mr. Raff? Mr. Riff? Does he really like caffeine THAT much? What are the Versace Big Leagues and do they have room for four Canadians? Only time will tell. [Also,] We’ve been told that there are backstage BBQs where all of the headlining bands have to buy all the booze and food for bands like us. I don’t want to say we’re in it for the free liquor and hot dogs, but we’re… not not in it for the free liquor and hot dogs.
