TINLEY PARK, Ill. – One year ago, 24-year-old Aaron Bonus was offering samples of his music to people wandering around in between concert sets at the Vans Warped Tour.
But now, almost two years since Bonus and the rest of Westland, a band from Boston, followed notable tours to promote their group, the lead singer has begun to see payoff from cross-country road trips and thousands of hours playing at festivals such as the 2011 Vans Warped Tour.
“We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from fans who tell us, ‘I’m glad you guys are finally playing Warped Tour,'” Bonus said. “But we still have a long way to go.”
Warped Tour began in 1995 as a way to mix alternative rock music with extreme sports. The tour to date has visited nearly every major city in the contiguous United States.
Butch Wananinger, a crew member for the band Phone Calls From Home, said festivals like Warped Tour tend to attract a “mass of people” who are general music enthusiasts, making it easier for new artists to gain popularity.
“I personally believe that if you listen to music, you can listen to any genre,” Wananinger said. “So when I go up to people to promote PCFH, I don’t limit myself to a specific ‘type’ of person or style because it’s all music. It all has a message.”
For veteran attendee Demetra Lisigakis, Warped Tour not only offers the opportunity to discover new bands but also to be surrounded by thousands of people with a common interest.
“It’s a tradition, a legacy and a place where you meet a ton of people who will agree with that,” Lisigakis said. “It doesn’t matter who’s playing because, at the end of the 14-hour day, you’re surrounded by good music and people who appreciate that.”
Similar to Lisigakis, concert photographer Ron Delhaye said although Warped Tour is stripped of stage lights and complicated sets, the raw energy is contagious.
“It’s a long, exhausting day, but everyone gets really excited and pumped up for each performance, and you just feed off of each other,” Delhaye said. “Plus, it’s just so many bands and so many people that it’s impossible to be bored.”
But for other attendees like Sarah Albert, the “spirit of Warped” is best exemplified during meet-and-greet hours with bands at their merchandise tents.
“I waited in line for two hours so I could be the first one to meet my favorite band,” Albert said. “Yeah, (the tent) is not a concert, but I like talking to the people I see on stage too.”
This interaction, which is a result of short sets and multiple stages at Warped Tour, is important to both fans and musicians alike, according to Sebastien Lefebvre, rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist for Simple Plan.
“We have signings every day, and we think it’s really important to just hang out and talk to people, and we’ve always done that,” Lefebvre said.
Lefebvre and the four other musicians in Simple Plan, originally from Canada, have been touring since May, promoting their new album released June 21.
However, while Lefebvre said there is no difference between the band’s performances in the U.S. and those in Quebec, he admits that Warped Tour stands out as “completely different” from any of their other tours.
“When we wake up, we never know when we’re going to play or which band is going to open for another,” Lefebvre said. “There are no ‘rock stars’ on Warped Tour.”
