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  • Warped Tour Is Coming Back—Here’s Why We Shouldn’t Go

    Written by Aaliyah Cantrell

    Alternative Music Deserves Better Than Warped Tour.

    TW: Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Enabling Abuse

    Vans Warped Tour is officially announced to return this summer, occurring in the fall of this year in 3 cities. Like many others in the Black and Brown alt community, I have fond memories of waking up early to put on my best summer punk outfit and entering through the gates to experience a day of fun, friends, and our favorite bands. However, I will absolutely not be attending the 2025 Warped Tour, and neither should you.
    Unfortunately, the hype for Warped Tour’s return has overshadowed its history of misogyny, abuse, and exclusion—largely enabled by its founder, Kevin Lyman. Vans Warped Tour may evoke nostalgia, but its dark history of enabling abuse should not be ignored. Here’s why we must leave it in the past.

    Warped Tour’s Culture of Misogyny, Abuse, and Enabling Predators

    You don’t have to go deep into the rabbit hole to find Kevin Lyman, Warped Tour’s founder, enabling or excusing sexual abuse within the scene. Many associated artists (including members of All Time Low, Falling in Reverse, A Day To Remember) have faced serious allegations, and Lyman has continually protected them — all of these artists are also slated for Warped’s 2025. His infamous defense of Jake McElfresh (who was accused by multiple underage girls) as “not a legitimate danger to anyone,” was the moment I personally disconnected from Warped culture. I use the word ‘culture’ very intentionally, as Lyman himself claimed that sexual assault in the scene was simply “part of the culture.” His go-to excuse? “It didn’t happen on Warped Tour.” Besides being inaccurate (some of the abuse did happen on tour, such as with Mike Fuentes), it doesn’t matter as this logic fuels the culture of denial that protects and normalizes abuse.
    The most egregious example is Lyman defending Austin Jones, who was later charged with child pornography after coercing underage fans into explicit videos. Lyman’s response: “The word ‘pedophile’ is a strong, strong term,” and framed the backlash as “mob-mentality injustice.” He even helped smear the whistleblower Damon Fizzy, who exposed Jones. That’s not just negligence…that’s active, complicit harm.
    Kevin Lyman and his associates silence victims and shames those who speak up. He specifically catered to a demographic of 14-25 year olds while protecting the very predators who targeted those same young fans.

    The Impact on Black & Marginalized Women

    Warped Tour thrived in a scene that routinely excluded and fetishized Black and Brown alt fans. As an alternative Black woman, I’ve seen firsthand how misogynoir shows up — being harassed or ignored at shows, labeled “aggressive” for speaking out, or gaslit by fans, staff, or even other musicians, when addressing abuse. White women in the scene face misogyny, but Black women face the added weight of racism and dismissal.
    Just last month, when a Black female artist named Simpson recently came forward with abuse allegations against ZULU, the backlash was immediate. Among this issue’s discourse, fans who claim to stand for justice turned on her, showing this scene still protects men over Black women. I can’t help but wonder what the response would’ve been had these allegations come from a white woman.
    ZULU was of course set to play Long Beach’s Warped Tour date, which may or may not still happen in some capacity. This isn’t just history, this is happening today. If this is how victims are treated in 2025, what makes us think a revived Warped Tour will be any safer?

    Why Bringing Back Warped Tour Puts Marginalized Fans at Risk

    No Accountability, No Change. Has anything been done to make Warped Tour safer? (Spoiler: No.) The reality is that alternative spaces that cater to young, predominantly white audiences often dismiss or outright ignore the concerns of marginalized fans. Kevin Lyman is still out here with the same careless viewpoints, and the only actions that have been made to make Warped tour safer for women and girls is by…the same women and girls that it harmed. Lyman personally does not care about our safety. If we truly want alternative culture to change, we must demand better leadership, better accountability, and better spaces that actively prioritize safety for everyone, especially for those most at risk. This evolution starts with rejecting the people that allowed this harm in the first place. That includes Kevin Lyman — and the ‘culture’ he’s built.
    The same industry figures who protected abusers will profit from nostalgia. Similar to sloppy cash grabs that target millennial nostalgia, like When We Were Young Fest, Warped Tour 2025 is not a continuation of the “golden years” we remember. It’s a reinforcement that shitty people can get away with shitty things, on your dollar and on your time, just by appealing to your humanity of reminiscing. Not to mention it’s not even a tour, just 3 separate location fests for a very inflated price. I promise, it will be a better and more comfortable experience to stay home and listen to your old ipod.
    Do we really want to revive a space that was never safe for us? Among these notorious cases of abuse involving artists on the tour, the lack of accountability and bands continuing to be booked despite allegations encourages this culture further. The projection of punishment and shaming the very people brave enough to speak up and protect victims is appalling, and going to Warped Tour is directly supporting that. Alternative spaces that prioritize safety deserve support instead.

    Where to Find Safe, Inclusive Spaces for Alternative Women and Femmes

    Fortunately, there is hope! Many DIY music spaces in your community (consider looking into NYC, Philly, LA, Houston, Chicago, and many other areas you may be close to) are femme-run, and support safety and equality for all. Festival season is also approaching, and did you know there are in fact femme-centered, BIPOC-led alternative festivals and tours happening, most likely at a community near you? Here’s a few that I suggest:

    These spaces and events provide the community and music Warped Tour failed to. Getting involved with your local scene is so much more rewarding, supportive and beneficial for everyone, fostering community connections typically without the worry of powerful people being protected while doing harm. In fact, just yesterday Break Free fest exemplified this by removing one of their acts due to allegations similar to those that were ignored and protected under Kevin Lyman’s leadership. This is one huge way in which true accountability and safe community is built. Black alternative femmes and allies can and are doing the work to build and support safer, ethical music spaces, and demonstrating the importance of calling out and avoiding predatory spaces while uplifting new ones.

    Let’s Build the Scene We Deserve

    We don’t need Warped Tour to relive our love for alternative music.
    Instead of funding a tour with a harmful legacy, let’s commit to the real work and meaning of punk and support safe artists, spaces, and events that uplift and protect alternative women, girls, femmes, and marginalized voices. Warped Tour’s return isn’t just a trip down memory lane, it’s a dangerous step backward for the entire scene. We owe it to ourselves and the women and femmes in our lives to build the safer, more inclusive scene we always deserved.

    If you or a loved one are seeking support due to sexual abuse, here are some resources:

    RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
     24/7 Confidential Support
    800-656-HOPE (4673) | rainn.org

    Crisis Text Line
    Text HOME to 741741 for 24/7 support
    crisistextline.org

    BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective)
    beam.community

    Calling All Crows – Here for the Music Campaign
    callingallcrows.org

    Get a list of more resources and stay connected with BGEN’s healing alt femme community here!

    Further Reading:

    Aaliyah “Aal” Cantrell (they/she) is the voice of Black Girl Emo Night, a space reclaiming rock for Black female artists and fans through healing justice, cultural education, and community power.