Warped Tour returns to Superpages.com Center July 5

by PegNews wire

It's not summer until the Vans Warped Tour® Presented by AT&T begins. The annual punk rock extravaganza celebrates its 15th 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 finishes August 23 in Carson, CA (see full list of tour dates, cities and venues below). The tour's kick-off party is confirmed for Thursday, April 2 at the Key Club in West Hollywood with performances from the Adolescents, TSOL, Sing It Loud, TV/TV and TAT.

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. With a new website launching April 1, WWW.WARPEDTOUR.COM will be more interactive than ever. Visit the site for a full list of bands performing at each show and more.

Also starting April 1, fans can purchase their tickets early via the annual internet pre-sale on the website. Fan-friendly ticket prices remain a staple of the Vans Warped Tour. In order to keep the festival affordable for all concertgoers, presale prices are approximately $25. That exclusive pre-sale price gives fans a concert ticket, a copy of the Vans Warped Tour 2009 compilation CD (SideOneDummy), a 25-cent donation to the Camp Hollywood Heart* charity and all service fees. Fans who snag the limited number of presale tickets in each market will also qualify for a chance to win exclusive prizes like tickets to a Vans Warped Tour 15th Anniversary special event in Los Angeles this September. Meanwhile, the regular on-sale for all of the dates will start on April 18.

The much-lauded WARPED Old School Stage returns to some cities in 2009. Check WWW.WARPEDTOUR.COM for details. 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."

Festival organizers made this traveling punk rock circus the summer's best bang for your buck. Appealing to everyone from traditional punk fans to backpacking hip hop kids to metal heads, VANS Warped Tour has its finger on the pulse of the most fiery acts in absolutely each and every genre--from the brash gutter punk of Gallows and the Adicts to the epic art metal of Underoath and the street savvy rhymes of P.O.S. Check out the lineup below. List is subject to change and not all bands will perform at every day (check WWW.WARPEDTOUR.COM for band listings by city).

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 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:

Source: Vans Warped Tour; Photos from Warped Tour 2008 in Dallas