The Vans Warped Tour didn’t come back to California quietly. Instead, it crash-landed like a flaming skateboard into the sun-bleached pavement of Long Beach’s Marina Green Park last weekend, unleashing a two-day nostalgia nuke on 80,000 screaming punks, emos, ska-heads, and mid-thirties dads in Vans slip-ons and “I Survived The Pit” tees.
The smell was in the air—not just sweat, sunscreen, and adolescent angst, but the unmistakable scent of a sacred live music ritual renewed.
Thirty years after Kevin Lyman first birthed this glorious monster in 1995, and six years after it was presumed dead and buried in 2019, Warped Tour returned like a phoenix in ripped Dickies. While it’s now under the neon-tinted wing of Insomniac, the rave titans behind EDC, it hasn’t lost its punk rock soul. If anything, the day-of lineup reveals, side-by-side stages, and raw, rapid-fire chaos of it all felt more Warped than ever.
Every band had something to say about it. Some were Warped vets reliving their heyday. Others were playing their first sets on a tour they worshipped from the pit. For two days under the California sun, every last one of them made it count.
Warped Tour wouldn’t have been properly resurrected without some eclectic treasures, on the bill. Ice-T, The Godfather of Gangsta Rap, came in with a left hook to the face on Day 1. He stormed the Ghost Stage like it was a Compton block party circa ’89, tearing through “6 in the Mornin’”, “O.G. Original Gangster”, and “New Jack Hustler” like time never passed. The pit was equal parts confused, excited, and sweaty.
Ice-T – “I’m Your Pusher” – 7/26/25
[Video: Thorr Mejorado]
Over at the Right Foot Stage, Pennywise took their rightful place as elder statesmen of Warped, thrashing through a set that was part sermon, part roast, and all punk. Jim Lindberg fondly recalled the OG Warped Tour with NoFX, No Doubt, and Sublime, then paid tribute with a flurry of covers, including “Bob”, “Kill All The White Man”, “Do What You Want”, and a head-banging “Fight For Your Right” that shook the crowd loose before Pennywise’s own “Bro Hymn” took the set home.
Pennywise – Vans Warped Tour – Long Beach, CA – 7/26/25
[Video: Live Gigs Live]
Sublime had its own spiritual homecoming, with Jakob Nowell once again doing more than standing in for his late father, Bradley Nowell. Jakob’s voice cracked a little when he dedicated “Badfish” to his cat, who’d passed that morning. It was raw, real, and exactly the kind of emotional whiplash that Warped Tour thrives on.
After all, this was his Warped debut, playing his dad’s music, in their hometown. “Garden Grove”, “Doin’ Time”, and “Santeria” hit like gospel. When Pennywise jumped onstage for “Same in the End”, it felt like the old SoCal punk scene was reborn on the Left Foot Stage.
Sublime – “Ensenada” – 7/26/25
[Video: Local Band Smokeout]
Sublime – “Wrong Way” – 7/26/25
[Video: Evan Goes to Shows]
Later on, A Day To Remember lit the stage on fire. Flames shot up as they launched into “The Downfall of Us All”, and never once let up. A blistering run through classics like “All Signs Point to Lauderdale” and “If It Means a Lot to You” turned the pit into a whirlpool of crowd-surfers. ADTR earned bonus points for “Bad Blood”, a brand-new track the band joked was a Taylor Swift cover.
A Day To Remember – “All My Friends” – 7/26/25
[Video: Patrick Carlson]
3OH!3 reminded everyone that millennial electro-trash is punk-adjacent and just as chaotic. They joked about midlife crises, dropped two new songs, intro’d their set with Nickelback, and, of course, closed it out with a rendition of “DONTTRUSTME” that hit harder than a Four Loko.
To close out the first day, The All-American Rejects made their entrance in full Beatles-on-Ed Sullivan drag, with a “Rejects” logo in Beatles font and frontman Tyson Ritter vamping like Lennon on acid. But it was so much more than a gimmick. This was their tightest, weirdest, most heartfelt set in years, fresh off a string a pop-up shows in bars and backyards across America . They debuted “Search Party”, dipped into an acoustic “Mama I’m Coming Home” for the late Ozzy Osbourne, and ended with a crowd-wide shout-along to “Gives You Hell”.
Day 2 brought plenty more stunning sets and shocking surprises. After watching his son, Landon Barker, make his Warped Tour debut, Travis Barker got in on the action himself, sitting in on drums with The Paradox for a cover of Blink-182’s “The Rock Show” and the live debut of “Bender”.
The Paradox With Travis Barker – “The Rock Show” (Blink-182) – 7/27/25
[Video: Mass Broadcast]
A day after going viral alongside Tony Hawk, John Feldmann played an unplugged mini-set with Goldfinger deep cuts and covers of everyone from Bob Marley to Avril Lavigne.
Goldfinger With Tony Hawk – “Superman” – 7/26/25
[Video: Jo Diaz]
Bowling For Soup brought the dad jokes and the pop-punk precision. Their set had it all: “1985”, “Ohio”, a live-action Rick Roll, and a shoutout to Punk Rock Saves Lives. They paused “Almost” for a medical emergency, then got right back to rocking the pain away.
The Interrupters crushed their Left Foot set with their usual blend of righteous ska, rebellion, and straight-up joy. “Take Back the Power” took on additional importance as a protest anthem, and “She’s Kerosene” lit a fire across the entire field.
The Interrupters – Vans Warped Tour – Long Beach, CA – 7/27/25
[Video: The Interrupters]
On the Right Foot, Dropkick Murphys made beer-sloshing chaos feel like church. They set “First Class Loser” to a montage of Trump and Epstein, and by the time they hit “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”, the crowd was in a bagpipe-blown bonanza.
Dropkick Murphys – “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” – 7/27/25
[Video: Robot Picnic (Music+Art…FestivalBazaar)]
Atmosphere brought a much-needed breather to the Ghost Stage with introspective cuts like “Yesterday” and “GodLovesUgly”, before 311 turned the Left Foot Stage into a bong-fueled riot. Thirty-five years in, they’ve still got it. “Down”, “Come Original”, “All Mixed Up”, “Amber”, and a percussion jam that felt like a drum circle at a reggae rave all combined to create a cosmic sensory overload.
311 – Vans Warped Tour – Long Beach, CA – 7/27/25
[Video: Live Gigs Live]
Rise Against played like their lives depended on it. With pyro blasting, they shredded through “Prayer of the Refugee”, “Give It All”, and a haunting “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” that stopped the pit cold.
Rise Against – “Savior” – 6/27/25
[Video: Patrick Carlson]
Falling In Reverse were predictably unhinged. Ronnie Radke stomped through “Zombified” and “Popular Monster” like a demon-possessed pro wrestler. The dude might be insane, but the set was unforgettable.
Falling In Reverse – Vans Warped Tour – Long Beach, CA – 7/27/25
[Video: Live Gigs Live]
Bryce Vine gushed about dreaming of Warped as a kid, Treaty Oak Revival blended country, emo, and Texas grit, and Gogol Bordello, bless them, got cut off at 10 p.m., before they had a chance to roll out “Start Wearing Purple”. Nonetheless, Eugene Hutz and company managed to squeeze in fan favorites like “Never Wanna Be Young”, “Not A Crime”, and “Wanderlust King”.
Gogle Bordello – Vans Warped Tour – Long Beach, CA – 7/27/25
[Video: Robot Picnic (Music+Art…FestivalBazaar)]
More than a comeback, Vans Warped Tour’s return to Southern California was a full-blown resurrection. The traveling festival didn’t return solely because of nostalgia, but rather, because punk rock is therapy, emo still aches, ska still slaps, and the kids who used to cry in their bedrooms now bring their kids to the pit. And at this moment in history, all of that feels more necessary than ever.
Warped Tour is still the place where you lose your voice, find your people, and scream your face off under the summer sun. And if the Long Beach stop was any indication, the upcoming fall edition in Orlando will be well worth the trek, with 2026 dates already in the pipeline.
Vans Warped Tour Long Beach 2025 Day 1 Recap Video
