Inside When We Were Young Festival 2025

It goes with out saying that the crux of the When We Had been Younger Competition is nostalgia. This 12 months, sponsored by 7-Eleven, marked the fourth version of the pageant, with over 60,000 individuals taking on the Las Vegas Competition Grounds. Although a lot of the viewers over time has been pushed by the promise of unique reunions, anniversary celebrations, and an eagerness to relive the soundtrack of their youth and dirt off their Dr. Martens — this iteration set itself aside, with the inclusion of bands each outdoors the style and period expectations set by years earlier than. The identical crowd chanted alongside to scene vets like Chiodos and Story of the 12 months drove circle pits throughout Drain’s pure, PMA-fueled hardcore set. Punk-rock darlings Destroy Boys and rising heavy stars Knocked Free took the identical mainstage — thrashing in saggy denims and pleather corsets — that Avril Lavigne would stomp out onto, or Weezer would croon from later that day, in stripes and sweaters. 

Whereas final 12 months’s headliner My Chemical Romance had impressed hoards of concertgoers to don gothic marching band apparel, an homage to The Black Parade, for final 12 months’s pageant headliner, this 12 months massive teams of followers embraced burlesque, cabaret, and bohemian garb as a nod to Panic! At The Disco’s long-awaited efficiency of A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out in full. After three years, Brendon Urie returned to the stage in his hometown, delivering a larger-than-life, Moulin Rouge!-esque set that included authentic band member Spencer Smith taking part in drums on “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” for the primary time in 12 years — and a brass part spearheaded by the endlessly well dressed Much less Than Jake.

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When talking with bands and festivalgoers, many have described it as a highschool reunion of kinds, each concerning the pageant as a spot to return to 12 months after 12 months to reunite and discover group. It was troublesome to stroll from stage to stage and never run into somebody you knew. For outfits like the Cab, the fest served as a significant homecoming after solely not too long ago reuniting after dropping their first EP, Street To Reign: A Prelude, in a decade.

Acts like Alexisonfire, on the opposite finish of some sonic spectrum and who performed two totally different raucous units every day, carried out in Vegas for the primary time in years. Nonetheless, this 12 months, greater than a reunion, the pageant felt akin to an alumni mixer. A chance to listen to, see, relate to bands adjoining to those that soundtracked our MySpace days in addition to those that led the cost. And never solely did the viewers present respect for this wider scope, however backstage in dialog with AltPress for Veeps.com, the bands showered one another with reward. The Used and Yellowcard shared pleasure about Knocked Free, whereas rising artist Taylor Acorn gushed about Lavigne. Unhealthy Faith even supplied reverence to emo and pop-punk music, a nook of the choice house one may not simply affiliate with the punk-rock legends. 

Contemplating the group environment, the pageant has change into recognized for shock appearances throughout units. Taking Again Sunday’s Adam Lazzara joined the Maine for his or her collaboration “Beloved You A Little” and hopped onstage with Straylight Run — John Nolan’s TBS aspect venture — and Easy Plan joined Lavigne for his or her track “Younger & Dumb.”

Despite the fact that Sum 41 referred to as it quits earlier this 12 months, Deryck Whibley teamed up with Lavigne for an “In Too Deep” duet on the second night time. NOFX’s Fats Mike performed Tom DeLonge’s “new guitar tech” throughout blink-182’s set, working out as a shock in between songs. On night time one, Weezer introduced out Blondshell for “I Simply Threw Out the Love of My Goals,” with PVRIS’ Lynn Gunn becoming a member of the efficiency the next day. On the finish of her set on Sunday, Gunn touched on future editions of the fest and hoped that platforming extra girls would change into a precedence.

With this 12 months’s version coming to an in depth, it’s clear the 2025 pageant proved the connection is extra than simply reliving the previous. With shock appearances, homecomings, and a curated mixture of legacy and rising acts, the pageant has change into a communal house for everybody — bands and attendees alike — to revel within the music that formed and coloured their youth. 4 years later, the pageant continues to be a reminder that the spirit of other music continues to resonate throughout many years and generations.

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