In a sign that the nostalgia train is finally catching up with Millennials and Gen Z (and that we as a generation are, in fact, getting older), the newly announced emo/ pop punk throwback festival, When We Were Young, is already getting a lot of buzz.
Featuring a lineup that reads like the t-shirt wall in a Hot Topic, the fledgling festival is set to take place later this year in Las Vegas with headliners My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Avril Lavigne, The Used, AFI, Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday and more. The lineup of emo, pop punk and post-hardcore acts ranges from the peak 2000s to more contemporary artists and the festival announcement immediately triggered a wave of gushing nostalgia from former angsty teenagers who spent their formative years posting angsty poetry on FictionPress and fantasizing about their dream Warped Tour lineups as if they were a fantasy football draft.
Amidst the all the reminiscing about the cringey RAWR xD days, the festival has already drawn its fair share of criticisms from the relatively benign, like the glaring omission of The Killers from an event called "When We Were Young," to concerns over pricing and organizers. Given the current climate surrounding festival safety in the wake of last month's Astroworld tragedy, the fact that Live Nation, the same promoter behind Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and said ill-fated Travis Scott festival, were also the same people putting on When We Were Young did raise a few alarmed eyebrows.
That said, a generation that grew up on platforms like MySpace, LiveJournal and Tumblr processed the news using the only way they know how: memes.
me and my friends pulling up to the When We Were Young festivalpic.twitter.com/zEaAeVk8Xr— VS (@VS) 1642532514
pic.twitter.com/hJLFbjK3Wg— Cameron Hurley (@Cameron Hurley) 1642532990
Is this a Twitter Spacehttps://twitter.com/wwwyfest/status/1483499818357964802\u00a0\u2026— Ghostly (@Ghostly) 1642602233
pic.twitter.com/u9QNuPQsz2— BOW!E \u2606 (@BOW!E \u2606) 1642539374
my timeline rnpic.twitter.com/GjvMQRLuwk— Soup (@Soup) 1642536487
rumor has it the when we were young festival wristband will be an i heart boobies bracelet— Molly Sheban (@Molly Sheban) 1642531782
Me at when we were young festivalpic.twitter.com/q3GJvxkWgO— Sonny Side Up (@Sonny Side Up) 1642557083
On my to Vegas for the When We Were Young Festivalpic.twitter.com/oty9ocy59S— Larry. 2\ufe0f\u20e30\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e3\ud83e\udd73 (@Larry. 2\ufe0f\u20e30\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e3\ud83e\udd73) 1642529638
get in loser, we're going to the when we were young festpic.twitter.com/H3VNhUA6XS— luna \u1d56\u1d57\u1d5b\u2082\u2080\u2082\u2082 (@luna \u1d56\u1d57\u1d5b\u2082\u2080\u2082\u2082) 1642532330
when we were young fest starterpackpic.twitter.com/qRWLWCw8zO— dut (@dut) 1642569086
if the entry wristbands at when we were young fest don\u2019t look like this, i don\u2019t want to gopic.twitter.com/5LmoxFZhGn— gods favourite emo (@gods favourite emo) 1642545241
Me and my girl pulling up to When We Were Young Festpic.twitter.com/JDiVKwnzG2— \ud835\udd88\ud835\udd8d\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd95\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd98 (@\ud835\udd88\ud835\udd8d\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd95\ud835\udd86\ud835\udd98) 1642534489
When We Were Young Fest: Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Avril Lavigne, Silverstein, A Day to Remember, Pvris, Pierce the Veil, Sleeping w/ Sirens, AFI, Bring Me The Horizon, The Story So Far, Mayday Parade.\n\nMe:pic.twitter.com/KPemJ0UquV— paramore is back \ud83e\udd51 (@paramore is back \ud83e\udd51) 1642533710
me after reading the when we were young lineuppic.twitter.com/mlkvgq91OY— shelby fine (@shelby fine) 1642542905
no-one:\n\nthe When We Were Young fest graphic designer:pic.twitter.com/FEGjgChr1K— Luc (@Luc) 1642534343
Photo via Getty/ Naki/ Redferns
- Avril Lavigne and Travis Barker Headline Big Emo Nite Event - PAPER ›
- Emo Nite Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary - PAPER ›
- When We Were Young Is the Festival Going Full-Blown Emo - PAPER ›
- Portola Music Festival Recap: Fred Again, Kaytranada and More ›
- When We Were Young Festival Photos With Paramore and Huddy ›
- SZA Fans Can't Stop Making Pop Punk Memes ›