The era endures. When We Were Young seized its moment to reclaim pop-punk’s place in the zeitgeist when it landed at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds last fall. And even after literal headwinds forced the fest to cancel day one of the first weekend, it prevailed, giving rise to another sold-out fest of nostalgia in 2023.
In case you haven’t heard, early 2000s pop-punk and emo is in its revenge girl era. It’s swiftly becoming the best version of itself after navigating a few pitfalls. It got unpopular there for a moment. Things looked bleak. But the next generation of pop-punk is finally here, and it’s teeming with the Willows and KennyHooplas of the world. Even Olivia Rodrigo’s all about it.
Elder emos who’ve awakened from their seasons-long slumber have a lot to look forward to this weekend, including headlining sets from Blink-182 and Green Day, plus performances by 30 Seconds to Mars, Something Corporate, The Offspring, Yellowcard, Pierce the Veil, All Time Low, Simple Plan, Sum 41, The Veronicas and some 40-plus other bands from our youth.
The reunions will be epic. Several reunions on the lineup leap out to us but perhaps the most exciting is Blink-182’s. A lot’s changed since we last saw this band. Travis Barker became a Kardashian. Tom DeLonge carried on as a frontman with Angels & Airwaves. But the original Blink-182 recently reunited for a global tour that’ll include DeLonge for the first time in nearly a decade. That’s music to our ears, as is the fact that Blink-182’s self-titled album, the one that brought us “Feeling This” and “I Miss You,” turns 20 this year. You can bet this will be a special set.
Something Corporate, the band behind favorites like “Punk Rock Princess” and “Konstantine,” will also reunite after 10-plus years. Founding member Andrew McMahon moved on to start Jack’s Mannequin and his current outfit Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, but we can’t help but wonder what could have been. The core lineup has a headlining gig at House of Blues (October 20) that same weekend, so perhaps that’s a good place to find out.
Surprises are in store. If Vans Warped Tour taught us anything, it’s that a skate sesh can happen anywhere, anytime. The X Games announced it’ll host a full-on vert jam on the festival grounds, featuring all the heroes of our Tony Hawk Pro Skater dreams. The vert seshes will bring out Tony Hawk’s 10-year-old protégé Reese Nelson, 20-time X Games medalist Bucky Lasek, X Games vert gold medalist Jimmy Wilkins and a surprise Saturday demo from the Birdman, Tony Hawk, himself(!).
Side gigs will offer something different. Last year’s weather cancellations didn’t stop several bands and Las Vegas promoters from teaming up to form some wicked pop-up shows. Bars like SoulBelly BBQ and Sand Dollar Lounge were packed to the gills with concert goers, and that same intimacy will be alive and well at the side shows.
This week, Green Day announced a last-minute pop-up show at Fremont Country Club on October 19. This is the second time the band has surprised fans with a secret gig, having played Beauty Bar in 2018.
Also on Thursday, October 19 Fit for a King and the Devil Wears Prada will perform at House of Blues. On Friday, October 20, it’s All Time Low with Gym Class Heroes at The Pearl, and Sum 41 with Bowling for Soup and Plain White T’s at Brooklyn Bowl. And on October 21-22, Emo Night hosts a late-night party featuring New Found Glory’s Jordan Pundik and Matt Yonker from Less Than Jake, among others.
The music still has an unparalleled pull. Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” never ceases to transport us back to air guitaring in our adolescent bedrooms or that episode of MTV’s Total Request Live or that drunken night of karaoke. The same could be said about Green Day’s “American Idiot,” or Simple Plan’s “I’m Just a Kid” or anything from this lineup, really. It’s a joy to dive back into these deep cuts. And as we do, perhaps we’ll discover a deeper appreciation for what they meant to us during our youth.
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