This year’s When We Were Young fest was certainly one for the books.

Green Day kicked it off with a surprise 850-person pop-up show at Fremont Country Club on October 19, where they played through their 1994 album Dookie and previewed cuts off the band’s new album. Other When We Were Young side shows that were originally scheduled that week followed suit, warming up the crowds for a festival full of nostalgic bangers.

We saw our share of special guests over the weekend. Tony Hawk got onstage with Goldfinger to sing “Superman,” creating a full circle moment for Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game fans, and Avril Lavigne, a WWWY alum, popped out for a duet of “Sk8er Boi” with All Time Low on Saturday.

There were also plenty of cool activations this year, including a tattoo station, a foggy graveyard and a mini gallery of Green Day art. Vintage TVs found around the festival grounds also aired episodes of Daria and The Mask, fully tapping into the era. Here’s what else we enjoyed from the weekend.

Stand Out Sets:

Thirty Seconds to Mars Frontman Jared Leto bounded onstage looking the part of an Avenger space Jesus, all long flowing hair, cascading cape and The Boys’ Homelander energy. “Get your f*king hands up if you’re with Thirty Seconds to Mars right now,” Leto ordered to the mounting excitement of old-school fans. Hands went up around the crowd as drummer Shannon Leto galloped through “Up in the Air.” The band led a cathartic sing-along during “Kings and Queens,” and Leto melted hearts when he pulled a kid up onstage to sing the chorus. The Hollywood actor sounded great from what we could hear, but it’s a shame the sound engineering favored the instruments over his distinctive belting at times. Still, the leading man’s charisma prevailed, “Do you guys mosh, or are your knees too sore and old?” he teased before inciting a pit to open up for A Beautiful Lie hit “Attack.” Set energy blasted off when Rise Against’s Tim Mcllrath joined Leto on stage for the rallying cries of “This Is War.” Overall, this set did not disappoint. It might even make us forget about Morbius. — Amber Sampson

Jean Dawson The 27-year-old musical polymath was already the outlier of this fest, being one of the few new acts on a nostalgic bill, but Jean Dawson also had the unenviable task of performing close to Green Day’s set. Still, he took it in stride. “This festival is to celebrate those who came before me,” he said. “I’d like to thank all of them.” Taking advantage of his small crowd, Dawson hopped off stage and delivered an intimate, up close and very personal performance. Dawson’s live band slayed every track, which all seemed to shapeshift in genre. On “Huh*” and “Three Heads,” the rapper adopted the aggressive ferality of Death Grips’ MC Ride. On “X-Ray,” the singer shrank into himself, sitting atop a speaker to echo out the track’s shoegaze-y, introspective verses. By the end of his set, Dawson had amassed a much larger following. We wouldn’t be surprised if he returns one day on a much larger stage. — AS

Blink-182 We could tell from the sheer number of State of the Enema nurses in the crowd, Blink-182 was the band we’d been waiting to see since last year’s When We Were Young festival. It was a very special reunion as Tom DeLonge, also the frontman of Angels & Airwaves, re-joined Blink-182 for the first time since 2014. The day before the festival, the band released One More Time, an album colored by the experience of vocalist Mark Hoppus’ cancer diagnosis in 2021, DeLonge’s subsequent decision to return and the band looking back on their history. They kicked off their set with “Anthem, Pt. 2,” followed by “Girl at the Rock Show,” “Family Reunion,” “Feeling This.” DeLonge wrapped a towel around Travis Barker’s head, and he played blindfolded during “Violence.” “Up All Night, “Dumpweed,” “More than You Know,” “Edging,” and “Dance With Me” followed. UFO visuals looked like they were beaming the band up during “Aliens Exist.” Then a normal and fast version of “Happy Holidays, You Bastard,” was followed by “Stay Together for the Kids,” “Always” and “Down.” “I Miss You,” “What’s My Age Again,” and “All the Small Things” took us back. For the closer, the band played its new single “One More Time.” — Shannon Miller

Rise Against Rise Against understood the assignment. They took us back to pop hits we’d turn up on ultimate volume on our iPods, as well as deep cuts we’d blast from our adolescent bedrooms, starting with The Sufferer and The Witness’ “Ready to Fall.” In the middle of “Re-education,” frontman Tim McIlrath said they felt like they were “home.” “Today’s been a family reunion for us up here,” he said before urging the crowd to sing louder. The Chicago punk band played its first show in Las Vegas in 2000 in the Huntridge Theater Lobby. McIlrath pulled out a bullhorn before going into “Satellite,” followed by “Paper Wings.” “Let’s do another dancy song,” he said sarcastically before the classic electric guitar hook fans know and mosh to in “Prayer of the Refugee.” During a guitar switch, McIlrath shouted out local Punk Rock Museum founder Fat Mike of NOFX. “Mike was the first person who signed us and gave us a chance,” he said, shouting out the museum. Ryan Key from Yellowcard joined McIllrath for a stripped down version of “Swing Life Away.” The band closed out with the very emo “Savior.” The crowd roared to the lines “As the telling signs of age reign down / A single tear is dropping / Through the valleys of an aging face / That this world has forgotten.” – SM

Movements Post-hardcore quartet Movements were the ideal palate cleanser on this year’s pop punk heavy lineup at the When We Were Young Festival. “I know it's been a long hot day and you’ve been standing for hours,” said vocalist Patrick Miranda during the band's evening set. “But I don’t give a f*ck…I want to see you all move!” This friendly push of encouragement was enough to remind the crowd what they came to this festival for—to sing and mosh along to their favorite acts. This short but sweet act included tracks from their debut 2017 album “Feel Something” up to their most recent release “Ruckus!” An especially tender moment encapsulated the crowd during the band’s most recognized song Daylily. Frontman Miranda wrote the tune for his girlfriend during her mental health recovery and although it was written for her, fans sung along and found their own meanings within the words. — Gabriela Rodriguez

Say Anything Any emo purist, revivalist or casual enthusiast are quick to mention the special place Say Anything holds in their black heart. Although the band’s sound falls into a multitude of genres their sardonic and humorous tracks cut through to their fanbase. “This is nucking futs, I thought we weren’t a band anymore,” confessed frontman Max Bernis. This was a nod to the band’s four year hiatus and the crowd cheered in response confirming that they’ve never forgotten them. We couldn’t help but notice the revival performance of the track, “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too.” Previously deemed problematic for the meaning behind the lyrics in 2017, the iconic ringtone intro got quite the reaction from this pack of elder emos. — GR