When We Were Young festival poster. Photo: When We Were Young
Last Friday was a terrific day for folks in their late twenties and early thirties who used to wearskinny jeans and checkerboard Vans. It was the day When We Were Youngfestival– an emo wet dream set for October 22nd in Las Vegas – was publicized in the style of a poster that resembled a 15-year-rucksack old’s from 2007.
Over 60 acts – includingMy Chemical Romance,Paramore, Avril Lavigne – three stages in one day at one stadium – it was every fan’s dream.Warped tourcoupled with steroid (plus, randomly, Wolf Alice). For some millennial emos and pop-punk fans, it simply sounded too good to be true.
“So, we’re all certain that the When We Were Young Festival is a hoax, right?”wroteOne Twitter user. “[It] looks like a fake graphic someone made to fish for engagement,” another posted. Many people likened it toFyre Fest, the infamous 2017 festival disaster – though you could argue expensive hotel packages and having to make tough choices on set clashes aren’t exactly the same as eating alettuce leafin a collapsing tent in the Bahamas.
VICE reached out to organisers Live Nation, who informed us that yes, the event is 100 percent real. The star-studded line-up ”wasn’t easy to put together but it was worth it,” a spokesperson said. “Working with great artists takes time and consideration. Fortunately, we had a long experience with these artists and their teams, and they trusted our concept.”
In reality, the concert organizers anticipated the public’s skepticism. “We expected people to think it was fake because of the enormity of talent on the bill and the unadulterated excitement that we had putting together this lineup.”
The idea for the festival “originated from a long history of working with these incredible bands,” they continued. “Initially, the stars aligned for us to have two of the most renowned bands of the early 2000s… My Chemical Romance and Paramore perform together in Vegas for one night.”
“From there, we couldn’t pass up the chance to put together a tremendous lineup to one of music’s most passionate communities.”
The initial date for the festival sold out within hours and a second and third date were soon added with pretty much exactly the same line-up. TikTok currently has 27.1 million views for the hashtag #whenwewereyoungfest. And the questions just kept coming.
Some acts, like Royal and The Serpent, said they initially didn’t even realise they’d been booked to play. When pressed for comment, Live Nation told VICE, “We aren’t aware of anything, and no one has contacted us about it.”
Other attendees questioned the event’s planning. “I’ve been to my fair share of festivals and it just seems like so much can go wrong with this,”TikTok user @thebatmerremarked in a viral video with over 340,000 views. She also noted that tickets, which started at $299 each, including $499 ticket and hotel package deals, were non-refundable.
“That is really typical phrasing used by the majority, if not all, event ticketing firms,” Live Nation said. “Think that was picked up more than normal given the number of eyes on this one, but your typical ticket to a festival generally isn’t refundable. Of course, there are the normal instances in which reimbursements are unquestionably provided.”
For the record, tickets for this year’s Coachella are still available.non-refundable, as areElectric Daisy Carnival, the EDM festival also held in Las Vegas.
But, with over 60 bands playing in the same space within 12 hours, the most important question is about safety. Following the catastrophic crowd crush atAstroworld– and with Live Nation nowunder investigationfor its part in the disaster – issues ofcrowd controlMany individuals were thinking about and welfare, with many connecting the two occurrences.
One doubtful fan eventweeted“[When We Were Young] is owned by the same business that was behind AstroWorld, and you understand they’re basically preying on the pop punk community to pay back their lawsuit bills.”
Festivals sometimes feature 50 to 60 bands on a single day, and Live Nation disputed claims that theirs was a potentially unsafe setup. “Events of this size aren’t simply put together, they go through a tremendous amount of prep and preparation, in partnership with local authorities and communities. It’s normal for people to have concerns, but we want to reassure everyone that we have a very strong strategy in place to ensure everyone’s safety for the three days of the event.”
The spokesperson added: “In a typical year Live Nation promotes over 100 festivals around the world as well as thousands of concerts, and safety is a core element of any big event. When We Were Young Fest has an incredibly experienced and knowledgeable team, most who have worked in this business for decades, and we also have some amazing partners and great support from the Las Vegas Festival Grounds team. We look forward to collaborating with the Las Vegas Fire Department, police, and Clark County Buildings Department to ensure the safety of spectators, artists, and personnel.”
The company also rejected claims that this is all an attempt to cash in now that millennial emos have gotten to an age when their adolescence can be sold back to them. “The timing of this was natural. Culture transformed, and the bands’ music reached millions more people than ever before. These artists’ influence has influenced fashion, art, music, social media, and so much more, and we wanted to recognize their significance.”
Is the When We Were Young Festival a fraud? No way, at least not according to the event’s organizers. It all comes down to old Paramore andMy Chemical Romance fansto decide if this is a shameless play on their nostalgia (I mean, it’s called “When We Were Young”, which is arguably a bit of a dig), a cash grab or an emo wet dream. The answer is most likely somewhere in the middle of all three.
“We were really delighted and honored to be a part of this and along for the trip,” Live Nation said. Artists and fans are responsible for the enthusiasm and success. We’re simply here to help put on the best performance possible.”
