Last month we had the honor, privilege, and time of our life (pun intended) at the pop punk/emo/alternative rock festival that has taken the world by storm over the last three years – When We Were Young. The fest’s über-current presence in today’s music scene mixed with the appreciation-based nostalgia for the soundtrack of many of our youths is something we thoroughly enjoyed reporting on and something we are very, very, very thankful for.
When Were Young Festival has always delivered stellar lineups. There hasn’t been a year that didn’t send the emo and pop punk community into a frenzy. It’s become the festival for the genre. It feels even more grand and extravagant than other emo fests, always having a larger than life aura surrounding it. It’s like the emo version of Coachella as the biggest festival the scene has to offer currently.
This year the festival did something extra unique and made the entire experience album-based. The festival was encompassed by album play-through, and almost every band on the bill performed their most beloved or signature record from start to finish.
It really did feel like a once in a lifetime experience; how many times can fans see Life’s Not Out to Get You by Neck Deep, followed by They’re Only Chasing Safety by Underoath, or even Discovering the Waterfront by Silverstein back-to-back? It’s such an incredible concept that landed in a major way. There were some artists that refused to do album plays, though, like Dashboard Confessional and Dance Gavin Dance. The majority, however, did! A Day to Remember, for example, performed a flawless album play, of which we reviewed and wrote, “It was this attention to detail that made it one of the best sets of the whole festival and entire weekend.”
Considering how important the concept of a true cover-to-cover album is to this genre, everything about this theme felt special. Most of the fans who lived through these releases were doing so pre-streaming service, discovering this music through CDs or vinyl records, in which the album format is so crucial. The way that When We Were Young honored that this year was spectacular.
[L-R] Pierce the Veil fan by Sophia Juliette, Simple Plan crowd by Jazmyn Le / When We Were Young
My Chemical Romance was one of the main headliners on the bill, and they put on – no exaggeration – one of their greatest performances of the last two decades. It was magical. It should not come as a surprise that The Black Parade as an album changed the face of rock music for years to come. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitar-driven concept album of the 2000s. Seeing it performed in full, front-to-back, in sequential order, was an outstanding experience. The band sounded sharp, had fun on stage, and were at the top of their game. Both nights they played, they didn’t miss a single note. Furthermore, it didn’t feel like nostalgia bait at all. The band had a completely new production to go with this set, from outfits to visuals. This wasn’t a copy of The Black Parade Is Dead Tour from 2007, this was a new, sleek, revamped version. The band was dressed in black semi-formal attire with giant white backdrops behind them, so while the band performed, their silhouettes were displayed behind them. It felt like something right out of a Tim Burton film, an aesthetic perfect for this album.
During “Famous Last Words,” the outro was completely changed to incorporate the first verse of “Welcome to the Black Parade.” It stopped the crowd in their tracks in the best way, and I remember looking out at that moment and seeing 80,000 people having a borderline spiritual experience to this set. It was memorable, mature, and unbelievable.
There were many bands that returned from the grave to play When We Were Young Festival, as well. Chiodos made a grand return performing All’s Well That Ends Well from start to finish. Even Cobra Starship reunited and played together for the first time in 10 years. It felt like a true celebration. This festival is known for this, though, having brought back Say Anything last year and Acceptance the year before that. Many believe that it is these special reunion performances that really help the festival connect with the fans. They don’t just know their demographic, they are the demographic. It’s clear When We Were Young Festival is put together by true fans of the scene. They want to be part of this moment just as much as we do.
Another performance highlight that deserves recognition is Pierce the Veil. The three-piece played their seminal album Collide With The Sky and showed all of Las Vegas why they’re one of the greats. They performed their set with every ounce of energy they had in them. We already knew that the record itself doesn’t have one mediocre song on it, but seeing it live took the hype to a new level and brought more proof of its greatness to the table. The band also brought out Jason Aalon Butler from Letlive and Fever 333 to perform on “Tangled In The Great Escape,” as well as Jenna McDougall from Tonight Alive for “Hold On Till May.” During “Bulls In the Bronx,” PTV had authentic Mexican dancers join in to perform during bridge. With so many of the bands at the festival defining the 2000s, it was great to see an act like them who shaped the 2010s take the stage. From the minute the band walked on with a bullhorn spotlight to the way they ended their set with sparklers behind them, it was spectacular. It was a mesmerizing set and the entire ticket price was worth their hour set alone.
Logistically, the festival days ran really well, too. There were no issues at the door and the lines went super quickly. The stages didn’t have any noticeable sound issues and the bands seemed to be having a blast. There was plenty of vegan and vegetarian friendly food options (something not all festivals keep in mind) and there were so many photo opportunities scattered around the site. When We Were Young Fest 2024 was like a generation-spanning theme park, but for all of your favorite rock artists and your closest friends. “It’s so much like a family reunion for us,” New Found Glory’s Cyrus Bolooki said of the way this community gets to come together for this very festival.
From Motion City Soundtrack and Simple Plan to Daisy Grenade and Fall Out Boy, the festival had everything and more this year. The Aquarian not only got to attend and be in the mosh pits, but also conduct some exclusive interviews backstage in support of it all! Check out some noteworthy quotes about the festival and experience from some of our favorite bands and closest friends.
[L-R] My Chemical Romance by Sophia Juliette, Daisy Grenade by Channel Purple, Motion City Soundtrack by Chelsa Christensen / When We Were Young
On the topic of the space that WWWY Fest has provided, Pat Miranda of Movements shared: “The fact that [When We Were Young] has become such a moment for people, culturally in our scene, and that this record meant so much to such a wide variety of people… that is really special. We’re happy to be here.”
Shane Told of Silverstein talked about the significance of LPs, and how this festival is celebrating that: “It’s really cool that bands are doing albums. Albums are so important for that time. I still believe albums are important. Obviously a lot more things are single driven now. Back then you didn’t listen to a single on a playlist, you listened to the whole fucking CD. Nowadays you have a song on a playlist and right when the song’s over, you remember what the next song on the CD was. Today, that’s what will happen. I love that feeling and memory. I’m really excited for the format.”
Cyrus Bolooki of New Found Glory expressed his logical perspective: “Probably the hardest part about playing an album front to back is when you’re recording and sequencing the record, putting the songs in order, you’re not thinking about a live show. You’re thinking about the songs themselves and how they flow. It gets interesting. Even if it’s logistical things, you have a different guitar tuning and you have to swap but you don’t want to have any breaks. Then, here, we don’t have much time. Our record is 42 minutes and they gave us 45. If there’s one little slip up [knocks on wood] you almost can’t play the entire record.”
Buddy Nielsen of Senses Fail on performing at When We Were Young: “It was awesome! It was really fun. It was crazy to do it at a festival this big and play a record. You never really envision that when you write a record – playing the entire thing at a festival. It was really cool.” Also, “It’s a little overwhelming. I’m just up there trying to do my job. That sounds kind of ‘eh,’ but when we’re doing a record, I want to represent the record that people have come to know. I don’t want to let them down. For me, I’m not nervous, but very focused. I want to deliver what people are expecting. For people who, this is their record and this is what they want to see, I want them to have a really great experience. I don’t want them to walk away and go, ‘I liked it better on record.’ I want them to be like, ‘This is better!'”
On music – theirs and other’s – being able to transform on stage and off, Frank Iero of L.S. Dunes said, “Even once it’s recorded and ‘done,’ it’s never really done. You always add, evolve, change, and grow. Music is alive. It’s still doing that thing.” Bandmate Tucker Rule further explained that the transformation and evolution of their songs something happens for the first time on stage: “Sometimes we’ll talk about it and then just go play it. We don’t rehearse it. ‘Let’s extend this part, blah, blah, blah. Ok, got it?’ Then we just do it! It’s pretty awesome to have people you trust where it’s, ‘Alright, I’m not going to run this at all,’ and then we play it in front of 20,000 people.”
Anthony Raneri of Bayside on the nostalgia of it all, but also the current appreciation for older songs: “It’s crazy to see when you get to those deeper cuts on the record and kids singing along to those deep cuts we never play.”
Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday expressed his appreciation for the personnel surrounding WWWY: “The folks that put on this festival are sweethearts. There’s a good amount of festivals that you go to and it’ll be a weird vibe – almost like everybody’s unsure about one another. Whereas this feels very free and open and comfortable. It’s nice to spend some time being comfortable every now and then.”
On the anticipation for their set, excitement for the festival, and massive crowd, Kennedy Brock of The Maine shared: “I think it’s going to be interesting playing more of a record set than just doing a normal set for us. I’m really, really pumped. There are tons of people walking around. We were walking around before and I thought doors had opened because there were a lot of people here already.” Bandmate Pat Kirch was just as thrilled to be part of WWWY this year: “This is a cool idea! I think having a whole festival of people playing albums is really unique. We’re just happy we got asked.”
Sean Foreman of 3OH!3 on the camaraderie of this festival, and bringing their act/album to it: “We’re feeling great! This album is 16 years old. There’s a lot of stuff that has obviously made our career. It’s really fun to see fans love it the same way we do! We’re playing songs we haven’t played in a while, so we’re ready to dust them off and let it rip.” In which Nathan Motte of 3OH!3 added, “And see friends in other bands and also friends who are attending the festival! People who have come to shows all throughout the years, too. It’s really an amazing vibe.”
Bonus! Bert McCracken of The Used, who we spoke to after arriving back home to New Jersey, said this of the festival: “It’s incredible to be able to play some of these songs we haven’t played in 10-15 years. It was an amazing moment. All the true hardcore fans really felt it, and it’s overwhelming to play in front of that many people. It’s just a sea of people. It’s been incredible. I’m very, very pleased.”
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WWWYFEST!
