After a successful 30th anniversary in 2025, Vans Warped Tour returns in 2026 with new cities, returning fan favorites, and a fresh wave of rising artists.
Elder pop-punk and metalcore emos, it’s time to start training again. Vans Warped Tour is approaching, which means preparing for an epic return to the glory days while teaching the next generation the sacred traditions of the scene: proper mosh pit etiquette, the fine art of crowd surfing, how to duck and cover, but still catch the flying electrolyte packets, and how to survive a 15-hour day committing to your spot at either the Left Foot or Right Foot stage without passing out. Grab your finest scene gear, your eyeliner, and a fanny pack; it’s time. The RFK Festival Grounds in Washington, D.C., is the first stop to lock in nearly all of the bands appearing on this year’s lineup.
Shortly after the Orlando weekend wrapped in 2025, Vans Warped Tour announced its 2026 lineup of destinations. The festival will return to Washington, D.C., on June 13–14; Long Beach, California, on July 25–26; and Orlando, Florida, on November 14–15. Two additional international stops have also been added: Montreal, Canada, on August 21–22, and Mexico City, Mexico, on September 12–13.
The 2025 return of Vans Warped Tour proved the festival’s legacy is still very much alive. After its final full summer run in 2018 and a brief 25th anniversary celebration in 2019, the tour went on hiatus, leaving behind memories of parking-lot stages, endless lines at merch tents, sunscreen and asphalt in the summer heat, and sprinting to the inflatable schedule board when the gates first opened.
Vans Warped Tour packed RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., the grounds of Camping World Stadium in Orlando, and the Long Beach waterfront, selling a combined 240,000 tickets across the three events to celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary in 2025.
2025’s lineup brought back several staples from Warped Tour’s early years. Less Than Jake, who have performed more than 365 Warped Tour dates since 1997, returned to the stage, as well as Pennywise, whose first Warped Tour was in 1996. The 30th anniversary celebration also featured pop-punk royalty, as Avril Lavigne performed her very first Warped Tour set in Washington, D.C. Machine Gun Kelly also returned to the Warped Tour stage, reflecting on memories of attending and performing on the tour with friends over the years.
Vans Warped Tour has always been more than just a music festival; it’s a place where friendships form between fans and musicians alike. Many of the artists who returned in 2025 created unforgettable surprise moments for audiences, from Avril Lavigne sharing the stage with Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley to sing “In Too Deep” to MGK performing alongside MOD SUN and other friends. The entire year of festivals felt like a reunion with old friends, skating, discovering new bands, and singing along to the artists who helped define the scene. At its core, that’s what Warped Tour has always been about: giving rising artists the chance to be seen on massive stages.
But the Warped Tour experience has always gone far beyond the stages.
Beyond the music, there’s also a humanitarian side to what Vans Warped Tour has always been about. Once you step outside the stage areas at any stop on the tour, you’re greeted with booth after booth from charities and nonprofit organizations promoting causes ranging from saving music programs to raising awareness for domestic violence, addiction, and homelessness. Warped Tour also runs a “skip the line” program where fans who bring non-perishable canned goods can move through security faster and snag a coveted spot at the inside gate. When the clock strikes 11 and the gates open, those extra few seconds can make all the difference in reaching the highly secretive inflatable board that reveals the day’s stage times and locations for your favorite bands.
This year has proven to be exactly that, as Vans Warped Tour began announcing its 30-ish days of bands. The festival followed the same formula as last year, revealing artists for different festival days throughout February and March. Spreading the announcements across several weeks allows major acts to generate buzz while also giving up-and-coming bands their moment in the spotlight. The result is the classic Warped Tour balance: breakout bands getting their moment alongside a few major names drawing the crowds.
Washington, D.C., at the RFK Festival Grounds, is the first stop to receive a near-complete lineup, with only three blank spots remaining on the D.C. poster. The other tour dates still feature several blacked-out slots as organizers continue confirming artists set to perform this year.
The RFK Festival Grounds will see several returning bands from last year’s dates, including 3OH!3, Crown the Empire, Girlfriends, GWAR, Hawthorne Heights, and Yellowcard. Meanwhile, newcomers to this year’s Vans Warped Tour lineup include American Hi-Fi, Coheed and Cambria, Flogging Molly, Hoobastank, New Found Glory, Jimmy Eat World, Thrice, Story of the Year, Third Eye Blind, The Used, and Rise Against, just some of the more recognizable names announced so far for the D.C. date.
Other stops have confirmed several big-name artists as well. Papa Roach is set to appear in both Long Beach and Mexico City, while Mexico City will also feature The All-American Rejects. Orlando will host Insane Clown Posse and Set It Off, while Long Beach adds Lakeview and Save Ferris. Montreal, Canada, will see performances from Sublime, who were part of the original lineup for the first Warped Tour in 1995, and Ice Nine Kills.
One trend that stood out to us last year between the Washington, D.C., and Orlando stops was how the lineups leaned stylistically. D.C. held firmly to the pop-punk and emo roots of Warped Tour, while Orlando, though still featuring its share of pop-punk, leaned heavier, with bands like Drain, Killswitch Engage, I Prevail, and Florida locals A Day To Remember bringing a more metalcore-driven edge to the festival.
GA and VIP tickets for all dates are available on the Vans Warped Tour website. Each venue also has its own dedicated page with a full list of artists and bios so fans can get to know the newcomers, along with information on travel, lodging, on-site storage, and the many additional events and booths happening at each stop.
So, fellow pop-punk emos, metalcore fans—and even the Juggalos this year – it’s time once again to pull out our Vans, hopefully cleaned from last year’s D.C. fountains of mud. Lace them up, toss your insoles in for the long days ahead… we’re not 20 anymore. Pack the sunscreen, battery chargers, and water bottles in your checkered bag, maybe some pain relievers too, and get ready for another weekend of sunburns, sore feet, and screaming every word back at the stage, because some traditions are just too loud to fade away.
For a look back at last year’s return, check out our previous coverage of Day 1 and Day 2 in Washington, D.C., as well as Day 1 and Day 2 in Orlando to get the hype started.
