Your emo phase is set to return for one night only. The When We Were Young Festival, a one-day rock gathering that first debuted in 2017, announced an absurd 2022 lineup, featuring just about every single emo and pop punk band you ever loved.
Its headlining acts include the return of hall-of-famers My Chemical Romance and Paramore. The former had been on a 7-year hiatus before cancelling a 2020 tour due to the pandemic, and Paramore has been on a break since 2018.
Beyond the top billers, the festival will feature practically every notable rock band from the early to mid-aughts, a.k.a. the golden era of emo and pop punk. Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Jimmy Eat World, Bring the Horizon, Avril Lavigne, Bright Eyes, A Day to Remember, Dashboard Confessional, The All-American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, and many more. The robust lineup is a bright sign for the survival of an era that was perhaps thought to be dead and gone after the famed Warped Tour had its final show in 2019.
Tucked away atop its star-studded guests, though, is its organizer, Live Nation, the same group behind the Astroworld Festival in Houston that resulted in the death of 10 concertgoers. Beyond the initial excitement of When We Were Young, some have expressed concern and suspicion over another large-scale festival being coordinated by Live Nation, whose dubious role in the Astroworld tragedies has been repeatedly called into question. Earlier this week, the FBI joined Houston Police in its ongoing investigation over what transpired at the Travis Scott-led event.
When We Were Young will take place on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. Tickets go on sale Jan. 21.
