Kevin Lyman sits on a thrown of lies. Just kidding. He only promised that 2018 would be the last full cross-country run of Warped Tour, implying (if not explicitly stating) that the Warped brand may continue to exist in some way/shape/form beyond last summer.
It does come as a bit of surprise that Warped will resurface so soon after saying ‘farewell,’ and maybe even more of a surprise that Cleveland is one of three locations selected as host, and the only specific location to be named by Mr. Lyman in his cryptic tweet posted earlier today [See below]
There you have it! Straight from the horse’s mouth: Mark your calendar for June 8.
So…Why is ‘Cleveland’ sandwiched between quotation marks in the title? Rest assured, our entire editorial staff passed English in tenth grade. Lyman naming Cleveland could simply indicate that the show is taking place in North East Ohio, presumably at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls where the festival has been held annually since Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City Center was put out of her miserable existence in 2011.
That being said, if Mr. Lyman and his crew resurrected the show in the Nautica parking lot like in the good ol’ days, that would be fucking awesome.
Although pure speculation by this writer at this point, a Warped date for Cleveland could indicate the resurrection of another key event, the Alternative Press Music Awards. The APMA’s were shelved for 2018 after a four year run from 2014-2017. Three of the four years were hosted in Cleveland (save 2016 when the show conflicted with the Republican National Convention. Each year, the Warped date piggybacked on the APMA date as Lyman produces both events and many performers took part in both shows. Alternative Press founder Mike Shea initially stated that the APMA’s would return in the Fall of 2018, but later nixed the idea, telling Jeff Niesel at Cleveland Scene that “As the year went on, it just didn’t feel right. There are more important things happening in the world right now. It felt narcissistic.”
No word on venue, lineup, tickets, or anything else for that matter. Stay tuned!
