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March 10, 2025 by Jimmy Alvarez
The world of music has a lot going in 2025; I mean, a lot. There’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, bands celebrating 20, 30, 40, and 50 years. Then there’s the mega festivals. On the left coast, there’s Cruel World in Pasadena, Aftershock in Sacramento, When We Were Young in Sin City, and then there’s Riot Fest in Chicago, while Welcome to Rockville takes center stage in Daytona. Of course, across the pond, there’s the legendary Glastonbury.
No matter where on the planet we think about festival and bands, the biggest reunion of bands celebrating milestones and the most ballyhooed mega festival is landing in our own backyard – Long Beach to be exact. The most storied rock show ever: The Vans Warped Tour.
This festival is so synonymous with life-defining moments, there are even songs written about it. This year Kevin Lyman has put the tour and the bands back together.
To keep us all in suspense, the Warped Tour’s festival banner has strategically released only some of the bands playing the tour in the three select cities. But, they have left a few bands blacked out.
For everyone in SoCal, circle the dates: July 26th and 27th in Long Beach, California (Shoreline Waterfront)!
The bands synonymous with Warped Tour of course are blink-182, Green Day, Sublime, NOFX, Big D and the Kids Table, Pennywise, The Vandals, Asking Alexendria, Pierce the Veil, and Reel Big Fish.
So far, there is no word if any of the huge bands from back in the day are able to play; we can only cross our fingers and wait to see what happens when the next unveiling takes place in May. One thing is for sure, the Vans Warped Tour gave these bands a platform, but these bands brought the experience of Warped Tour to a legendary status of lore and infamy, which made this festival larger than life!
One band that has had quite the 2024 and is set for another banner year in 2025 is the first band that shows up on the banner: 311! The good news is, despite being together over 30 years, these Nebraska natives are still together, still touring, and still pumping out great new music.
We saw them last at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas and they sounded fantastic. Nick Hexum and SA Martinez remain at the top of their game, and the band sounds as tight and electrifying as ever. How many bands can say the planet celebrates their band name every 3/11.
With mega hits that remain part of our lives, fans worldwide jump at the change to hear their favorite 311 songs live, “Beautiful Disaster,” “Down,” “Come Original,” “Lovesong,” “Amber,” “All Mixed Up,” “I’ll Be Here a While,” “Sunset in July,” and now new music from 311.
On October 25th of 2024, 311 released their 14th studio album, “Full Bloom.” When I spoke with them last, they were as humble as ever and grateful for the responses to “Full Bloom.”
Hexum said they all recognize that the world of music is constantly changing and they have to roll with the punches, but still have to stay close to their core. “The last three decades have been a journey,” he said, “but we’re still living the dream and thankful our fans continue to stick with us.”
Martinez said their music comes from their heart and soul, and “You feel the music when you’re on stage, and we love to give our all each and every time we take the stage.” He went on, “We go all out to give the best performance we can. And after all this time, it still feels like the first time when you are getting ready to take the stage.”
With the full weight of alternative radio supporting the new album, it should come as no surprise that their latest single is doing very-very well. The single has blown up for them and “Full Bloom,” is now one of the songs fans scream for at their shows.
I have been covering bands for the greater part of three decades and I can honestly say, 311 is one of those bands who are what you see and care about their loyal fans, or anyone who comes to see them for the first time.
This July, although there are many names that can be added to the Warped Tour lineup, there’s nobody that cares more about putting on a great show than 311.
We’ll be working on a series on bands playing Warped Tour 2025, for obvious reasons, this first segment goes to 311.
Tickets to this iconic festival are now on sale. Go out and get yours and see you at the greatest rock show of all time, the Vans Warped Tour!
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SID 250309 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
