The best of Toronto ‘Vans Warped Tour’

On July 18th 2015, the Vans Warped Tour made its way through the 6ix.

Despite it being a very rainy day in Toronto, attendees were still very excited to support their local Canadian talent.

The GTA is home to quite a few bands on this years Warped Tour roster; such as Silverstein, Bitter Kids, SayWeCanFly, The Dirty Nil, Seaway, Pup and Sumo Cyco.

Shane Told, the lead singer of Silverstein got the crowd excited at the Echo Beach main stage as he pointed to some condominiums behind him, saying he can “literally see the condo” he lives in from the stage he was playing on. The crowd welcomed with open arms the local and loveable band, as they played a great set and closed with crowd favourite “Smile in your sleep.”

BitterKids and SayWeCanFly were also some of my personal favourites of the day, as they delivered energetic and passionate performances. Bitter Kids and SayWeCanFly, Braden Barrie are both some of the younger/newer bands to be part of the Vans Warped Tour, but that appears to make them all the more humble to their quickly rising success. It’s great to see their fan base continually grow each time I see them again, and to see a community of kids forming, who seem to truly relate to, respect and appreciate the music that they are producing. You can see the love and excitement in the fans as they sing back with all smiles throughout the performances.

Memphis May Fire, was next on the Unicorn Stage, and what an excited crowd that was! Playing hit song such as “The Sinner,” “Prove Me Right” and more, they had the crowd enjoying the music so much that it created a very comfortable and thrilling atmosphere with the rain not even being a bother.

Family Force 5 was one of the most unique musicians/performers I have seen in a very long time! Absolutely hilarious, energetic and an overall entertaining group of guys playing some great tunes. This was my first time seeing Family Force 5, and it was memorable to say the least. If I wasn’t dancing along to their catchy beats, I was laughing and enjoying their use of props. A very fit group of guys who can manage to sing and play their instruments while jumping on trampolines and everything from smoke stage effects, bringing on stage a group of people dressed in big animal masks, their neon outfits and theatrical dance moves, it was so much fun to experience their music live for the first time.

Meow!… Harmonicas, ukuleles and barefoot dancing around the stage are just a few words to describe the last band to end the night at Warped Tour 2015. Never Shout Never, and especially lead singer Christofer Drew, surely had the entire crowd grooving and laughing throughout their set, with cat noises and great musicality. Very funny guys who know how to engage with their audience, and just what everyone needed to hear at the end of the night. Never Shout Never surprised everyone by covering The White Stripes- “Seven Nation Army,” and absolutely killing it! While everyone was rocking out with hands in the air, their overall set was mostly very tranquil, but very enjoyable and the perfect way to send everyone home with smiles.

See you next year!