With over 60 bands playing at a one-day event alone, some fans have speculated that When We Were Young might look like 2017’s disastrous Fyre Festival rip-off.
Fans of old school 2000s emo and pop punk music have collectively lost their minds amid the announcement of the When We Were Young festival, which is set to feature legendary bands like headliners My Chemical Romance and Paramore.
However, the news of the festival has not been fully welcomed by music fans, with many predicting that the event will take place as the infamous Fyre Festival from 2017. Another area of concern is that the festival will be produced by Live Nation – the entertainment company behind the deadly Astro World festival that resulted in the deaths of 10 spectators.
Here’s everything you need to know about the festival, including where and when to get tickets.
Who plays When We Were Young?
According to the festival’s promotional poster, 60 musical acts are set to perform on the big day, including a number of iconic emo bands like Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Jimmy Eat World and the All American Rejects.
- April Lavigne
- car seat headrest
- Resume on Sunday
- Alkaline trio
- Jxden
- Linda Lindas
- Pvris
- IFA
- the used
- Bring me the horizon
- Resume on Sunday
- Confessional Dashboard
- Manchester Orchestra
- A day to remember
- Pierce the veil
- I prevail
- Dance Gavin Dance
- boys like girls
- The story so far
- Sleep with the sirens
- Reversed
- black Veil Brides
- Ice Nine Kills
- The senses fail
- bay side
- mom jeans
- May Day Parade
- Maine
- To the neck
- Silverstein
- Royal Palace
- Sparkling eyes
- Poppy
- Nessa Barrette
- Wolf Alice
- Acceptance
- story of the year
- Atreyu
- glass jaw
- Lil Huddy
- saosin
- The starting line
- Thusday
- Anberlin
- tv girl
- the dispute
- armor for sleeping
- 3OH!3
- Status fields
- Four years strong
- We the kings
- The good years
- Royal and the Serpent
- Ready to use
- Hawthorne Heights
- Red Combination Device
- horrorpops
- Meet me at the altar
- Prentiss
Are tickets available?
Pre-sale tickets went on sale Friday, January 21 at 10:00 a.m. PT, which translates to 6:00 p.m. UK time on the same day. You can register now for pre-sale tickets via the Website When we were young.
Tickets will then be made fully available to the public on the same day, Friday, January 21, at 2 p.m. PT, or 10 p.m. in the UK.
Tickets will be available to people of all ages, except those wishing to purchase VIP Cabana tickets, in which case you must be over 21. This is because the legal drinking age in America is 21, VIP Cabana tickets include alcohol.
The When We Were Young website states that each general admission ticket includes:
- All-day performances on three stages at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds
- Choice of dishes from regional and local suppliers
- Bars, concessions, official band merchandise, festival merchandise, free water stations and more
General admission tickets are priced at $224.99, or around £164.93.
GA+ tickets include everything included in regular general admission tickets plus access to air-conditioned restrooms and a dedicated entry lane at the main entrance. GA+ tickets are priced in three tiers – Tier 1,399.99 (£293.21), Tier 2,409.99 (£300.54) and Tier 3, $419.99 (£307.84).
VIP tickets include everything GA+ tickets offer, plus access to charging stations and a dedicated viewing area per main stage. These tickets are also priced in three tiers – Tier 1 $499.99 (£366.48), Tier 2 $509.99 (£373.80) and Tier 3 $519.99 (£381.13).
Finally, the last ticket option available is VIP Cabana which includes:
- Delimited ultimate viewing area with security, shade and VIP service
- 2 free bottles, your choice 1 premium liqueur / 1 champagne
- Food vouchers for all in celebration
- Cabin available only on the main stage
- All-day performances on three stages at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds
- Expedited entry at the main entrance
- Air-conditioned private sanitary facilities
- Charging stations
- Choice of dishes from regional and local suppliers
- Bars, concessions, official group products, free water stations, etc.
- Skip-the-line access to the General Admission Goods Shop
Each VIP Cabana (must be 21+) includes up to 10 VIP festival entry tickets and costs $12,500, or approximately £9,161.06.
Where and when does the festival take place?
The When We Were Young festival will take place on Saturday October 22, 2022.
It will be held at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Is it a scam?
In response to news of the festival and the high profile bands that are supposed to be playing there, some fans online have speculated that When We Were Young could be a repeat of 2017’s disastrous Fyre Festival.
The Fyre Festival was marketed as a luxury music festival that would take place on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma and would feature performances from Blink 182, Tyga, Pusha T, Lil Yachty and more. It was promoted by social media influencers like Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski and Hailey Baldwin, and promised luxury villas for accommodation and gourmet dining.
Tickets sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but when festival-goers arrived on the island, it soon became clear that it was all a scam. Billy McFarland, who founded the festival, was eventually sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to forfeit $26 million.
Much of the concern around the When We Were Young festival is due to the fact that, logistically, there simply isn’t enough time for the number of bands charged to play to actually perform, coupled the fact that the festival does not have a refund policy with its tickets.
Regarding When We Were Young, one person tweeted, “Can’t wait for fyre festival: punk edition.”
Another wrote: “This will be the freaking emo version of Fyre Festival. 12 hours, three scenes, 63 tapes. It will be chaos.
“What bothers me the most is this no refund policy. These days Covid can really cause a festival to be canceled with one spike, the fact that it’s that expensive, one day only, with 60 bands, and NO REFUND POLICY seems scummy and idk Straight Fyre Festival Vibes,” another wrote, along with a screenshot of the festival’s ticketing policy on its website, which states “all sales are final – not refund or exchange.
However, nothing so far has implied the festival is illegitimate, and a number of bands playing have been promoting the event and tickets on Twitter, including My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Jimmy Eat World, AFI and Bring Me The Horizon.
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