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nticipation builds as a motley
assortment of fans begin lining
up outside Charlotte’s Verizon
Wireless Amphitheater. Assembled to
celebrate Van’s Warped Tour’s 18th
year, hundreds of young people
defy the summer heat to welcome a
compilation of the decade’s finest
alternative music. As bands, designers,
security guards, and campaigners of
everything from politics to PETA,
mingle with the growing crowd, fans
count down for their turn to partake
in the annual celebration that is
Van’s Warped Tour.
Since its start in 1994, the travel-
ing “punk rock summer camp” has
connected fans across the country
with a sprawling mecca of alternative
subculture.
Music, fashion, and tons
of free stuff,
Warped has it all, including
a stellar roster to keep this year’s cross-
country adventure going steady. The
2012
lineup boasts several seasoned
tour veterans including New Found
Glory, Taking Back Sunday, Yellow
Card, The Used, and Four Year
Strong. Larger acts are supported by
up and coming musicians including
North Carolina locals, Jonas Sees In
Color, as well as other established
performers; Pierce the Veil, Every
Time I Die,
Memphis May Fire,
All Time Low and Mayday Parade.
A stylistic buffet,
Warped Tour
showcases the talent and tenacity of
approximately 50 bands per date.
Inside the gates, pop up stages,
merchandise tents, varying vendor
trucks, and sweaty rockers litter the
landscape. As Scott Smallin‘s photos
reveal, it is a scene of epic chaos.
Attendants flock to the Kia Rio,
Monster, and Ernie Ball stages as
band after band continues to impress
those willing to overcome $5 water
bottles, potential heat exhaustion,
and deafening amplifiers for the sake
of a good ol’ time. A forum not only
for progressive music but its respective
community as well,
Warped Tour has
earned its position as the longest running
festival concert tour in American history,
reaching upwards of 500,000 fans
each summer.
To further connect with several of
this year’s headlining artists check
out dotdotdotmag.com for a behind
the scenes look at
Warped Tour
2012.
In 3dot exclusive segments,
join Smallin as he catches exciting
interviews with the boys in Pierce
The Veil, Balyhoo!, Echo Movement,
and others while they discuss their
music, plans for the future, and personal
experiences on the road. Interviews
can easily be accessed via the 3dot
website, or by subscribing to the
YouTube channel, thefutureofart.
For additional updates on Warped
artists and other music exclusives, visit
the official tour website, vanswarped-
tour.com and be sure to “like.”
WRITER | Chelsea Rutledge
WARPED
T O U R
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THROUGH THE LENS OF SCOTT SMALLI
N
A N E W P E R S P E C T I
V E