DS Remembers: The Best Pop-Punk Tours of All Time
The pop-punk genre has had some legendary crossover throughout the years. Most of the tours listed below are shows that will never happen again. They are a perfect moment in time, a product of their generation and surroundings. Some fans were lucky enough to witness such an experience. As for the rest of us, we’ll look at these lineups and dream about what it might have been like to see such a show.
This list excludes festivals like Bamboozled, Warped Tour, Mayhem fest, Sad Summer fest, etc. To make the list they must be cross-country traditional shows.
12.) 21 Years of Really Bad Luck Tour (2021)- Bayside, Senses Fail, Hawthorne Heights, The Bombpops
This is the most recent tour by far. Originally scheduled for 2020, but delayed a year because of COVID, the 21 Years of Bad Luck Tour was everything fans wanted and more. Seeing 3 staples of the pop-punk community on one tour was breathtaking. Every time one set ended, the next one came in even stronger. All 4 bands on the bill truly gave it their all and it shows. Bayside was supporting their heaviest record yet, Interrobang [2019]. Senses Fail had just collaborated with Spencer from Ice Nine Kills and was gearing up for Hell Is In Your Head [2022]. As a pop-punk fan, you won’t see a lineup this stacked for a while.
11.) Fall Tour (2015)- The Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, State Champs, You Blew It!
The Wonder Years have never had a bad lineup on any of their tours. The band is known for having their finger on the pulse of the scene. Their fall tour with Motion City Soundtrack is easily one of the most iconic tours yet. State Champs even opened for this show right before they blew up into the mainstream. This feels like a fan-made tour on Tumblr in 2014. Fall tour of 2015 is even more impressive when you consider this is in the wake of the bands 7″ split EP! All of these bands on this bill grew to have even more successful careers.
10.) The World Tour (2014)- Pierce the Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, Beartooth, This Wild Life
The hype for this tour was palpable to say the least. Pierce the Veil drops King for a Day with Sleeping With Sirens in 2012, it soars to the top of every rock chart. It immediately becomes a cult classic. The tour was inevitable, but what was unexpected was just how memorable it would be. It skyrocketed every band on the bill’s career. This tour made post-hardcore cool again. Sleeping with Sirens was still extremely heavy at this time. Opener Beartooth had dropped their debut album Disgusting and was on track to be the next huge headliner. Even the more mellow This Wild Life provided a breathtaking soundscape for fans to enjoy (and get real sad to). Fans of one band soon found themselves obsessed with all 4. This was a scene kid’s dream come true.
9.) Summer Tour (2018)- Taking Back Sunday, Coheed and Cambria, The Story So Far
Any show that either Taking Back Sunday or Coheed and Cambria do separately is always a 10/10 performance. Some fans were lucky enough to see these two rock legends perform together, back to back. Taking Back Sunday is known worldwide for their energy and charisma. Coheed is famously one of the most talented and technical bands in the scene. They can play unimaginable riffs with ease. Not only that, but The Story So Far opened for this once-in-a-lifetime event. From old bands to new bands, this tour brought the heat. While all the bands are still together, we’ll never see them in this incredible order again.
8.) Believers Never Die Tour (2009)- Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Cobra Starship, Metro Station, Hey Monday
It’s hard to even imagine the excitement of a Fall Out Boy and All Time Low tour alone. What happens when you add on Cobra Starship, Metro Station, and Hey Monday? You get the scene tour of the decade. Anyone that ever bought skinny jeans from Hot Topic or had Green Day on their iPhone shuffle went to this tour. To this day, memes about this tour are all over pop-punk Instagram and tik-tok. It’s defined the test of time. It certainly lived up to its hype for decades to come.
7.) The California Tour (2016) Blink 182, A Day To Remember, All Time Low, All American Rejects
You know this lineup is stellar when even the bottom of the bill could headline an arena. Considering this was Blink 182’s first album without Tom Delonge, they knew they had to bring their best. This tour was perfect for every generation. Older fans were there to see Blink and A Day to Remember, younger fans came in droves for All Time Low and the All-American Rejects. This show can only happen once in a lifetime, and if you were there, you’ll never forget it.
6.) The Save Rock and Roll Tour (2013)- Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Twenty One Pilots
This is another tour that is absolutely baffling. Fall Out Boy, fresh off the heels of their massive comeback, and touring with Panic! At the Disco, the band they helped create. Save Rock and Roll may be a divisive record but I firmly believe it has so much heart. There’s a reason the band came back even bigger than when they broke up. To add a cherry on top, Twenty One Pilots was the main opener and still extremely small at this point. When people refer to alt-emo this is the sound they are referring to. Regardless of your preferred genre of music, this tour was perfect for everyone who rejected mainstream modernity in 2013. A show like this would sell our baseball stadiums in 2022.
5.) The Story So Far Fall Tour (2018)- The Story So Far, Turnover, Citizen, Movements
The Story So Far Tour in 2018 was a renaissance of modern pop-punk. Every single band on this lineup would grow up to be influential in the emo scene. Citizen and Movements have become icons for sad downbeat music. Turnover has dove deep into soft rock and found success there. All of these artists gave something back to the scene they loved and pushed the boundaries of music forward. The best compliment about this lineup that I can say is that it feels almost too good to be true.
4.) The House Party Tour (2013) – A Day To Remember, All Time Low, Pierce The Veil, The Wonder Years
This is the tour on the list I’m the most jealous of by far. Even the main opener (The Wonder Years) is one of the most concise and powerful bands of all time. Keep in mind, when this tour occurred all 3 headliners were experiencing a massive rise in their respective careers. A Day To Remember had just dropped their magnum opus, Common Curtsey. Pierce the Veil had released their biggest album to date, Collide With The Sky. Even All Time Low was finding success again with their record Don’t Panic! Every band was blowing up simultaneously. If you got to witness this lineup, you are one of the lucky ones.
3.) The Hella Mega Tour (2021) – Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Weezer, The Interrupters
Another recent entry on this list, and arguably one of the biggest, the Hella Mega tour swept the world with hype. 3 of the largest rock bands in the scene agreed to come together for an epic tour. Very rarely can you see Emo and Pop-punk bands sell out 50,000-capacity stadiums. The financial success of this tour showcases how necessary it was and valued among the pop-punk community.
2.) Brand New Fall Tour (2016)- Brand New, The Front Bottoms, Modern Baseball
This tour is extra special because 2/3 of this bill no longer exists. It is literally impossible to see these artists live. However, for the special fans who got to experience such an event, I am confident they will never forget it. Brand New and Modern Baseball both being the faces of modern emo, with the fun alternative sound of the Front Bottoms makes this a legendary show. This concert will forever live on as one of the greatest experiences in rock history.
1.) The Pop Disaster Tour (2002)- Green Day, Blink 182, Saves The Day
There isn’t much that can be said about this tour that hasn’t already been said. Green Day and Blink 182 were dominating the mainstream in ways rock hasn’t seen in years. Their tour together would cement itself as one of the crowning live events of the 2000’s. This tour is so well known, you can say “pop disaster” to any fan of the genre and they’ll immediately know exactly what you’re referring to.
Twitter: @Valentino_Emo