Beloved US touring festival Warped Tour will call it a day after next year’s run.
Founder Kevin Lyman announced the news via a lengthy statement on the festival’s website.
“I am so grateful to have worked with more than 1,700 bands over the last 23 summers,” Lyman said.
“It will be bittersweet each morning when I see the sun rise and then watch it set knowing that this will be the last time I get to witness it from that exact spot.”
Speaking with Alternative Press, he cited increasing costs and the industry’s competitive booking nature for the decision.
“Throughout these changes, the Warped spirit will manifest in other ways and — much to the chagrin of some — I am not done and have many more things I hope to accomplish for this scene that I have been so lucky to be part of,” Lyman told AP.
In his statement on the Warped Tour website, Lyman said they would commemorate the tour’s 25th anniversary in 2019.
The esteemed punk festival first visited Australia in ’98, before returning in 2013 with Simple Plan, The Offspring and more.
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