It was announced this past week that Warped Tour will be making its last cross-country tour next summer. In 2019, there will be some sort of 25th anniversary thing, and after that, Warped Tour will be dead.

Vans Warped Tour is a summer-long festival that kicks off every year in June and runs through August. Warped Tour focuses on the rock scene and has been touring around the United States every year since 1995. Over one hundred bands hop on the tour each summer, varying from up and coming bands to the leaders of the punk rock scene. The most popular genres played at Warped are pop punk and metalcore, although there are many hardcore, street punk, and even hip hop acts that are thrown in.

Warped Tour was always so special to me because it was a festival like no other — Warped travels across the country, setting everything up and tearing it down every day in a new city. Every day is different: bands play at different times, some bands hop on the tour for a couple dates, etc. And not to mention, it was a rock/punk-rock/pop/metalcore/electronic/hip hop tour. The lineup was always diverse, the general admission tickets were no more than $60, and there was pretty much a guarantee that the tour would travel somewhere near you.

I started going to Warped Tour in 2014, but I remember begging to go since 2012. I was a junior in high school, and my friend and I were finally old enough to go (according to our parents; Warped is an all ages event). I was super excited to see some of my favorite bands, like Mayday Parade, Echosmith, and We The Kings. That day I discovered so many of my favorite bands: State Champs, Real Friends, Neck Deep, The Story So Far, Beartooth.

I knew from that first time at Warped that I had to go back the next year.

My best friend, Ily, and I snagged our tickets early on for the Denver date again. We got to see a handful of great bands again, like Neck Deep, Our Last Night, PVRIS, Beartooth, and Man Overboard. We met one of our favorite band photographers, Adam Elmakias. It was a fun year, despite not knowing as many bands as I did the year before. I discovered so many new bands.

Ily and I went again in 2016, and I think that was probably one of the best days of my life — no joke. You can read my festival review of that here, but long story short I got to see literally all of my favorite bands and meet them as well. Pictured below is me with one of the bands, Real Friends. It was so fun to be able to see so many of my favorites in one day — something that would be impossible had it not been at Warped Tour.

And then of course, 2017. This year, I decided to go twice — once in Denver with Ily, and again in Minnesota with my friend Taylor. I thought for sure that since 2016 was so good that 2017 had a lot to live up to. You can read my entire festival review of 2017 here. Honestly, it didn’t even matter to me that there weren’t as many bands that I knew — I still had a fun time discovering new bands and jamming out to old ones.

I’m pretty bummed about Warped ending, to say the least. But I’m grateful that for the past 4 years, I’ve made some of the best memories of my life. I’ve discovered so many bands, been introduced to the alternative scene, met some of my favorite bands, and seen countless performances.

You can expect to find me at the last Vans Warped Tour next summer, and also expect some Top Ten’s lists about the final Warped.

RIP Warped Tour.

The post RIP Warped Tour: The End of an Era appeared first on KRUI Radio.

This collection of songs features songs that are exclusively acoustic, simply because there were way too many good acoustic versions of songs to narrow it down to just ten (those songs will serve as honorable mentions in my Spotify playlist linked below!). So without further ado, here are my top ten picks for best acoustic songs.

1.) Love Your Friends, Die Laughing by Man Overboard

This song has nostalgia written all over it. It has that perfect “campfire song” vibe to it, which makes it such an enjoyable and uplifting song. The lyrics talk about being in the moment.

“I left my heart with my phone in my center console / I left my feelings with my wallet and my keys.”

2.) Cherry by Moose Blood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGqRIdWfdE8

While “Cherry” uses an electric guitar as opposed to an acoustic, it still has a soft, acoustic feel to it. This is one of Moose Blood’s slowest, remorseful sounding tunes. The song is about lead singer Eddy Brewerton wrote this song about his wife and step-daughter, with the lyrics discussing his love of being a father and coping with the fact that he isn’t her real father.

“She’s not mine and she never will be / I’m reminded every day / She’s not mine and it fucking kills me / She won’t look at me that way.”

3.) I Don’t Mind by Defeater

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1IdKeZU8hs

This classic love song is beautiful next to the lone acoustic guitar. It’s the perfect love song as the lyrics reminisce on their time together. It’s sappy and uplifting all at the same time.

“And I don’t mind / If we take our time / No, I don’t mind.”

4.) Timmy Bowers by Modern Baseball

This one is pretty much guaranteed to bring the waterworks. While the song itself hovers around two minutes and the lyrics pretty much repeat the same phrase, the lead singer’s haunting voice mixed with the melancholy melody brings up emotions that I never knew lived inside me.

“Wait a minute / cause I’ve been living more like a piece of shit without you / and I’ve been spending all your past killings / trying to drink my way out of this groove.”

5.) Clairvoyant by The Story So Far

This gut-wrenching tune is a surprising release from a heavily aggressive pop punk band in the scene today. Parker Cannon’s usually outside-voice is lowered and showcases not only his hidden voice but also their lyrical talent. The song discusses the downfall of a relationship, a topic that hits home for a lot of heartbroken lovers.

“Don’t paint me black / when I used to be golden.”

6.) Leave You In The Dark by State Champs

I can’t imagine what this song would be like if it had been crafted to be plugged in and amplified. State Champs are excellent at sending messages in their fast paced pop punk, however this slow jam fits perfectly with the mellow lyrics. The lyrics follow a couple that aims to be different despite their struggles.

“And I know I don’t say it / but I love you too / and it’s starting to make sense.”

7.) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day

Of course I had to include this classic off of Green Day’s 1997 album “Nimrod”. As an adolescent, this song really resonated with me as I’m sure it has with almost everybody else that’s heard this classic tune. It’s nostalgic, heart-wrenching, and bittersweet all at the same time.

“It’s something unpredictable / but in the end is right / I hope you had the time of your life.”

8.) If It Means A Lot to You by A Day To Remember

Emotions run rampant through this slower melody from post-hardcore band A Day To Remember. The lyrics follow a couple that is separated because of the man going on tour with the band. Guest vocalist Sierra Kay stars as the female voice in the second verse and throughout the third as the two vocalists sing back and forth with each other. While it’s unsure how things turn out, we’re rooting for the couple to last.

“If you can wait till I get home / then I swear to you that we can make this last.”

9.) You by The Pretty Reckless

Any Gossip Girl fans here? Yup, that’s Little J from the CW’s hit show. This slow track is accompanied by soft drumming and violins in the background. Paired with Taylor Momsen’s delightfully soft voice, a somber feeling rises from the lyrics as she sings about loving a person that doesn’t love her back.

“You don’t want me, no / You don’t need me / Like I want you, oh / Like I need you.”

10.) Riding In Your Car by Mat Kerekes

Mat Kerekes, the lead singer of the band Citizen, released this solo album “Luna and the Wild Blue Everything” in 2016 and it is SO. UNDERRATED. While all of these songs on this album are acoustic, this one sticks out to me the most. Mat sings about riding in somebody’s car as they listen to their favorite music, which coincides with his favorite songs as well. He doesn’t want the day to end, and all he wants is to ride around with this person and listen to their favorite songs.

“I’m riding in your car / and it seems that your radio plays all of my favorite songs today / and I wish you would sing along.”

To listen to my playlist along with the honorable mentions, check out my Spotify playlist below!

The post Jen’s Top Tens: My Favorite Acoustic Songs of All Time appeared first on KRUI Radio.