Like it or lump it, Vans Warped Tour has been an important tool for bringing a pastiche of punk, hardcore, ska, and metalcore to music fans throughout the country every summer. Late last year, Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman announced this summer’s iteration would be the traveling festival’s final cross-country voyage. Though the founder and producer says Vans Warped Tour isn’t completely vanishing and he claims there are plans in place for the fest’s 25th anniversary in 2019, the days of touring the country are over.
That all but guarantees yesterday’s Henry Mair Festival Park stop will be the last Vans Warped Tour in Milwaukee. Last year, we made our return to the event after a 15-year absence. This year, we decided to stop by to say farewell and to snap some photos to remember Warped Tour’s last Milwaukee stop. [All photos by Brianna Griepentrog]