Warped Downsizing To One Main Stage

03/26/09 3:56pm

by Jason MacNeil (CHARTattack)

This summer's Vans Warped Tour will only feature one main stage instead of the traditional two of previous years.

"This tour evolution will allow artists to give fans a full 40-minute set as opposed to 30-minutes in past years," tour organizers said in a statement released on Tuesday. "Ten bands will rock the main stage at each date, and set changes will run like clockwork at only 20 minutes, encouraging fans to check out side stages as well."

"Many of these bands have been around for a long time and have lots of songs to choose from, so this year, instead of limiting them to five or six songs, they will have 40 minutes to play all your favorite songs from the past and a couple of new ones," Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman said.

"Since times are tough, it was also important to me to figure out how to keep the ticket price low this year. This way we can accomplish that AND still put on an awesome show."

Although most of the tour's lineup has been known for some time, the coming days will see it become officially confirmed. Alexisonfire, Bad Religion, Bouncing Souls, Flogging Molly, Gallows, LIGHTS, NOFX, Shad, Silverstein and Thrice are just a few of the acts taking part. The previously unannounced venues were also revealed on Tuesday.

Here are the dates for this summer's Warped Tour:

June 26 Pomona, CA @ Pomona Fairplex
June 27 San Francisco, CA @ Pier 30/32
June 28 Ventura, CA @ Seaside Park
June 30 Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
July 1 Las Cruces, NM @ NMSU Pan American Center
July 2 San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
July 3 Houston, TX @ The Showgrounds at Sam Houston Race Park
July 5 Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
July 7 Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
July 8 Pittsburgh, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
July 9 Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre
July 10 Toronto, ON @ Arrow Hall
July 11 Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean Drapeau
July 12 Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Center
July 14 Washington, DC @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 15 Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
July 16 Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
July 17 Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
July 18 Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
July 19 Oceanport, NJ @ Monmouth Park Racetrack
July 21 Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
July 22 Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
July 23 Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
July 24 Orlando, FL @ Central Florida Fairgrounds
July 25 Miami, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
July 26 Tampa, FL @ Vinoy Park
July 28 Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
July 29 Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Amphitheatre
July 30 Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
July 31 Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
Aug. 1 Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Aug. 2 Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park
Aug. 3 St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Aug. 4 Kansas City, MO @ Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone
Aug. 7 Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
Aug. 8 Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah State Fairgrounds
Aug. 9 Denver, CO @ Invesco Field
Aug. 12 Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
Aug. 14 Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium
Aug. 15 Seattle, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
Aug. 16 Portland, OR @ Washington County Fairgrounds
Aug. 19 Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
Aug. 20 Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
Aug. 21 Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Aug. 22 San Diego, CA @ Cricket Amphitheatre
Aug. 23 Los Angeles, CA @ Home Depot Center