‘That’s What This Is All About’: Kevin Lyman on 30 Years of Vans Warped Tour and What Comes Next

When Kevin Lyman launched Vans Warped Tour in 1995, he made a decision that confused a lot of people in the industry: no headliners. Every artist on the bill listed alphabetically, given equal billing, equal space on the poster. Three decades later, with Warped returning for its biggest edition yet — five two-day U.S. festivals across Washington D.C., Long Beach and Orlando, plus international debuts in Montreal and Mexico City — that decision looks less like idealism and more like foresight.

The 2026 edition, produced in partnership with Insomniac Events, is the most ambitious iteration of Warped since the touring festival wrapped its original run in 2018. Each two-day event will feature over 100 artists spanning rock, pop punk, alternative, emo, hip-hop, ska and beyond, alongside world-class skateboarders and action sports athletes. But before a single fan sets foot on the grounds, Lyman has already started doing things differently — rolling out the lineup one artist at a time over a 30-day period exclusively on Warped’s social platforms, rather than dropping the full bill in one announcement.

The strategy is...