On Saturday the Vans Warped Tour music and lifestyle festival launches its 2013 campaign at Auburn’s White River Amphitheatre.
Every summer since 1995 the multi-stage extravaganza has roamed the country’s outdoor concert venues, administering a multi-genre dose of established bands and up-and-coming artists to musical fans of all ages.
Among the legendary acts receiving their first mass exposure on the tour have been music industry heavyweights such as Blink 182, Avenged Sevenfold, Eminem and No Doubt.
This year’s edition, a nine-stage behemoth dubbed the ‘Best Day Ever’ by organizers, is no exception, with acts such as Reel Big Fish, Black Dahlia Murder, Black Veil Brides, Silverstein, Bring Me The Horizon and Hawthorne Heights (pictured above) on the bill.
Also on the bill, hoping that the exposure to hundreds of thousands of fans this summer will push them into the music stratosphere, are relative newcomers Art of Shock (pictured below), which will play the festival’s Ernie Ball Stage.
The band is set to release its debut album, “Open the Cage” produced by Roy Z, who has produced albums for such metal stalwarts as Sepultura, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson. Drummer Adrian Geezar said the band expects to win over hordes of new fans when it hit the stage at Warped.
“We leave our heart on the stage every time that we play, for us there’s no ‘small shows,’” he said. “We kick ass no matter what. (The Warped Tour) is a big deal, it has become the oldest American rock festival, next year it’s gonna be their 20th anniversary. When we were kids it was a lot of fun to see bands like Rancid, NOFX and Bad Religion on the early years of the Tour, so it’s a great honor for us to be part of it this year.”
Also on the bill are Dayton, Ohio-based Hawthorne Heights, who release their fifth album, “Zero” on June 25.
“It’s a concept album set in a dystopian future where an oppressive regime has taken control,” drummer Eron Bucciarelli said. “A small group, called the Zero Collective, has begun assembling to take back their freedom. The story follows the head of the rebel group as he deals with the loss of loved ones and ponders life before and after the takeover.”
Although Hawthorne Heights are already well established in the musical world, Bucciarelli said the exposure provided by festivals such as Warped is invaluable.
“It can be incredible,” he said. “It really depends on a few variables, like how much you hustle, how committed your label is to assisting your hustle and to a lesser degree your stage placement. Being exposed to 10,000-plus people a day is, hands down, worth more for a band than buying just about any advertising.”
The Warped Tour hits the White River Amphitheatre on Saturday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. For more information or to buy tickets visit www.livenation.com.
