August 22, 2026
Montreal’s summer festival season comes to an end
The summer festival season was coming to an end, but not before one final weekend. Fans had been missing it since 2014, but it was finally back. I’m talking about the return of the Vans Warped Tour at Parc Jean-Drapeau. With two very different days full of alternative music. Showcasing punk rock and skateboarding initially, it has now morphed into a much bigger machine, over thirty years since its inception.
With five stages and a schedule only divulged the day of, at noon. Regardless of the stress it may induce in the end, as you might miss a band you want to see, it makes up for it in the sheer amount of music you get to discover during the day, if your mind is open enough to it. Some see it as a positive, but a lot of people hesitated with that unknown aspect of it all.
See Also: Montreal Vans Warped Tour: A Nostalgic View
In some way, even after years of absence. I knew Warped Tour would have to make a comeback. I’m glad it was before I was too old to enjoy it.
The hype and nostalgia built up to this weekend as I combed through my photos and memories from years past. My first Warped experience wasn’t until I was fifteen, when the fest was a few years in. Settling in a more permanent island location at Parc Jean-Drapeau after having a couple of years at Blue Bonnets and a year at the F1 racetrack. I already knew the area well at night because, in those more daring teen years, I would stay on around before the show. It wasn’t even to get first in line, though there were freebies given out as incentives; we would have to leave by early morning to grab breakfast to survive the day.
In comparison, now that the festival was stretched over two days, I was still in disbelief and wondering how I survived a day and night of it. Now I see it was extra training to do what I do now and live behind the scenes of it all. One big difference is the site had been fully renovated. Before that us where all the legendary stories of mud fights originated. Most accessible grass was now taken away from the stages. I rode the metro with many others who were possibly headed there for the very first time. Separated by media access, there are perks to not waiting in line. As soon as I entered, the chaos became real. Once I found the schedule and had that locked in, it was off to catch as much as I could in a day without heatstroke.
Lots more water stations were present to accommodate the growing crowd. The merch tents were the most packed, as those lines never dissipated throughout both days. Band shirts were costly, but I can see some kids get their entire wardrobe from these festivals, so I guess it’s a win for consumerism. Inflation was certainly present, so you had to budget daily to make sure you could survive the day (s). I would say the punk aesthetic is alive and well. It’s interesting to see my entire wardrobe as a teen revived as nostalgic attire or cosplay today.
The skate culture of the festival was still a highlight, with Revolution 514 representing. Skaters and BMX riders were taking advantage of the half pipe doubling in size over the years and being closer to the hill and VIP areas to accommodate more spectator attention between sets. I really didn’t get a chance to watch enough skating, sadly, but I heard it was quite a spectacle.
Once I did a full tour of the festival and saw a few random bands that were tasked to play before there were even many people in. It was time for some New York hardcore from Madball. The stage they were playing on had a few stands or seats but was by far the hardest to actually see bands from the position of the sun. Though shade was much more available compared to past years. With certain old-school bands, a lot of people were bargaining their energy for the day by standing furthest away in the shade. A pit was happening, but not at the level of the larger stages for the newer, younger bands.
A group I wanted to catch that I hadn’t seen in a while was Bigwig. With an early start in the midday sun, a lot of on-site attendees had the same sentiment. Their level of skate punk made them a nice warm-up opener. Lead singer Tom Petta got the crowd going as the band got to play an equal amount from the album Stay Asleep and An Invitation to Tragedy, plus two extras. In this case, having shorter songs worked out in their favor as they packed fourteen in.
There were a few ska-influenced bands this time around but definitely not enough for my liking. Planet Smashers were playing at a time I was trying to maneuver to another stage, so it was probably the first time I didn’t catch enough of their set. It was the local Montreal ska punk on Stomp Records ruling the weekend so far. Over on the Paget stage, I caught a good chunk of K-Man and the 45’s set partially under shade. Always a party time to be had when (Kristin) K-Man and the boys get things going.
My personal band list was certainly an afternoon dominated by hardcore legends. Agnostic Front were at the top, and they delivered a solid set. Finishing off with a Ramones cover of Blitzkrieg Bop. And a rightful tribute to a fallen brother. There was one band missing from the hardcore lineup – Sick Of It ALL. Due to the untimely loss of their beloved singer, Lou Koller. Being a huge part of the Warped Tour family, his friends in diverse bands paid tribute in some way throughout the weekend, keeping his memory alive.
I caught Pennywise from a distance since it was on the main stage. It was harder to hear if you weren’t directly in front, but it still sounded like a good set. A band I’ve seen enough to sit out for once. In between, I heard MxPx and The Ataris play from far away, and that brought back memories of the pop punk years of my existence. A lot of the small bands that survived that era were now riding the wave of being headliners. That was, in my opinion, the best time; take a food break.
There was a greater variety of local food vendors onsite, but you had to be strategic between bands to avoid lines. Spike And The Gimme Gimme’s belted out some of their best covers as I refueled on burgers and poutine. Extra cheesy. Walking around some more, I heard some songs from the Anti Queens set. Debating what to catch later, it was a choice between Good Riddance and Sublime. I had seen Sublime With Rome before, but not this new incarnation with Bradley Nowell’s son. In the end, I ended up choosing Good Riddance, who played a great set. I have a bit of regret not catching Sublime, but we live in a world where people live to film everything on their phones, so in the end I got to relive it while recgrouping from the first full day.
Day 2
Day two was much more relaxed as I was there to discover more and didn’t have as many things to catch back-to-back. At least it was for me, anyway. Getting in on time was the main focus to catch Mad Caddies before the end of their set. The ultimate ska set of the day, which was very full for good reason. They decided to pull out some of the old tunes, creating a merry mood for dancing. Its always fun to see them play.
The contrast between bands like Jutes and Big Ass Truck was huge, pun intended. I caught partial moments along the way to see a bit of Bad Cop Bad Cop’s set, which was a very fierce one. They were setting the scene up for more for all female groups to play, which I think there was a bit less of this year.
One band I was surprised to see on the bill was Toronto’s Ill Scarlett. In exchange for helping them sell their merch and demo CD over, a friend and I got free tickets in. This was over fifteen years ago, when the festival previously held a battle of the bands and initially saw them playing in a tent. I guess they did earn the big stage now, drawing a huge crowd. Proving also again that there were far too few ska acts. I don’t count Sublime; they have their own category.
I ventured closer to the main stages today; that’s where most of the younger generation was, mostly emo or heavier genres. I realized only after reflecting that I naturally saw a lot of local bands. It wasn’t planned that way, but there would a lot of them and in the end they would up dominating my day. The main headliners were appealing in theory, but my body had other plans in the end. Jimmy Eat World were a fan-favorite band that had enough hits to catch my attention for a little while.
Beton Arme’s set was supercharged after gaining even more popularity on the latest world tour. With the amount of effort lead singer Danick gives as he gets in the crowd and uses every inch of the small Paget stage. It suited them, though they could have easily played a main stage. Next year should include them, no doubt. Rumors were yet to be confirmed for next year’s dates.
Montreal’s own Simple Plan were the headliners along with Gob. I was hoping to catch a bit of each, but in the end plans shifted to watching Bowling For Soup, followed on that same stage by Strung Out, who, as a band, decided to take a magical mushroom trip. They sounded good for most of it, and then things got weird. You can imagine why.
Read More:
>> Montreal Vans Warped Tour: From The Pit, With Sweat
>> The Offspring at Mtelus, Montreal
>> Trooper at Hard Rock Live, Ottawa
Walking back before the crowds began, I caught a bit of Simple Plan’s extended ending. From this group’s sophomore experience at the fest, where they were booed and had their demo CDs thrown back at them, to playing in front of the largest crowds of the weekend, I believe this New Warped Era was a success for both bands and fans alike.
As the festival came to an end, I found myself looking forward to seeing what next year has in store for us. If, of course, there is a newt year’s edition.
