When We Were Young Festival
Las Vegas Festival Grounds - October 21, 2023
Photo: Drew Whitman/Amity Collection
Review by Aspen Angel
Over 80,000 people traveled to Las Vegas this past weekend for the second annual When We Were Young 2023 music festival. This year’s lineup was the ultimate throwback for many festival goers - the two-day extravaganza had a stacked lineup with artists like blink-182 and Green Day headlining each day of the festival, and a plethora of bands who have either shared the stage with or were inspired by the bands. We caught the festival on Saturday, October 21st, and while there were some small bumps like technical difficulties for bands and long lines for fans getting in at first, it mostly went smoothly.
This year's festival had one less stage than the previous year, which meant there were only four stages in total for over 50 artists. Large crowds gathered early at the Green and Pink stages, where headliners of the festival performed. Some fans even stayed in the front row all day in the glaring sun to catch their favorite artists like Blink-182, Green Day, Sum 41, Good Charlotte, 5 Seconds of Summer, Pierce The Veil and many more.
Not too far away were the other two stages: The Stripe and Ghost stages featured a more intimate atmosphere, complete with rotating stages to help with quick set changes between bands. Classic artists like MxPx, Simple Plan, Goldfinger, and Plain White T’s performed at these stages, as well as newer artists on the lineup like Movements, Waterparks, Knuckle Puck, and Hot Mulligan.
This festival was a dream come true for anyone who grew up playing the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games, and the addition of the X-Games Vert Ramp this year was perfect for anyone who needed a break from the music. Some Saturday attendees were even lucky enough to witness Hawk skate the ramp.
With many special performances, the one that stood out the most to us was Rise Against’s performance. Their powerful sunset performance included songs we hadn’t heard in years that reminded us of when we were young, making the energy of the crowd one to remember.
The stage we spent the most time at: Pink Stage
Something Corporate | Photo by Quinn Tucker
Favorite Performances: Rise Against, The Offspring, Movements, MxPx, Something Corporate
Our favorite nostalgic performances: Something Corporate reuniting for this festival, Goldfinger and Tony Hawk performing Superman together
Best New Song Performed: blink-182 - “Dance With Me,” Yellowcard & Vic Fuentes of Pierce The Veil performing “Three Minutes More” together for the first time
Best crowd energy: Sum 41 fans gave every ounce of their energy with never-ending circle pits and crowd surfing for one the band’s final performances in Las Vegas
Fun Performance: Simple Plan performing “What’s New Scooby-Doo?” with several people in Scooby-Doo costumes, Bowling For Soup & Dan Povermine performing the Phineas and Ferb Theme Song with someone dressed as Perry the platypus
Best crowd interaction: Pierce The Veil & Green Day both gave out musical instruments to lucky fans
Best stage production: blink-182’s set featured pyro, fireworks, and Travis Barker elevated above the stage
Simple Plan | Photo by Drew Whitman
Goldfinger | Photo by Megan Blair
Most shocking surprise performances: Good Charlotte with Lil Wayne, 30 Seconds To Mars with Steve Aoki, Goldfinger with Tony Hawk
Best Surprise performance: All Time Low and Avril Lavigne - “Sk8er Boi”
Performance to remember at festival: Something Corporate reuniting for the first time in over 10 years
There’s such a nostalgic feeling watching punk rock music under the scorching heat that many crave, and it’s one of the reasons this festival sells so well. We all miss the Vans Warped Tour, and this is the best music festival to fill the void! Both days of the festival reached 90°F, and the festival did its best to provide comfort for travelers and locals with their shaded areas with misters, fans, and water refill stations. Re-entry was also allowed for the festival for anyone who needed to take it easy away from the noise. Because of the heat, one thing we would love to see improved at the festival is the incredibly long lines for artist merch. Fans shouldn't have to wait in such long lines to buy a shirt at a festival - this could be resolved by adding another tent or integrating merch into the festival’s app.
All in all, When We Were Young was the perfect festival to relive the music we used to love jamming out to when we were growing up. It was wholesome to see how many people are raising their children on the same music they grew up on and bringing them along to the festival.
It’ll be so exciting to see what comes from the next generation of rock music - with all the flames, fireworks, and talented performances, this weekend was a festival that will not be forgotten. I’m already excited to see what direction the festival heads if it returns for a third year!
