Kevin Lyman Clarifies That Warped Tour Will Allow Underage Artists in 2016
Earlier this month, Warped founder/producer Kevin Lyman said he was considering a 21-plus age restriction on artists playing the 2016 Warped Tour. Turns out, teenaged rockers have nothing to worry about – no such limit is coming.
In a recent interview with the Gunz Show, Lyman clarified his statement from an Aug. 10 interview with the Stranger, which stemmed from a chat on Warped 2015’s final day.
“I had just dealt with some stuff, and this kid – sweet kid – had already written half of [his] story, he was just looking for a couple quotes to insert into it. And I said, ‘Man, I’m just gonna bring adults next summer out on tour. It would make my life a lot easier, in a sense.‘ And all of a sudden they inserted and added ‘under 21 is not gonna be allowed at Warped.’ Are you crazy?”
Interview: Kevin Lyman Reflects on Twenty Years of Warped Tour
Yesterday, Gunz Show host Mike Gunz told Alternative Press:
“Kevin’s message is important, too. The internet can really [spiral] out of control sometimes, and the message of take a step back, breathe, and look at things logically is an important one – in all matters of this technologically driven life. The community needs to become a community again, because, right now, it’s not.”
Lyman’s attention to social media and controversy could relate to a pair of notable incidents on the tour this year. Earlier this summer, Jake McElfresh, who performs as Front Porch Step, canceled a string of Warped Tour dates when allegations of sexual misconduct – involving explicit messaging with underage girls – surfaced. However, Lyman permitted him to perform an unpaid set at Warped’s July 1 stop in Nashville.
Weeks later, the Sacramento, Calif., rock band Slaves was removed from Warped Tour on July 16 after singer Jonny Craig allegedly sexually harassed a merch girl. Lyman later reconsidered and left the dismissal up to a town hall vote, but the Warped community chose to uphold the decision.
