Five Bands Playing The Final Cross Country Vans Warped Tour You Need To Know

For the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, alternative music fans ended up faced with the looming end of Warped Tour. The tour has crisscrossed the United States for decades at this point, but the 2018 run of the tour is its last full cross country trek, although the entity of the fest is sure to continue for at least the immediate future in some form.

Getting on the last run of Warped Tour would no doubt be an honor for any band seeking to make a name for themselves in the alternative music community, even if they only played a small number of dates, or even just one.

Following are five bands who managed such an honor that you should know about.

Movements: Movements is definitely one of the bigger names on the 2018 tour, having made their way up to one of the main stages from a spot on a smaller one on the 2017 tour. They came out with their debut full length, Feel Something, in 2017, and they’re set to make a lot of people do just that on Warped 2018 with their unique blend of quiet emotion and energy.

Sharptooth: Sonically, Sharptooth is quite different from Movements, but they’re another band you should know about. They also came out with their full length debut in 2017; called Clever Girl, it was released on Pure Noise Records. The band presents an up-to-date, thrashing but thoughtful hardcore punk expressed via songs titled things like “Fuck You Donald Trump.” If that’s your sort of thing, then this band is for you.

Dayseeker: Falling probably in between Movements and Sharptooth in terms of the intensity of their sound, Dayseeker is another band on the 2018 Warped lineup that you should know. In 2017, they came out with their third full length, the intense Dreaming Is Sinking /// Waking Is Rising. The album is yet another fitting platform from the band for the absolutely striking vocals of front man Rory Spencer, who has a flowing clean range and a forceful scream. Carrying his voice along through the album is the smooth, compelling playing of Spencer’s bandmates.

Vanish: We’re going now into local band territory; Vanish is a striking up and coming band from New Jersey that is only playing the Camden, New Jersey, date of the tour. They came out with their debut EP in 2017; called From Sheep to Wolves, it’s uniquely textured music from the softer but still forceful end of the spectrum. Vocalist Patrick Hamilton — somewhat like Rory Spencer from Dayseeker — has a remarkable range, going from striking clean vocals to also striking screams. The band has a unique story to share with their music.

Bodysnatcher: As one more local band from among the many that you no doubt should know from the 2018 Warped lineup, there’s Bodysnatcher. From Melbourne, Florida, the band will be bringing their brooding, darkly heavy music to the Jacksonville and Tampa, Florida, dates of the tour. They’re the kind of band that feels like they’re aiming to push heavy music to an extreme, exploring just how far they can go.

In that light, there’s a wide range of music to take in on the 2018 Vans Warped Tour, going all the way from artists like Movements to those like Bodysnatcher. The tour will be missed as a showcase for up and coming talent, but new venues for that talent to show itself will no doubt emerge in years to come.

Featured Image via Danny Todd on Flickr, Available Under a Creative Commons License