Music fans are excited yet apprehensive for the next big music event. “When We Were Young” is a tour of all the old-school emo bands from earlier in the 2000s that millennials listened to during their teenage angst years. The show boasts headliners including Paramore and My Chemical Romance alongside alternative rock favorites such as Alkaline Trio, AFI, Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, Avril Lavigne, Dashboard Confessional, and The Used, just to name a few.
Thirty-somethings are eagerly looking forward to scoring tickets to the October 22 show, which is going down at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. But there are quite a few music fans who are looking with trepidation at the event and even calling it a potential “Fyre Festival 2.0.”
One TikTok user voiced her concerns.
“There are 65 bands, there’s 12 hours in the festival day, and there’s three stages,” she said. “If you do the math, it works out to about 33 minutes and change for each band to play. It just seems like so much can go wrong with this.”
The TikTok video has more than 280,000 views. The user also mentioned how logistically, it can take up to an hour to break down an entire set and get ready for the following band.
“I’ve been to my fair share of festivals and it just seems like so much can go wrong with this,” she continued. “I would be so ready to throw my money at this if it was a two-day festival. But I just can’t justify spending close to $300 on something that seems like it’s going to be Fyre Fest 2.0.”
And then there’s the fact that Live Nation is hosting the concert, which will be the first major concert since Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival left 10 fans dead and hundreds injured. According to Newsweek, Live Nation Entertainment was the event promoter for Astroworld and was also allegedly responsible for planning, staffing, and communicating with local agencies for the disastrous Houston event.
The company is facing multiple lawsuits and an investigation over what part they played in evaluating potential safety hazards. But despite the ongoing litigation, the company promises they have a plan for the “When We Were Young” event.
“The safety of fans, artists and staff is thoroughly planned for among event organizers and in coordination with local authorities,” a spokesperson told Newsweek. “We have seen a lot of excitement around this festival and we look forward to putting on an incredible event for all of the fans this October. We encourage fans to check the festival website and socials for all of the latest updates.”
Some fans suggested Live Nation had even more nefarious purposes in planning the show. “This is 100% Live Nation tapping into millennial nostalgia to pay their Astroworld stampede legal fees,” one person tweeted. “Don’t be suckers, we’ll live to enjoy our oldies longer if we just stay the f*** home.”
The official Twitter account for the popular Chicago-based punk festival Riot Fest even questioned the event. “One day is not a festival, it’s just a long a** concert,” they wrote.
Pre-sale tickets are available beginning January 21 and start at $225 per person.
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