Warped Tour started in 1995 and is traveling around the country for the last time during the summer of 2018. The tour has been a catalyst for so many band's careers as well as an outlet for people who love punk, pop punk, post-hardcore, and other genres of music. Warped Tour gave spotlight to bands like Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Katy Perry, and Mayday Parade. The tour grew to attract over 750,000 attendees nationwide and is the longest running annual national music festival. It has had a very strong run.

I was able to spend the day with my old friends in Mayday Parade at the Nashville, Tennessee date. When I first arrived I noticed there were two parking lots for buses. I went to the one that was closest to me. After walking around a bit I realized this was a lot for production vehicles instead of the bus parking for the bands. I saw a man sitting outside of a bus under a tent using his laptop. So, I asked for directions to the other buses and he told me. Remember this man...

I had not seen some of the Mayday guys in a few years. I tend to see Brooks and Derek more since they're still living in Tallahassee. Derek had recently played an acoustic set at my studio in Georgia as well. So, it was great catching up with everyone. As usual, the band put on a stellar performance to a large and energetic crowd. Even though I have never been a part of the entire national Warped Tour it did feel a bit strange throughout the day knowing that this would be the last time I will ever go to Warped Tour. It has been a summer tradition for many years for me.

After the Mayday's set I ended up walking around with their manager Josh Terry. We ended up back at the production parking lot. Josh approached the same gentleman I had asked directions from earlier. They shook hands and began talking. I noticed the man's walkie talkie had the name "Kevin Lyman" written in black on yellow tape. Kevin Lyman is the man who invented and started Warped Tour. I had never been able to meet him until that day. So, it was cool to meet the founder of Warped Tour on the very last year of it.