Last year, I criticized Warped Tour for its tendency to add a token hip-hop act or two to a slew of crappy punk bands. But this year appears to be different. While Warped Tour’s tone remains obscenely corporate, with the usual mall punk stars (Cobra Starship, Angels and Airwaves), legendary old-schoolers (GBH) and pop-punk wannabes, more than a few weirdly unusual (if not necessarily good) acts have been thrown in the mix, including Jeffree Star and Does It Offend You, Yeah? That adventurous spirit extends to the hip-hop acts as well.
Some of the better known artists include ever-popular cult rapper/comedian. MC Chris. Look out for Othello and Braille, two-thirds of Lightheaded; Braille just released an underrated album, The IV Edition, in April. Shwayze is more on the pop-rap end, with a skater-pop aesthetic similar to Travis McCoy. Shwayze just got a write-up on MTV due to his popular single, “Buzzin’,” and his self-titled debut comes out on August 19. Junk Science, (pictured above) the anchor band behind Definitive Jux-affiliated label Embedded Records, picked up Hangar 18’s slot. (Hangar 18 dropped off the tour for unknown reasons.) And though you can argue that they aren’t really hip-hop, I’ll throw Gym Class Heroes in this category, too.
Lesser-known groups appearing on Warped include Megaphone, a new duo consisting of Moe Pope and Headnodic (from Crown City Rockers and the Mighty Underdogs); Detroit rapper Dante, who releases his album Roaming Empire on July 15; and Buffalo, New York hot prospect Edreys.
MC Chris, Gym Class Heroes, Shwayze, Othello and Dante will hold down the entire Warped Tour. Braille, Junk Science, Megaphone and Edreys will appear in select cities. Check the itinerary below.
- 6/20: Pomona Fairgrounds, Pomona, CA
- 6/21: Pier 30/32, San Francisco, CA
- 6/22: Seaside Park, Ventura, CA
- 6/25: Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
- 6/26: N.M.S.U. Practice Field, Las Cruces, NM
- 6/28: Utah State Fairgrounds, Salt Lake City, UT
- 6/29: Invesco Field, Denver, CO
- 7/01: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, St. Louis, MO
- 7/02: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Kansas City, KS
- 7/03: Superpages.com Center, Dallas, TX
- 7/05: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, San Antonio, TX
- 7/06: Sam Houston Race Park, Houston, TX
- 7/09: Lakewood Amphitheater, Atlanta, GA
- 7/10: Central Florida Fairgrounds, Orlando, FL
- 7/11: Vinoy Park, Tampa, FL
- 7/12: Bicentennial Park, Miami, FL
- 7/13: St. Johns County Fairgrounds, Jacksonville, FL
- 7/14: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC
- 7/15: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Virginia Beach, VA
- 7/16: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Washington, DC
- 7/17: Time Warner Cable Amphitheater, Cleveland, OH
- 7/18: Comerica Park, Detroit, MI
- 7/19: Downsview Park Allen Road, Toronto, ON
- 7/20: Parc Jean Drapeau, Montreal, QC
- 7/23: Tweeter Center, Boston, MA
- 7/24: Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, NY
- 7/25: Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ
- 7/26: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
- 7/27: Toyota Pavilion, Scranton, PA
- 7/28: Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ
- 7/29: Post Gazette Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA
- 7/30: Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
- 7/31: Verizon Wireless Music Center, Indianapolis, IN
- 8/01: Marcus Amphitheatre, Milwaukee, WI
- 8/02: First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL
- 8/03: Canterbury Park, Minneapolis, MN
- 8/05: Credit Union Centre, Saskatoon, SK
- 8/06: Race City Speedway, Calgary, AB
- 8/08: Idaho Center Amphitheatre, Boise, ID
- 8/09: Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
- 8/10: Columbia Meadows, Portland, OR
- 8/13: Save Mart Center, Fresno, CA
- 8/14: Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA
- 8/15: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
- 8/16: Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot, Sacramento, CA
- 8/17: Home Depot Center, Los Angeles, CA
6/20-8/17: w/MC Chris, Gym Class Heroes, Shwayze, Othello, Dante
6/20-7/17: w/Junk Science
6/20-7/18: w/Braille
7/22-7/29: w/Megaphone
7/24-7/25, 7/30-8/02: w/Edreys
