From 1995 to 2018 (with an abbreviated final installment in 2019), the Vans Warped Tour was the preeminent, traveling summer festival for fans of punk, pop punk, emo, and punk adjacent music, creating an influencing an entire subculture and standing synonymous with the scene, for better and for worse. Over the years, other tours and stationary festivals- Riot Fest, Bamboozle, The Fest, Furnace Fest, The AP Tour, Is For Lovers Fest, South By So What, Wrecking Ball, and many more- have and continue to fill that same genre niche as Warped, but Sad Summer Festival, created in 2019 by Warped Tour veterans The Maine, and featuring a lineup of other performers that have (or would have) played Warped, with a setup and sponsors and rotating performers and schedule that all echo a paired down Warped, feels primed to fill that nostalgic itch more than any other event this summer.
Though in the first few years of Sad Summer, in 2019, 2021, and 2022, it didn’t make its way to Music City, leaving us to experience FOMO from afar, we’re thrilled that the traveling pop punk, emo, indie, and alt festival will finally debut in Nashville today, July 23 at Ascend Amphitheater, boasting a stacked lineup of Taking Back Sunday, Motion City Soundtrack, The Maine, PVRIS, Hot Mulligan, Mom Jeans, Stand Atlantic, and Cliffdiver! The event is, of course, all ages, and will seemingly fill up Ascend’s whole site with merch tents, vendors, photo opps, and more. It’s an all-afternoon and evening affair, with music set to kick off at 2 p.m. (gates at 1:30 p.m.), and tickets are still available right here!
You can preview all of the performers below. Taking a cue from the Warped Tour playbook, Sad Summer hasn’t been publishing a schedule, encouraging fans to arrive early and experience all of the artists. Cliffdiver appear to be first, as they’re billed as a “special opener,” and we assume that Taking Back Sunday are last, as they’re billed as headliner, but we’re unclear the run of the show in between, or set lengths- best to be punctual and find out!
Taking Back Sunday
Motion City Soundtrack
The Maine
PVRIS
Hot Mulligan
Mom Jeans
Stand Atlantic
Cliffdiver
More from Sad Summer Fest | Site | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Sad Summer Fest will take place Sunday, July 23 at Ascend Amphitheater. The festival is all ages, begins at 2:00 p.m. (gates at 1:30 p.m.), and tickets are available to purchase for $44.65-87.
![[TICKET GIVEAWAY] Bayside w/ The Sleeping | Sept. 11 @ Eastside Bowl](https://nocountry.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/2025/09/Bayside-2025-1800-350x250.jpeg)
![[TICKET GIVEAWAY] Big Wild | Sept. 4 @ Marathon Music Works](https://nocountry.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/2025/09/Big-Wild-2025-1800-350x250.jpg)
