When We Were Young '24: Emo's Best Year Yet

KZ5A7880-Enhanced-NR — Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance (Photo: Nikki Phillips)

Whether you were blasting My Chemical Romance with knee-high Converse, or vibing to Jimmy Eat World in your low-tops, everyone found their place all over again at the third installment of When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas. Spanning across 5 stages and featuring over 60 bands, the lineup was loved by Chuck Taylor wearers of all styles (and Vans, too). Dare we say it — but, this year may just have taken the cake for the best year yet. WWWY brought together all of your favorite artists, both big and small, from the 2000s and 2010s. Fans had the rare opportunity to hear the soundtracks of their teenage years all over again, but with an even better twist — almost all artists played albums in full!

Saturday afternoon’s sets delivered the nostalgic screamo and pop punk sounds of the early 2000s, with acts like Dashboard Confessional, Mayday Parade, We The Kings, Neck Deep, State Champs, and the iconic screamo veterans: Underoath. Frontman Spencer Chamberlain slayed the stage with Underoath, delivering a beyond-memorable performance of They’re Only Chasing Safety. The flashbacks to the early 00s had fans engergized, moshing and throwing down even during their early time slot. State Champs dominated the Verizon Stage with powerful pop punk riffs. Known for their high-energy performances, they didn’t disappoint. Fans scrambled for their chance at barricade via Verizon’s partnership with WWWY. Later, Dashboard Confessional softened the mood, pulling everyone’s heartstrings with tracks like “Hands Down” and “Vindicated.” Mayday Parade and We The Kings took fans back to the late 2000s across two stages as well, igniting memories amongst friends in the crowd. Travis Clark, frontman for We The Kings, reminisced with the crowd about how life felt 15 years ago — showing his gratitude for their everlasting fanbase.

Next up — Denver’s outlandishly creative duo, 3OH!3, led an unprecedented crowd at the Ghost Stage. Fans swarmed to hear WANT from front to back — more than I’ve ever seen at such an early time slot. Their set was a true throwback, capturing the same energy that made them a household name and MySpace profile song kings.

Likewise, their fellow MySpace profile song dominators, Cobra Starship, also blew our minds with a blast from the past performance. Led by Gabe Saporta and Vicky T, the band delivered a scream-filled set with hits like “Snakes On A Plane,” “Good Girls Go Bad,” and “You Make Me Feel” while playing through Viva La Cobra! Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump surprised the crowd to duet on “Kiss My Sass” while their Cobra Airlines-themed stage design added a very appropriate touch to the set. We were obsessed with the outfit change from Cobra Air to their signature royal purple hoodies. Fangs up!

OG legends of the pop punk scene, Simple Plan banged out hits from No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls, including “Addicted,” “I’d Do Anything,” and “I’m Just A Kid.” Confetti rained down as cryo powered off and singer Pierre Bouvier soared through the air, jumping the entire time. Their “What’s New Scooby Doo?” rendition continued its tradition — this time bringing out people dressed in Scooby costumes, rushing the stage to dance and let loose. After breaking it down with their slower hit “Perfect,” the band’s enthusiastic attitudes had fans crowd-surfing to the front — hoping to pass by drummer Chuck Comeau on the way, who also hopped into the crowd of diehard fans.

Hot off the east coast was Philly’s own The Starting Line. Singer Kenny Vasoli and the original lineup delivered fan-favorites like “The Best Of Me” and “Up & Go,” transporting the crowd back to the scene’s early days. The band, full of smiles, radiated positivity that resonated with the crowd. The Starting Line was one of the first bands local to my hometown to break onto the pop punk scene, so it feels incredible to see them still rocking over 25 years later.

As evening settled Jimmy Eat World, Pierce The Veil, The Used, and many more took to the stages.

The Used impressed with pyro and a vibrant stage setup in hues of blues and golden tones. A big highlight was just how amazing Bert McCracken sounded singing In Love and Death after all of these years. Fans went absolutely feral upon hearing “I’m A Fake” then quickly got emotional while hearing “Yesterday’s Feelings.” I was floored at how wonderful their live show sounded… (even if they did perform a little over their time, it was so worth it!)

Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American recently turned 23 years old — hearing it live brought us back to weekends of night drives, late parties, sleeping in and living a carefree, teenage life. Some of those songs served as the background music and inspiration to our diary — er, LiveJournal — entries. Hearing Jimmy Eat World live is always a treat and this time around… it felt extra special. The audience was singing in unison almost like a chorus of long lost friends — truly hitting us right in the feels.

Pierce The Veil gave us explosive energy, literally — on stage and with fireworks during their set. Their passionate fans cheering so loud they often drowned out Vic Fuentes himself. The turnout from Pierce The Veil fans was massive — definitely a standout band of the festival. I can confidently say they earned their coveted spot on the nighttime block at this year’s fest. The guys bring so much energy to the table with a fanbase so strong you could feel the passion radiating between the barricade and the band. Many of them stepped onto the amps to get closer to the crowd, sending some fans into a spiral. Just when they composed their feelings, Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens surprised everyone to sing “King For A Day,” reigniting tears of joy in the front row.

A Day To Remember followed, igniting the crowd with confetti, cryo, and branded beach balls that felt like a nostalgic Warped Tour moment. But what else could possibly remind us more of Warped? None other than… rolls of toilet paper! Friends of the band flooded the stage throwing them across the crowd. The crowd lit up with excitement as they streamed across the night sky. Their elaborate stage design was my most favorite of the night, creating an fantasy-like alternate reality on stage.

The first of the two headliners were Fall Out Boy — with their immense stage production and fireworks show, as expected. They were one of the only bands who played a variety of songs instead of a single album… perhaps, their hits from every FOB era you can imagine. An appearance by Wiz Khalifa added a surprise twist as they performed “See You Again,” recalling memories from the Boys of Zummer Tour back in 2015. Fall Out Boy are a staple in this culture. Their performances are always top notch, engaging and never failing to give us all that “wow” factor.

Finally, the time arrived for the night’s most anticipated act: MCR. The Purple Stage appeared to be an endless sea of fans awaiting to hear My Chemical Romance’s full The Black Parade set. Onstage violinists accompanied the band for more emotional tracks including “Cancer” and “Mama.” Their raw performance had fans singing along and teary-eyed, felt like both a nostalgic celebration and bittersweet farewell — as some fans have worried this could be one of the final chances they got to see one of the most coveted emo bands of all time.

As the night ended, we couldn’t miss Hey Monday and Atreyu at the Verizon Stage. Though these two artists were like night and day, the crowd impressively stayed for both back to back. Cassadee Pope belted out melodic hits like “Homecoming” and “Arizona.” Atreyu shook things up playing The Curse in full, leaving us re-energized and ready to take on the remainder of the night. Free hydration drinks were offered as we exited, a perfect send-off for us elder emo millennials who probably spent half our afternoon hydrating with iced coffee instead of water. WWWY 2024 brought the alternative culture and scene back to life, drawing the bigger crowds than ever before and proving that these bands (and their fans) are only growing stronger after the resurgence of these genres. Here’s to WWWY 2025!

WWWY ’24 Photo Gallery (Credit: Nikki Phillips)