Live Nation Won't Let "When We Were Young" Turn Into Fyre Festival 2.0
This story was published on January 20, 2022 and updated on January 25, 2022
Live Nation, the big-name concert producer that organized Travis Scott's ill-fated Astroworld Festival, is giving the emos what they want.
Shortly after adding a second day to the old-school emo festival, the concert organizer extended its run to a third date.
A sort of Warped Tour for the year 2022, When We Were Young will feature headliners Paramore and My Chemical Romance, accompanied by Myspace-era favorites including Alkaline Trio, AFI, and The Used.
Basically, it's a nostalgia-packed lineup perfect for reformed emos (or those who never grew out of their emo phase). Welcome to the rawr-ing twenties!
The initial announcement of When We Were Young — originally slated to take place on October 22 — sparked excitement and hesitation among the internet's former scene queens, many of whom thought the event sounded too good to be true.
TikTok user @thebatmer broke down the logistics: "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," she calculated, adding that this timeframe includes break-down and set-up for each act which itself can normally take upwards of an hour.
"It just seems like so much can go wrong with this."
Factoring in the substantial ticket price (nearly $300), some predicted that When We Were Young would devolve into a Fyre Festival-style mess.
There was also the question of Live Nation's involvement in the festival.
The entertainment company — which, it's worth noting, has organized plenty of concerts and festivals that proceeded as planned — isn't exactly aching for business, considering its stacked roster of festivals.
That said, the connection between Live Nation and Astroworld isn't lost on prospective When We Were Young attendees.
Despite the possibility that Live Nation's connection to such massive tragedy would affect ticket sales, passes for the first two days of When We Were Young sold out instantly.
Tickets for the third and final day launch on January 31 — and will likely sell out in a flash.
Clearly, Live Nation is tuned in to what the internet is saying about When We Were Young. In addition to extending the festival, the company issued a brief statement addressing safety concerns: "The safety of fans, artists and staff is thoroughly planned for among event organizers and in coordination with local authorities."