This is the second of two posts about Vans Warped Tour’s 2025 Long Beach dates. This post covers Day 2 – Sunday July 27th, and you can check out the post for Day 1 – Saturday July 26th here.
There is a full gallery of Day 2 photos at the end of this post!/em>
Vans Warped Tour 30 Years: Long Beach – Day 2
Vans Warped Tour’s return last weekend, after a six-year break, was a celebration of music, culture, and Warped’s 30th anniversary, and I have to say it was better than ever. The stop at Long Beach’s Shoreline Waterfront was part of a three-stop relaunch that included Washington, D.C. earlier this year, and Orlando this coming November. That’s a big change from the larger number of tour dates in the past.
My first reaction when I heard that Warped was coming back was pure excitement. I knew I had to photograph this show, having photographed some many of the past tours. There was a bit of disappointment after I saw that it was going to be in Long Beach instead of at the Pomona Fairplex, because I was very familiar with the Pomona site, and had no idea what to expect in Long Beach. Well, any worries disappeared the moment I got there. Being in downtown Long Beach, along with an estimated 84,000 friends was amazing, and the attendance numbers I’ve seen would make it the biggest concert crowd in the city’s history, and one of the biggest rock festivals California has seen.
Having been to so many Warped Tours in the past, this weekend stood out to me as one of the most well run festivals I have been to, and I don’t say that lightly. Don’t misunderstand me, it wasn’t perfect, at least not from a media point of view, but I have never, ever, seen a festival with many bands run on-time all damn day. Even with borderline weird start times, like 1:04pm or 6:33 pm, the bands consitently hit their mark almost every time. If you’ve ever been to a festival, you know how unusual that is.
For this year’s tour there were 8 stages and a mix of genres, including punk, ska, emo, rap, hardcore and more. Long Beach’s connection to skate and punk culture made it a symbolic host, especially being home to bands like Sublime, who was one of this years Day 1 headliners, and who’d appeared at the first Warped Tour back in 1995.
Falling In Reverse
There were so many headliners on Day 2 that it felt like a super concert, and one of the main bands I heard people talking about was Falling In Reverse. It had been a long time since I’d seen this band live. I first photographed them at Self Help Festival in San Bernardino many years ago, and then I did again a few years back at the old Fivepoint Amphitheater (a place I will forever miss). Vocalist Ronnie Radke is a pure showman. Even his entrance on Sunday, walking out to Tupac’s “California Love” while on camera from backstage, will have people talking.
They kicked of their set strong with “Zombified”, and then ran through a list of hits that included “Popular Monster”, “The Drug in Me Is You,”and of course “All My Life”. And set design was awesome, with a ton of pyro. This is definitely a band you need to see live to really get the showmanship involved here. The choreography, the lights, the big video wall, and the pyro, make you feel the show in a way few bands can pull off.
Rise Against
Rise Against is one of those bands where it was clear that everyone was there to see them. Their list of hits, lit up with pyro, brought the crowd exactly what they’d hoped for. Kicking off with “Re-Education (Through Labor)”, and then following up with songs like “Give It All”, “Prayer of the Refugee”, and “Ready to Fall” showed why this band has been such a success for so long. Closing out the set was “Savior”, and at this point I was wishing we could press reset to start the set over for a second time. I just didn’t want it to end.
311
One of the other highlights for me was seeing and photographing 311 for the first time. We play a lot of 311 here at KCAL, and I love their whole sound and vibe, but man… I had no idea just how amazing they are live. It’s a set of hit, after hit, after hit. I honestly forgot just how many great songs they have in their catalogue.
They kicked off with “Beautiful Disaster”, followed up immediately with “Come Original”, but the set also included “Amber” and “All Mixed Up” before closing out with “Down”. Wow. This may have been the surprise set of the night for me. It felt like I knew every single song.
Other Favorites
As with Day 1, there were so many bands at Warped Tour Day 2 that it was impossible to see, or photograph them all. There are definitely bands from both I will regret missing, but the bands I did catch reminded me of why I always loved Warped. Whether it’s headline bands, or some newer band that wants to be the next headliner, everyone puts on the show of their lives. Standouts for me on Day 2 were Boys Like Girls, Royal & The Serpent, Dropkick Murphys, The Interrupters, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and Fever 333.
Fever 333, with Jason Aalon Butler on vocals, is a special set to see. Seriously, find them and go to the show. There are times during a Fever 333 set where I feel like I am watching an early Zach de la Rocha and RATM show. There is an energy I can’t seem to put into words, other to say “WTF was that?”.
Final Thoughts on Day Two
Like the opening day, Day 2 of the 2025 Vans Warped Tour: Long Beach, reminded everyone why Warped Tour mattered — and why its return is so significant. It wasn’t just about the music, but about community: teenagers in their first pits, veterans reliving their 2000s glory days, and bands old and new sharing the same stages. Over two amazing days the festival honored its history with legacy acts like Pennywise, Fishbone, Goldfinger, Sublime, The All American Rejects, and ADTR, 311, Rise Against, and Falling In Reverse, all while pushing forward with younger voices like Nova Twins, LØLØ, The Funeral Portrait, Fever 333, and Royal & the Serpent. It’s clear that Warped Tour’s 2025 revival isn’t just nostalgia — it’s a bridge between generations, a space where punk and alternative culture can continue to evolve. This weekend made me wish I could be in Orlando this November.
As usual, there is a gallery with many a ton photos below, and be sure to check out the Day 1 coverage as well! If you were at the show I’d love to hear your thoughts. Follow me online at:
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~ Razz
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