5 Big Things That Happened at First 2025 Warped Tour Festival

For those who weren't able to attend, here are some big things that happened at Warped Tour's first 2025 comeback festival this past weekend.

After bidding farewell in 2019, the festival made its triumphant return Saturday and Sunday (June 14 and 15) in Washington D.C. It was the first of three different locations Warped Tour will hit in 2025 in honor of its 30th anniversary (yes, we're all old).

The lineup for the weekend featured acts such as Asking Alexandria, Avril Lavigne, Fever 333, Ice Nine Kills, mgk, Slaughter to Prevail, Sublime, We Came as Romans and many more. While there were a lot of familiar faces on the bill, a lot of the artists were Warped Tour first-timers.

Below is a recap of some of the biggest things that happened at the festival over the weekend, so keep reading to see what took place in Washington D.C.

It Was Live-Streamed on Amazon Prime

A few years ago, you had to attend a festival to be able to watch it in real-time. However,  Warped Tour enthusiasts had the opportunity to watch a livestream of the event on Amazon Prime over the weekend from the comfort of their own homes.

The stream started at 2PM ET on Saturday and ran through 1AM this morning. And just like attending Warped Tour, viewers didn't know the set times until the stream started. The video also featured bits of backstage interviews, something most festival attendees don't get to see in person.

Slaughter to Prevail's Alex Terrible Waved Russian Flag During Set, Addressed Criticism in Statement

During Slaughter to Prevail's set on Saturday, vocalist Alex Terrible waved a Russian flag around on the stage. He shared a clip of the moment on his Instagram with the caption, "I'm grateful to represent my country worldwide. I really want to make this legacy of the Russian heavy metal band smashing the stages everywhere and spreading a good message."

Terrible's post received a mix of reactions, with some arguing that waving the Russian flag in Washington D.C. isn't a tasteful move, and others praising his loyalty to his country.

The frontman shared another statement on his Instagram yesterday, addressing the "double standards" and "hypocrisy" he sees, particularly on the internet.

"We are still lightyears away from being a civilized, tolerant and highly-educated society. Many people still live in black-and-white thinking, unable to grasp how complex and ambiguous this world truly is," he wrote.

"We live in a society, and whether we like it or not, the opinion of others matters. What people say or think about us affects us. But with each passing year, I realize that I care less and less about what others think of me. I don't even care anymore what my close ones think."

See the full post below.

Simple Plan Brought Other Bands Onstage During Their Set

Warped Tour veterans Simple Plan brought a handful of other artists onstage with them for two songs during their set yesterday, including State Champs, We the Kings, Boys Like Girls and Bowling for Soup. State Champs and We the Kings played on both songs ("Where I Belong" and "I'm Just a Kid"), and the latter two groups played on "I'm Just a Kid" only.

This year is Simple Plan's 14th year playing Warped Tour. See the band's full setlist from the festival on Setlist.fm.

They Brought Back the Inflatable Set Times

As we mentioned earlier, Warped Tour fans don't actually get to see the set times for the day until they arrive at the festival grounds. Instead, there's a massive, inflatable schedule that festival goers can refer to in order to see when their favorite bands are playing.

Warped Tour kept the tradition going this year — though it seemed to be met with mixed reactions from attendees.

"As someone pushing 40 and only caring about a handful of bands, I fucking hate this lol," someone commented on a Reddit thread.

"I miss this. Because of this model right here I’ve been forced to see bands I wouldn’t have planned to had I known ahead of time. Kind of forces you to be at least a little spontaneous which is a good thing," another wrote in praise of the practice.

Sum 41's Deryck Whibley Joined Avril Lavigne Onstage

Sum 41 played their last-ever headlining show earlier this year, but frontman Deryck Whibley apparently isn't done performing quite yet. He joined Lavigne onstage yesterday for a performance of his band's hit "In Too Deep" about halfway through her set.

READ MORE: The 'Big 4' of Warped Tour Bands

Whibley and Lavigne were married from 2006 to 2009, and the Sum-41 frontman worked on several of Lavigne's albums. Despite their divorce, they've remained friends.

mgk Covered Goo Goo Dolls

mgk shared a studio cover of Goo Goo Dolls' mega hit "Iris" in May of this year, and he played it live for the first time during his Warped Tour set on Saturday.