FEATURE: Unmissable Acts To Catch At When We Were Young Festival

When I was young, I found a space in music that I couldn’t find around me. Bands like Green Day, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan and many more helped me feel less alone and more understood. The emotions I was dealing with weren’t that uncommon, it was just where I grew up that didn’t match with me. It helped me look for other places to call mine. I grew up, my bones hurt a little more than my heart nowadays, but the music stays a part of me. Now imagine my response seeing 90% of those bands on one single line-up. It only seems appropriate that When We Were Young takes place in Las Vegas, as a small piece of home in the middle of nowhere.

Something Corporate
As a teen, I used to watch a drama show called One Tree Hill, which was the source of a lot of musical discoveries for me. Jack’s Mannequin, the first solo project by lead singer Andrew McMahon, was featured on the show, and from there on I found out about his earlier band. The band went on hiatus in 2004, getting back together for a few short stints over the years, but they haven’t performed together as Something Corporate since 2011. This is one of the first times a lot of fans will be able to see them play songs like Punk Rock Princess and I Woke Up In A Car together, which is something I’m really looking forward to. I’m secretly hoping for some solo songs by McMahon too, since he never seems to tour Europe either.

Good Charlotte
Speaking of bands that haven’t performed in a while: Good Charlotte’s last live shows were in 2019. The Madden brothers have been working hard on other projects/companies in the last couple of years, with the platform Veeps as most successful. I’m really excited to go see The Anthem, Lifestyle of the Rich & Famous and I Just Wanna Live. Screaming along with their lyrics has got to be very healing for my inner teen, and I bet I won’t be the only one. They’re hardly a hidden gem, but you’ll never know when your next chance might be!

The Veronicas, Michelle Branch, Tigers Jaw, Beach Bunny
The Veronicas clash with Something Corporate, which absolutely kills the 17-year old girl that listened to Untouched for weeks on end (if not
months). While hanging at the Stripe stage, you might want to stick around for Michelle Branch and Tigers Jaw as well, as they all perform back to back from 1pm until 2:40pm. Beach Bunny will be on stage a little later during the day on the Ghost stage (4:50pm). You might recognize some of their songs from TikTok videos, but don’t mistake them for being just pandering to younger audiences. Their indie rock has gotten some widespread accolades, including Best Album lists.

Joyce Manor
If the headliners aren’t your thing, you won’t get bored with any of the bands performing at the Ghost and Stripe stages during the Blink-182 or Green Day sets. It can’t be easy to be clashing with a band you’ve been noted to be inspired by, but if any band can do it, it’s Joyce Manor. Musically I’d say they’re closer to Weezer and The Smiths in comparison than Blink-182, so if their music isn’t for you, Joyce Manor very well might be.

Green Day
Ok don’t @ me, but I’m including my favorite band in the recommended list. A girl won’t go by the name ‘christine road’ for years (after their song Christie Road off their record Kerplunk), only to not recommend seeing them perform, right? Their 2-hour long set is likely going to include all of the hits like Basket Case, American Idiot and Good Riddance, but they might play a new song or two from their upcoming record too, if we’re that lucky. The teen version of me is already crying, let me be for now. I swear I’m having fun. I’m home after all.