When We Were Young festival 2022: tickets explained, is it a scam - and the full lineup including Paramore

The When We Were Young festival has officially added a second date to what was originally a one day only event, following backlash and safety concerns from fans.

Old school 2000s emo and pop punk fans collectively lost their minds amid the announcement of the festival, which is set to feature legendary bands like headliners My Chemical Romance and Paramore.

However, news of the festival wasn’t entirely welcomed by music fans, with many predicting that the event will turn out like the infamous Fyre Festival from 2017.

Another area of concern is in regards to the fact that the festival will be produced by Live Nation - the entertainment company behind the deadly Astro World festival which resulted in the deaths of 10 audience members.

This is everything you need to know about the festival - including whether or not it’s a scam.

Who is playing When We Were Young?

According to the promotional poster for the festival, there are set to be 60 musical acts performing on the big day, including a number of iconic emo bands like Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Jimmy Eat World and the All American Rejects.

The lineup includes:

• Avril Lavigne
• Car Seat Headrest
• Taking Back Sunday
• Alkaline Trio
• Jxden
• Linda Lindas
• Pvris
• AFI
• The Used
• Bring Me The Horizon
• Taking Back Sunday
• Dashboard Confessional
• Manchester Orchestra
• A Day to Remember
• Pierce the Veil
• I Prevail
• Dance Gavin Dance
• Boys Like Girls
• The Story So Far
• Sleeping With Sirens
• Knocked Loose
• Black Veil Brides
• Ice Nine Kills
• Senses Fail
• Bayside
• Mom Jeans
• Mayday Parade
• The Maine
• Neck Deep
• Silverstein 
• Palaye Royale
• Bright Eyes
• Poppy
• Nessa Barrett
• Wolf Alice
• Acceptance
• Story of the Year
• Atreyu
• Glassjaw
• Lil Huddy
• Saosin
• The Starting Line
• Thursday
• Anberlin
• TV Girl
• La Dispute
• Armor for Sleep
• 3OH!3
• State Champs
• Four Year Strong
• We the Kings
• The Wonder Years
• Royal and the serpent
• The Ready Set
• Hawthorne Heights
• Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
• Horrorpops
• Meet Me at the Altar
• Prentiss

Are tickets available?

Presale tickets were released on Friday 21 January at 10am PT, which translated to 6pm UK time on the same day.

Tickets were then fully released on Friday 21 January, at 2pm PT, which was 10pm in the UK.

The tickets were available to people of all ages, apart from those looking to purchase VIP Cabana tickets, in which case you must be over 21 years old. This is because the legal drinking age in America is 21, the the VIP Cabana tickets include alcohol.

The When We Were Young website states that each general admission ticket includes:

• Performances all day on three stages at Las Vegas Festival Grounds
• Food choices from regional and local vendors
• Bars, concessions, official band merch, festival merch, free water stations and more 

General admission tickets are priced at $224.99, which is roughly £164.93.

GA+ tickets include everything included in regular general admission tickets as well as access to air-conditioned restrooms and a dedicated entry lane at the main entrance. GA+ tickets are priced in three tiers - Tier 1 $399.99 (£293.21), Tier 2 $409.99 (£300.54) and Tier 3 $419.99 (£307.84).

VIP tickets include everything that GA+ tickets offer, with the addition of access to charging stations and a dedicated viewing area by main stage. These tickets are also priced in three tiers - Tier 1 $499.99 (£366.48), Tier 2 $509.99 (£373.80) and Tier 3 $519.99 (£381.13).

Finally, the last ticket option available is VIP Cabana which includes:

• Ultimate roped-off viewing area with security, shade, and VIP service
• Complimentary 2 bottles, your choice 1 premium liquor/1 champagne
• Food vouchers for all in party
• Cabana available at Main Stage only
• Performances all day on three stages at Las Vegas Festival Grounds
• Expedited entry at the main entrance
• Private air-conditioned restrooms
• Charging stations
• Food choices from regional and local vendors
• Bars, concessions, official band merch, free water stations, and more
• Skip the line access for general admission merch store

Each VIP Cabana (must be 21+) includes up to 10 VIP admission tickets to the festival, and are priced at $12,500, which is roughly £9,161.06.

Where and when is the festival happening?

The When We Were Young festival is scheduled to take place on Saturday 22 October 2022.

It will be held at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Has a new date been added?

A new date has been added for the festival, following concerns from fans about how logistically the previously one day only event would work.

The new date is for Sunday 23 October 2022, with fans able to submit a request to join the waitlist for tickets for the newly added date.

You can do so by visiting the When We Were Young festival website. The site says that you’ll have to enter your email and payment method and if a ticket becomes available, you’ll be charged automatically.

“Waitlist tickets are offered on a first come, first serve basis,” the site explains.

Is it a scam?

In response to the news of the festival, and the high profile bands that are supposedly playing it, some fans online have speculated that When We Were Young could be a repeat of the disastrous Fyre Festival from 2017.

Fyre Festival was sold as a luxury music festival that would take place on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma, and would feature performances from Blink 182, Tyga, Pusha T, Lil Yachty and more. It was promoted by social media influencers like Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski and Hailey Baldwin, and promised luxury villas for accommodation and gourmet meals.

The tickets sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but when festival goers arrived on the island, it quickly became apparent that the whole thing had been a scam. Billy McFarland, who founded the festival, was ultimately sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to forfeit $26 million.

Much of the concern around the When We Were Young festival is due to the fact that, logistically, there just isn’t enough time for the number of bands billed to be playing to actually perform, coupled with the fact that the festival has a no refund policy with its tickets.

In regards to When We Were Young, one person tweeted: “I can’t wait for fyre festival: punk edition.”

Another wrote: “This is gonna be the freaking emo version of Fyre Festival. 12 hours, three stages, 63 bands. It’ll be chaos.”

“The thing that sets me off the most is this No Refund Policy. In this day and age Covid can really make a festival cancel with a single spike, the fact that it’s this expensive, one day only, with 60 bands, and NO REFUND POLICY seems scummy and idk. Straight Fyre Festival Vibes,” wrote another, with a screenshot of the festival’s ticket policy from its website, which states that “all sales are final - no refunds or exchanges”.

A number of bands that are playing have promoted the event and tickets on Twitter, including My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Jimmy Eat World, AFI and Bring Me The Horizon.

The announcement of a second date has also eased fan concerns about the logistics of having so many bands playing on the same day.

What has Live Nation said?

Responding to the concerns being expressed by fans online, event organiser Live Nation has issued a statement saying that the “safety of fans, artists and staff is thoroughly planned for among event organisers and in coordination with local authorities”.

It added: “We have seen a lot of excitement around this festival and we look forward to putting on an incredible event for all of the fans this October.

“We encourage fans to check the festival website and socials for all the latest updates.”

Live Nation added that “set times will vary with earlier bands having shorter sets and headliners having the longest” and that “for many festivals it is typical for earlier acts to have 20-30 minutes, while headliners often perform longer, closer to 45 to 60 minutes or more”.

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