‘When We Were Young Festival’ Excites the Emo Kid in All of Us — But is it Legit, or Next Fyre Fest?

I have never seen the internet blow up like it did on Tuesday, January 18th 2022.

The announcement of the 'When We Were Young' Festival shook the internet, and me along with it. The lineup is what dreams are Hot Topic dreams are made of. Young or old, the acts in this festival appeal to everyone across the emo kid spectrum.

Check out the lineup for the 'When We Were Young' Festival

I, myself, am an elder emo. When I saw this lineup, my jaw dropped. My heart was racing. I kept finding bands and acts on the poster that my eyes missed and got excited all over again. I lived and breathed these bands when I was young (I see what they did with the title of the festival) and to get a chance to see them all in one place at one time?? I signed up for the pre-sale code IMMEDIATELY.

...but then came the skepticism. I'm taking a deep dive on the internet to see if I can get some sort of clue as to the legitimacy of this festival, or if we are in for Fyre Festival 2.0.

Is 'When We Were Young' Festival legit?

After the initial excitement and nostalgia passed, I thought the same thing as many other people: this is just too good to be true. There's nearly 70 bands for a ONE day festival in Las Vegas. Although it's been done before (Warped Tour), it's a pretty stacked day for each band to only get around 30 minutes per set.

There's a lot of things about this festival that pull up a red flag in my head, including NO refunds. This Twitter user below broke it down in a thread and all the inconsistencies are pointed out.

This festival is being put on by LiveNation. Now, LiveNation are the ones who organized (loose term) AstroWorld. Ten people died from lack of personnel, security, and resources needed to efficiently run a festival. LiveNation is currently being sued by countless people and companies for their part in that tragedy last November.

In the clip above, you hear that Tik Toker mention the 'Lovers and Friends' festival. That also took the internet by storm last year when it was announced. It's important to note that he says it was cancelled, but only due to the pandemic. It is rescheduled for May of this year and is sold out. It seems to be the same layout when it comes to the flyer and it will also take place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, just months apart.

When you go to the official website for 'When We Were Young' festival, it says you can sign up for a presale code and you can buy a ticket for $20 down. There's different tiers for each ticket.

For example, general admission tickets have three tiers and three different price points. Now, the price point has been a major point into why this festival isn't legit. The price for one day of all these acts is comparable to a 3 or 4 day festival.

It's also important to note that many of the bands on the lineup, including my personal holy grail My Chemical Romance, has tweeted to get your tickets and to sign up for presale. My Chemical Romance hasn't played a full show since their breakup in 2012. They did come back together for a three song set in late 2019, because they were scheduled to go on tour in 2020. Then the pandemic happened and you know the rest.

Listen, speaking as a former/elder emo, I am planning on going to this festival. I have waited my whole live to see these bands and now that I am an adult, I have to take the opportunity. As soon as I saw the bands tweeting about the festival, I signed up for pre-sale. This music shaped my life and I still listen to these bands to this day.

I'm going to give 'When We Were Young' Festival a shot. If it turns out bad, at least the people who go won't be stranded on an island like those who went to Fyre Festival. There won't be an issue getting food or water and Las Vegas is still available to explore if it does turn out to be a scam.

People are going to spend a lot of money for a one day festival and if it doesn't happen, that's it. There's no second day to try again. But if it turns out amazing, I can say I was there for this once in a lifetime show with the memories to match.

Time to bust out the overdone black eyeliner and neon blue cheetah print hair extensions and go back to the angsty music of my youth!