School Comes to an End, Summer Concert Season Begins

With summer vacation on the brink, summer concert season is almost here. Bands and artists such as Twenty One Pilots, the Lumineers, Haim, Shawn Mendes, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez and Ellie Goulding will be performing in Saint Louis, and concert festivals such as Vans Warped Tour and LouFest will also be occurring.

Sophomore Natalie Blue is ready for school to be out and for summer to commence, so she can go to see two of her favorite bands: rock band Blink-182 on Sept. 11 at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre and alternative hip hop duo Twenty One Pilots on Aug. 6 at the Scottrade Center.

“I am excited to see [Twenty One Pilots] and Blink-182 because they are two of my favorite bands and I know all of their songs,” said Blue. Blue is also excited to go to these concerts for the first time with her friends.

“I love going to concerts with friends who share the same music taste as me. I also tag along with my friends’ families and I go with my parents as well,” said Blue.

Having opened for the likes of Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes is once again stepping out on his own. The pop star, who started his career by posting covers on Vine, is going on his second headlining tour this summer and will be performing at the Fox Theatre on Aug. 6..

“I’m excited to see Shawn Mendes this summer. I bought [the tickets] as soon as they went on sale. My favorite song is Stitches,” said sophomore Rachael Fritz. Fritz is also really excited to see another social media star turned singer: Troye Sivan who will be at The Pageant on Oct. 31.

“I’m also excited to see Troye Sivan in the fall. I love his music, and I love the fact that he is new but has become such a big hit,” said Fritz.

Music festivals will also be popular this summer. While there are many well-known festivals across the country such as Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza, smaller scale, local festivals are just as entertaining. LouFest is a festival that takes place here in St. Louis; it will be returning again this year to Forest Park on Sept. 10-11. The festival, like many, will have multiple stages for music enthusiasts to enjoy national and local acts. Although the 2016 lineup has yet to be released, last year’s acts included headlines Hozier, Ludacris, and the Avett Brothers, as well as Nate Ruess, Nico and Vinz, and Young the Giant.

Another festival that many are excited for is Vans Warped Tour. Warped Tour, which debuted in 1995, is a traveling festival that caters to those who enjoy genres such as rock, alternative, punk rock, and even hip hop.

“The lineup for Warped Tour this year is really nice; [there are] a lot of older pop punk and alternative bands and better deathcore bands than they had last year,” said sophomore Kristina Glass. This is Glass’ second year going to Warped Tour.

This year’s Warped Tour features over 30 bands and solo acts including headliners Good Charlotte, Sleeping with Sirens, Falling in Reverse and features other artists such as 3OH!3, Against the Current, and Issues. Warped Tour makes its way to Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre on July 27.   

by Roshae Hemmings, marketing genius and Lauren Sparks, editor-in-chief