Warped Tour  The Vans Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States (including three or four stops in Canada) annually each summer since 1995. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States, and is the longest-running touring music festival in North America. The first Warped Tour took place in 1995, and the skateboard shoe manufacturer Vans became the main sponsor of the tour starting with the second tour in 1996, when it became known as "The Vans Warped Tour". Although Vans continued to be the main sponsor and lent its name to the festival, other sponsors also participated with stages or other aspects of the festival sometimes being named after them. Warped Tour was conceived by Kevin Lyman in 1995 as an eclectic alternative rock festival, but in 1996 began focusing on punk rock music. Although it has continued to be known primarily as a punk rock festival, it has included acts of diverse genres over the years. Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman stated that the 2018 Vans Warped Tour would be the final, full cross-country run. On December 18, 2018, Lyman revealed details for the tour's 25th anniversary, with only three events taking place in 2019. The band times and sets were found on an inflatable installation, or were available for purchase on paper from an on-site information stand. Every year there was a "BBQ Band". In exchange for the privilege of playing on the tour, the BBQ Band prepared the post-show barbecue held for the bands and crew most evenings. Past BBQ Bands have included Dropkick Murphys, Art of Shock and "The Fabulous Rudies". Similarly, one band, Animo (formerly DORK), has been permitted for the past four years to play on the tour in exchange for working on the setup crew. The "BBQ Band" for the 2016 tour was the band Reckless Serenade. The tour started as a skate punk and third-wave ska tour, but later began to feature mostly pop punk and metalcore acts. There are also some hardcore and street punk bands, such as the Casualties, the Unseen and Anti-Flag, that still play Warped Tour, as well as older bands that have played the tour numerous times since its inception (Bad Religion, NOFX, etc.) The tour wasn't set up in just one way; every show at every venue dictated a different layout. The event was set up early in the morning and taken down late the same day.