The golden age of emo returns as My Chemical Romance, Paramore and more sign up for When We Were Young Festival

When We Were Young festival poster
(Image credit: Live Nation)

My Chemical Romance and Paramore are to headline the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas later this year, an event the promoters are describing as a "return to the golden age of emo music."

Joining the headliners at the festival, which will take place at the Las Vegas Showgrounds on Saturday, October 22, will be a host of familiar names including AFI, The Used, Bring Me The Horizon, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, Alkaline Trio, A Day To Remember, Pierce The Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, Palaye Royale, Wolf Alice, Poppy, Atreyu, PVRIS, Glassjaw, Jimmy Eat World, Avril Lavigne, Motionless in White, Black Veil Brides, Neck Deep, Knocked Loose, Ice Nine Kills, Palaye Royale and Bright Eyes.

The line-up is completed by I Prevail, The Story So Far, Manchester Orchestra, Dance Gavin Dance, The All American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, Car Seat Headrest,  JXDN, Senses Fail, Bayside, Mom Jeans, Mayday Parade, The Maine, Silverstein,  Nessa Barrett, Acceptance, Story of the Year,  Lilhuddy, TV Girl, Saosin, The Starting Line, Thursday, Anberlin, 3OH!3, State Champs, Four Year Strong, We The Kings, The Wonder Years, Royal & The Serpent, The Ready Set, Kittie, Hawthorne Heights, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Garden, Horrorpops, Meet Me At The Altar, Prentiss and The Linda Lindas.

Tickets go on sale on January 21 at 10am PST. Organisers say ticket prices are "$19.99 down", although general admission prices are currently advertised at $224.99 and upwards on the ticket sales page, and VIP packages start at $499.99. Hotel packages are also available. 

Last week Paramore announced a return to the studio to work on their sixth album, with singer Hayley Williams saying, "The music we were first excited by wasn’t exactly the kind of music we went on to make. Our output has always been all over the place and with this project, it’s not that different."

My Chemical Romance split in 2013, but returned in 2019 for a show in Los Angeles and a short run of dates that took in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. They tour the Europe and the US over the summer. 

When We Were Young festival poster

(Image credit: Live Nation)
Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.